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Cop companions honored
March 10, 2011, Thursday
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TWENTY women were honored in Hangzhou earlier this week because of the men they chose to marry - police officers. Xu Wenwen finds out what it's like being wed to the long arm of the law.
Being a police officer requires dedication and sacrifice. And such requirements are also demanded for being a policeman's wife. On Tuesday, International Women's Day, 20 women citywide were honored as an "Excellent Policeman's Wife" by Hangzhou Public Security Bureau.
Zheng Baoying, one of the chosen 20 wives, refused the invitation to give a speech at the commendation ceremony, because she was afraid she would lose control on the stage.
Zheng has been married to Zhang Jin, a patrol policeman at Pengbu Police Station, for 10 years. As a mother of a six-year-old autistic boy and wife of a policeman, she endures a much tougher life than many other women.
Autism is a disorder of neural development, and the couple became aware their son had it when he was two.
Educating their child is unimaginably hard. To teach him a word, the mother needs to repeat it "tens of thousands of times," and to give her son 24-hour care, Zheng quit her job as a hotel sales manager. With only her husband earning money, the family has had to scrape and save to afford the expensive tuition of a private special school.
Her husband Zhang is unable to help much because he works round the clock in three shifts.
"I am not good at making compliments, so I can only say 'thank you' to my wife, she's done too much for the family, not only for the child, but also for my aging parents who suffer from high blood pressure," said Zhang.
Similar words of appreciation permeated the convention hall, with a shared understanding throughout that romantic times are often absent in a police officer's marriage.
"On the day we registered to get married, my husband asked for leave for only several hours, and when we finished the procedure, he hurried back to the work, there was no romance at all," pregnant Fang Liying said in her speech.
Fang is a prosecutor and is married to Shen Haifeng, a deputy director of Yaolin Police Station in Tonglu County, Hangzhou.
In the summer of 2008 when they were newly wed, the husband was ordered to capture a criminal gang and his investigation took him back and forth between Hangzhou and surrounding cities for months. So the wife took it upon herself to decorate their new apartment, and would cycle between her place of work and the mall under the scorching sun during her lunch break.
Fang refused her husband's offer to help in his lunch break, explaining that "I knew he was so busy at work, I could not bear to bother him more."
"As a cop's wife, I have to divide my heart into two pieces. One piece for my husband and one piece for his family members," she added, "and no space is for myself."
"Compared with their peers, Hangzhou policemen's wives are more laborious," said Ke Liangdong, director of Hangzhou Public Security Bureau, "owing to the fact that the number of Hangzhou policemen is less than that of other cities with the same population as Hangzhou."
Despite the tribulations of being a Hangzhou policeman's wife, none of the honored women said they regret their marriage.
"Many of my family members persuaded me not to marry a cop," recalled Guo Dan, the wife of Fu Dapeng, a policeman in Hangzhou Public Security Bureau.
"But, for love, I gave up my well-paid job abroad and came back to marry him.
"In my marriage, waiting replaces romance, but I don't regret it," Guo added. "When I see other family's happiness and society's harmony, I know it is because my husband contributes to it, and my effort is totally worthy."
The last time the city gave out similar commendations was 16 years ago, but from now on the local bureau of public security is determined to "award those excellent women featuring traditional Chinese virtues every year," said the director Ke.
Being a police officer requires dedication and sacrifice. And such requirements are also demanded for being a policeman's wife. On Tuesday, International Women's Day, 20 women citywide were honored as an "Excellent Policeman's Wife" by Hangzhou Public Security Bureau.
Zheng Baoying, one of the chosen 20 wives, refused the invitation to give a speech at the commendation ceremony, because she was afraid she would lose control on the stage.
Zheng has been married to Zhang Jin, a patrol policeman at Pengbu Police Station, for 10 years. As a mother of a six-year-old autistic boy and wife of a policeman, she endures a much tougher life than many other women.
Autism is a disorder of neural development, and the couple became aware their son had it when he was two.
Educating their child is unimaginably hard. To teach him a word, the mother needs to repeat it "tens of thousands of times," and to give her son 24-hour care, Zheng quit her job as a hotel sales manager. With only her husband earning money, the family has had to scrape and save to afford the expensive tuition of a private special school.
Her husband Zhang is unable to help much because he works round the clock in three shifts.
"I am not good at making compliments, so I can only say 'thank you' to my wife, she's done too much for the family, not only for the child, but also for my aging parents who suffer from high blood pressure," said Zhang.
Similar words of appreciation permeated the convention hall, with a shared understanding throughout that romantic times are often absent in a police officer's marriage.
"On the day we registered to get married, my husband asked for leave for only several hours, and when we finished the procedure, he hurried back to the work, there was no romance at all," pregnant Fang Liying said in her speech.
Fang is a prosecutor and is married to Shen Haifeng, a deputy director of Yaolin Police Station in Tonglu County, Hangzhou.
In the summer of 2008 when they were newly wed, the husband was ordered to capture a criminal gang and his investigation took him back and forth between Hangzhou and surrounding cities for months. So the wife took it upon herself to decorate their new apartment, and would cycle between her place of work and the mall under the scorching sun during her lunch break.
Fang refused her husband's offer to help in his lunch break, explaining that "I knew he was so busy at work, I could not bear to bother him more."
"As a cop's wife, I have to divide my heart into two pieces. One piece for my husband and one piece for his family members," she added, "and no space is for myself."
"Compared with their peers, Hangzhou policemen's wives are more laborious," said Ke Liangdong, director of Hangzhou Public Security Bureau, "owing to the fact that the number of Hangzhou policemen is less than that of other cities with the same population as Hangzhou."
Despite the tribulations of being a Hangzhou policeman's wife, none of the honored women said they regret their marriage.
"Many of my family members persuaded me not to marry a cop," recalled Guo Dan, the wife of Fu Dapeng, a policeman in Hangzhou Public Security Bureau.
"But, for love, I gave up my well-paid job abroad and came back to marry him.
"In my marriage, waiting replaces romance, but I don't regret it," Guo added. "When I see other family's happiness and society's harmony, I know it is because my husband contributes to it, and my effort is totally worthy."
The last time the city gave out similar commendations was 16 years ago, but from now on the local bureau of public security is determined to "award those excellent women featuring traditional Chinese virtues every year," said the director Ke.
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