Xi Replies to Celebrated Zhangzhou 110 Police Team
President Xi Jinping has sent a reply letter to all members of the “Zhangzhou 110” rapid-response public security unit in Fujian Province, praising the team and calling on police officers nationwide to remain true to their original mission of serving the people. The letter, dated 14 September 2026, was publicly released by Xinhua News on 15 September.
In the letter, Xi described “Zhangzhou 110” as “a bright calling card of the public security system” that has left a deep impression on him. He praised the unit for being rooted at the frontline of policing and for its hard work in serving the public and safeguarding peace, which he said had earned widespread praise and made him “gratified.”
A Charge to the Nation’s Police
Addressing the broader ranks of China’s police, Xi wrote that “safeguarding the happiness of the people and protecting the peace of the nation and families” is a heavy responsibility placed on the People’s Police. He urged officers to “remain true to their original mission of serving the people, carry forward fine traditions, commit to taking responsibility and devotion, earnestly help the people solve their problems, diligently protect the lights of ten thousand homes, and be loyal guardians of the Party and the people.”
The full text of the reply was separately published by Xinhua.
A Unit With Deep Roots
Now formally titled the “Zhangzhou 110 Detachment” of the Zhangzhou Public Security Bureau, the unit has pioneered and continuously optimized China’s 110 emergency-call rapid-response mechanism since 1990. It is widely regarded as a representative outstanding grassroots unit among public security organs nationwide.
According to China News Service, which profiled the unit’s base a day before the letter’s release, Zhangzhou 110 grew from just seven pioneering officers into a modern force of more than 280 police and auxiliary staff. The “110” number has become the iconic brand of China’s police in the public mind, and January 10 was later designated “Chinese People’s Police Day,” first observed in 2021.
Xi’s ties to the unit predate his national leadership. While serving in Fujian, he visited Zhangzhou 110 three times to guide its development, and in September 1996 he wrote a six-character inscription: “The people’s guardian.” In 2021, on the first Chinese People’s Police Day, the CPC Central Committee’s Propaganda Department released the advanced deeds of “Zhangzhou 110” and awarded the unit the title “Model of the Times.”
The unit’s record has been extensively documented. According to Minnan Daily, city-wide 110 response within ten minutes reached over 99 percent in 2021, with main-urban-area response within five minutes exceeding 91 percent. In a notable 2021 case, Zhangzhou 110 officers subdued a knife-wielding man at a Zhangzhou shopping plaza district in two minutes and 15 seconds from dispatch to apprehension, with no civilians injured.
Huang Haiqiang, then the detachment’s leader, told China News in 2019 that the unit would “always treat ‘stopping crime before it happens’ as the best protection for the people,” pledging to achieve “one fewer crime, one second faster response, one notch better service.”
Analysis: A Domestic Signal
The reply letter is a recurring feature of Xinhua’s coverage of Xi’s engagement with exemplary grassroots units — a genre used to model leadership attention to frontline service and to reinforce policy priorities. Here, the emphasis falls squarely on public security’s “serving the people” ethos and loyalty to the Party.
The timing places the letter against a busy diplomatic calendar. Xi had recently attended the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi and was reportedly preparing for a late-September meeting with US President Trump. The domestic letter serves to reinforce themes of grassroots loyalty and governance even as the leadership’s attention turns outward.
The unit’s frequent citation as a national model — spanning honors, performance metrics, and the very date of Chinese People’s Police Day — underscores its role as a showcase for the 110 rapid-response system that other regions have sought to replicate.
What to Watch
It remains to be seen whether the letter is accompanied by any new policy initiative on public security work or reform of the 110 mechanism. No such policy was announced in the available coverage, suggesting the gesture is primarily a morale and symbolic one. How public security organs across China respond to Xi’s exhortation — and whether it shapes frontline practice — will be the measure of the letter’s reach.