Bureau plays matchmaker for single police officers

Xie Kele surfs the Internet after work even if it is late at night. But instead of looking for clues to track down criminals, the 29-year-old police officer in Sichuan province is trying to find his better half on Sina Weibo, a popular Chinese micro-blogging website.

More than 10,000 women have written Xie since the Wuhou district police bureau of Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, released a poster with his pictures on Sina Weibo on Feb 2.

The "Plan to Rescue Single Cops", the post listing Xie's height, weight and quote, is his advertisement for a wife.

After posting his information, the bureau released information on four other single officers.

Aside from Xie, a traffic patrol officer, there is Wang Kai, 27, a traffic officer; Wang Tianbing, 24, crime scene investigator; Zhou Fan, 24, patrol officer, and Zhang Yinan, 25, a criminal officer.

Each is a college graduate, handsome and tall.

"They have about 50,000 fans. Xie, Wang Kai and Wang Tianbing each have more than 10,000 fans," said Yang Yu, a Sina employee.

Fans ask questions such as why such handsome men are still single, if they like only beautiful women, if they cook at home, and what their hobbies are.

Xie, who comes from Zigong in Sichuan, said he works so much that he has not had time to date since breaking up with his girlfriend a year ago.

Wang Kai, a native of Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, said he has no time to cook, but he likes Sichuan food.

"I'm shy, and I want a mate who is active and supports my work," he said.

Wang Tianbing, who is from Harbin in Heilongjiang province, said he enjoys watching films and cartoons and does not like girls older than he is.

Zhou Fan, from Leshan, Sichuan, likes swimming and football and is good at boxing. He says he is bashful when he meets a girl he likes.

Zhang, an avid photographer, says he would take loads of pictures of his girlfriend.

"We didn't expect all the responses we got," said Shi Yi, a senior officer in the bureau and the mastermind of the plan.

The bureau had intended to invite fans to afternoon tea to meet the officers.

"But there are so many fans, we had to cancel it and let the officers meet admirers on their own," he said.

Shi's initiative, a rare public relations coup for Chinese police, has drawn positive responses from most Internet surfers. One netizen asked: "When will something like this be done in Chongqing?"

But some people say the police should stick to the serious stuff.

Shi said he wants to help his colleagues find a mate, because none of them come from Chengdu.

Because their working hours are not fixed and they have little spare time, they have few opportunities to meet girls.

"The idea is to help them build a home so that they will have a sense of belonging," he said.

Liu Shen, a professor in the School of Law at China University of Political Science and Law, endorses that view, saying that the critical netizens should keep that in mind. "They shouldn't criticize everything on the Internet," she said.

After work, Wang Ruobing comes home to find his weibo account is filled with more than 1,000 letters and comments every day.

"I share similar views with three female fans and would like to meet one of them," he said.

He and the other four officers hope they will not be alone next Valentine's Day.