Four students from Nan-Sing Elementary School in Chiayi County’s Yijhu Township (義竹) became minor celebrities among local police officers when a picture was posted online of the students standing at attention and saluting a patrol car.
Police officer Weng Yu-hsuan (翁玉軒) posted the picture on Facebook with the caption: “Taiwan’s most beautiful scenery is its people.”
Weng said the children have been saluting officers on the way to and from school for the past three years.
Photo: Lin Yi-chang, Taipei Times
When asked about the habit, student Tsai Kai-yi (蔡鎧亦) said: “The police work hard, so we need to pay them respect.”
Tsai said it was an elder classmate that he used to walk home with who taught him to salute police cars.
School principal Tsai Chih-jung (蔡志榮) said the students’ salutes were self-motivated and not something taught by the school, adding that he felt the behavior was worth encouraging.
Tsai Chi-jung said students Tsai Kai-yi and classmate Chen Ying-hsiu (陳瑩銹) are in the sixth grade, while Chen Ying-hui (陳瑩慧) and Chen Chung-ching (陳重慶) are in the fourth grade.
Chen Ying-hui and Chen Ying-hsiu are sisters, the principal said. The other two are their neighbors.
“They always walk home together since they live so close to each other,” Tsai Chih-jung said.
Weng said he has encountered the children many times over the past three years while on safety patrols, adding that he was deeply touched by their respectful gesture.
One local resident who saw Weng’s post sought out the children on Saturday and arranged for them to meet Weng.
“The kids were really curious about the patrol car,” the resident said, adding that Weng then took them on a ride around the village
Chen Ying-hsiu said she hopes to become a police officer one day “if I grow tall enough.”
The sisters’ mother said she was happy to see her daughters acting so respectfully, adding that she always encourages them to be polite to guests.
Budai Township (布袋) traffic division captain Hsiao Chia-hsiang (蕭嘉祥) said it is rare these days to see young people acting politely toward police officers.
The children’s gesture was a boost to officers’ morale, Hsiao said.
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