The Ultimate Sacrifice for Cyber Security

Zang Xinmao

"Never dwell on fame and fortune; Focus instead on duties and obligations." This was Liu Yabin's motto before his death， and it also serves as a timely reminder of how a civil police officer should conduct himself in the modern era. The motto is now inscribed on a memorial portrait of Liu hung on the wall of the fourth floor of the office building where he worked. In the portrait he wears a neat police uniform， with many medals pinned to his chest as symbols of his heroic deeds.

Over a 16-year career， Liu was part of many emotional missions， leaving many touching yet untold stories. The oath he swore to the police carried his firm determination. Every action he took was in relentless pursuit of his dream. He was， and his memory continues to be， proof of a police officer's ideal assets： loyalty， commitment， and bravery. Liu went from being a teacher to a police officer， and from a regular worker to a seasoned professional; along the way he never swayed from his strong convictions. He threw himself into dangerous situations without hesitation， never deterred by arduous tasks. He worked hard around the clock without any grumbling. He reached out to help people in trouble， without asking for anything in return.

"Nothing is impossible in his eyes. He can always crack a case no matter how tough it is."

Liu may have passed away but his work area has been kept just as he left it.  His desk still lies spotlessly clean in his office， with an open notebook resting on top， just as it did when he was alive. A simple foldable bed stands stubbornly in the corner. An opened box of pills for treating high blood pressure rests beside two computers， which bore witnesses to his assiduous work，  have gone black now. A dozen neatly handwritten words are visible on Liu's notebook： "May 6， Friday， sunny. 8：45， plenary meeting…"

Inside his filing cabinet are a stack of 29 thick notebooks brimming with records of his routine work， case investigations， criminal suspect information， and his experiences.

Liu started his career as a police officer in January 2006 at a police station under the Canal District Branch. He wrote down what he saw and experienced during a campaign that the station launched to bust pyramid selling cases. These writings proved conducive to his later work.

In 2007， he was transfered to the criminal police brigade of the Canal District Branch， where combatting pickpockets was one of his major duties. "His diligent footprints cover every corner of the city， from bus stops and hospitals， to shopping malls and restaurants，" one of his colleagues says. "He put down his detailed thoughts about every case he handled in his notebooks."

Over time， his notebooks piled up one on top of another， and his anti-pickpocketing work grew increasingly effective. No matter where a pickpocketing crime took place across the city， he was able to find the suspect in no time. Even criminals who had been at large for years were finally brought to justice by Liu. His efforts were rewarded with a steep drop in pickpocketing cases in his jurisdiction.

"If you stick it out， there will be the fruit." Wang Hui， deputy chief of the criminal police brigade of the Canal District Branch， recalls of Liu. "He likes to think deeply and analyze， and is always able to improve practice of real-life operations."

One day in 2011 on his way to work， he noticed many people from outside of the Hebei province distributing used-car business cards to passersby. With the scene in mind， he searched the internet for leads and found many fraud cases involving suggest advertisements had occurred in other places. Liu worked out what these non-locals were up to and quickly ascertained their personal information. A dozen days later， a related fraud crime emerged in Cangzhou， just as Liu suspected it would. Since he had the suspects' backgrounds at his fingertips， the case was cracked immediately， saving much time and energy.

"Nothing is impossible in his eyes. He can always crack a case no matter how tough it is." Zhang Yadong， director of the political office of the Canal District Branch， recalls.

In 2012， the Canal District Branch received a number of reports from staff at automobile rental firms， who claimed fraudsters had rented their cars before reselling and mortgaging them or using them for crimes. Liu thought it would be useful for future investigations to collect information about these cars. Shortly afterwards， based on his collected information， he noticed that a rented car was being used to transport a piece of stolen redwood furniture. Following the lead， Liu succeeded in uncovering the criminals' hideout and arresting the suspects as they returned from another robbery. Not long after the local police had received the report of the theft case， they got a call from Liu： "We have just seized a gang of thieves and cracked the case of the stolen redwood furniture." The officer on the other end of the phone line was surprised： "Incredible！ We had hardly even received the report when you had already cracked the case."

In 2014， Liu was tasked with solving a cyber investment scam. With a heap of materials to scrutinize， he worked around and against the clock for many days and eventually got to the bottom of the case.

In 2017， he was appointed as a dedicated detective on another vast telecom fraud case. It took five years of strenuous analysis to get to grips with the case， before he finally fixed his gaze on 79 criminal rings.

He strove to become a better version of himself by always sharpening his professional skills， mining other's expertise， and innovating new ways to investigate cases. His constant self-improvement made him into a cyber-crime expert with the knowledge to fight telecom fraud using the latest technologies. For these reasons， he was recognized by the provincial and national public security authorities as a top talent in his field.

"The police and danger are inseparable. Since you chose to become an officer， you shouldn't shrink in the face of peril."

In 1995， the 15-year-old Liu returned to his hometown in Cangzhou after his father was discharged from Shaanxi. At that time， Liu's dream was to to wear the same army uniform. In the end， he didn't perform well enough in the college entrance exam to gain admission to his favored military college.

He ended up attending a non-military college. Undeterred， he studied hard， acting as class monitor for four years， and becoming a member of the Communist Party of China in his third year. Upon his graduation in 2002， he quickly earned a job as a teacher at Cangzhou Technical College. However， his dream to become a member of the military had never faded away.

"If I can't join the military， I'll join the police instead."

Liu passed the provincial civil service exam in 2005 and fulfilled his secondary dream of becoming a police officer.

"In my mind， the soldier and the police officer share similar duties： the former defends our nation， and the latter protects our people. In this sense， my dream has really come true." he told his family with great satisfaction.

On the way to the station for his first day as a member of the police force， he had a heart-to-heart talk with his father. "Police and danger are inseparable. Since you chose to become an officer， you shouldn't shrink in the face of peril， and you must serve the people with heart and soul." his father told him.

With these words in mind， Liu was always the first to attend to every dangerous combat without a thought for his personal safety. "I must lead the charge in critical moments." he reiterated every time he was confronted with danger.

In 2008， the criminal police brigade was directed to take a swift action against a stolen Audi car. Liu and two colleagues were ordered to intercept the car as it sped ahead. With no clear route of escape， the Audi driver desperately drove straight into Liu's sedan. There was a big collision， and the front end of Liu's car was knocked off， with the front passenger door so deeply dented that it almost fell off its hinges. Liu and his colleagues  suffered bruises on their bodies， but Liu gritted his teeth and sped after the fugitive—the thought of retreat never crossed his mind. The chase lasted from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. and finally ended with the capture of the stolen car and the suspects. Only then did Liu go to hospital for treatment of his injuries.

In 2013， two explosives were detected simultaneously in two commercial buildings in Cangzhou， with each device attached to a gasoline-filled can. At this critical moment， Liu and three other officers hurried to the scenes， ignoring the potential dangers of any blast. Liu and his colleagues wrapped the explosives in blast suppression blankets and carried them from the fourth floor to the cargo bed of a pickup truck. During transport， the explosives went off with a loud bang， leaving a big hole in the blanket. Liu was later asked if he was scared at that point， to which he calmly replied： "Police always have to handle dangerous situations."

During an operation to seize a drug trafficker in 2019， Liu caught sight of the suspect about to escape by taxi. Without delay， he rushed in alone to capture the criminal. The suspect， a strongly built man， resisted and struggled with Liu for dozens of minutes. Liu became exhausted， but he kept hold of the suspect long enough for backup to arrive and bring the criminal under control.

Never frightened by even the most hardened criminals， Liu has been involved in physical combat against suspect over 100 times， and has suffered injuries over  20 times in his entire police career.

"Take your son to hospital first， and I'll transfer the money to you tomorrow."

"Is it true that officer Liu has died？ We just had a phone call with him two days ago， how is that possible？" a citizen surnamed Wang queried on a call to the Canal District Branch on the morning of May 10， 2022， the second day of Liu's funeral ceremony. On hearing confirmation of Liu's death， Wang broke down.

Wang had previously fallen into the trap set by a large telecom fraud ring. To get back his money from the swindlers， he had been in close contact with Liu since 2017. Liu had always been patient to update him on the progress of the investigation.

In 2020， Wang's son， who was in high school at the time， developed an acute illness that entailed immediate treatment， but Wang couldn't afford the medical fees. With no alternatives， he called Liu for help. "Don't worry， take your son to hospital first， and I will transfer the money to you tomorrow." answered Liu. The soothing words left Wang still half doubting whether Liu would be true to his words， but the next day he found 35，000 yuan in his bank account. After the treatment， his son's condition improved and he had fully recovered by the end of the year.

"Liu is a superb police officer， who really takes our concerns into consideration. I was overwhelmed with grief upon hearing of his death， as he is like a close family member to me." Wang sobbed over the phone.

Wang's grief was shared by many citizens who were previously cheated out of money by telecom fraud criminals. Seeing little hope of retrieving their financial losses in the short term， some of those citizens began to harbor resentment towards the police. To alleviate their worries， Liu created a special group chat on WeChat， in which he gave out his personal phone number and helped the victims with their concerns. One elderly woman would talk to Liu for about half an hour each time she rang， but Liu was always polite and patient， listening attentively and offering explanations when he could. Out of curiosity someone once asked Liu how much money the woman had been cheated out of. Liu replied that it was only 700 yuan， but it meant a lot to her.

After work， he also used his experience as a teacher to impart knowledge to the public on how to guard against telecom frauds and drug abuse to many students and community residents in the city.

In February 2022， shortly after he finished his assignment as the torchbearer and national flag carrier for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games， Liu was invited by Cangzhou Experimental Primary School to the opening ceremony of its new semester， with the theme： "learning the Winter Olympics spirit of working together for a shared future". At the ceremony， he shared with the students stories about the Games and his experience of the torch relay， and delivered the first safety education class for the new semester.

Unfortunately， this was the last time that Liu stood on the school rostrum.

He died of a sudden illness in the line of duty on May 7， 2022. Liu's life ended abruptly at the age of only 42， but his spirit will live on forever.

About the writer：

Zang Xinmao， Publicity Office of Department of Public Security of Hebei Province

（Translated by Zhang Yanzhou）

Personal Profile：

Born in April 1980， Liu Yabin joined the police force in January 2006. Before his death in May last year he was chief of the cyber security brigade at the Canal District Branch of the Cangzhou Public Security Bureau， Hebei province. Over his 16 years as a police officer， he helped crack over 1，000 criminal cases of various kinds and arrest over 800 suspects. He would bury himself in IT-based crime detection methods， and explored new ways to investigate cases， such as by carefully categorizing telecom frauds to develop effective precautions against them. In February 2022， he was honored to represent police forces nationwide as one of the torchbearers for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games and as a flag carrier during the Games'opening ceremony. Tragically， Liu died of a sudden illness in the line of duty on May 7， 2022 at the age of 42. His extraordinary feats earned him titles such as "National Exemplary Worker" and "National Police Force Role Model". In January 2023， he was named the sixth national "Public Security Model". On February 16， 2023， he was chosen as one of the top 10 national law enforcement officers of 2022. In March 2023， the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Public Security honored him with the posthumous title of First-Class Hero Model of the Chinese Public Security System， calling on public security organizations and police officers nationwide to follow his shining example.