If the People's Liberation Army kept the Communist Party in power in 1989, the police have kept it in power since.
It is the police in their dark blue uniforms - aided by the People's Armed Police - who every day stand in the front line and confront farmers angry over the loss of their land and poisonous factories, urban workers demanding unpaid wages, and city residents who want larger compensation for the loss of their homes. Many have paid the ultimate price.
According to the Ministry of Public Security, 431 police were killed in the line of duty last year. Last August, it said 10,768 had been killed on duty and 151,468 injured since 1949. The government owes them an enormous debt.
The ministry's website does not give the number of the force but shows the size of its empire - including the frontier police and immigration control, and the fire service - policing the aviation industry, railways and national forests, and fighting drugs and economic crime.
The sprawling headquarters it shares with the Ministry of State Security is a symbol of its size and importance - overlooking Changan Avenue on the northeast corner of Tiananmen square, opposite the Forbidden City.
As a reward for this key role in maintaining social stability and keeping the party in power, the government gives the police force a substantial budget and great privileges.
