Author:Wu Shao-Tung

Category：Negative(film)

Year：1946

Introduction：On October 10, 1946, Shanghai Mayor Wu Guo-Zhen (1903–1984, the man in a suit in the photograph) and Shanghai Police Commissioner Xuan Tie-Wu (1896–1964) reviewed the Volunteer Police Corps at the Shanghai Racecourse. This inspection showcased the corps’ full formation of more than 3,620 volunteer police officers. The volunteers wore new pale khaki police uniforms and bore various sleeve insignias according to rank. Commander-in-Chief Lu Yong-Qi led the thirty companies under his charge and received the mayor’s review. The flag bearer’s banner reads “Shanghai Municipal Police Volunteer Corps,” symbolizing the official identity and duties of the force.

In 1945, the Shanghai Municipal Police established the Volunteer Police Corps, whose main task was to assist administrative police in maintaining public order. In August the following year, the corps was reorganized as the Police Volunteer Corps, with Commissioner Xuan Tie-Wu concurrently serving as commander. This restructuring marked the transition of the volunteers from mere auxiliaries to a more systematic and professional public security force. Members of the corps came from all walks of life, many being shopkeepers or small business owners, bringing the total membership to over 15,000.

In the background of the review scene, the building visible to the right is the Moore Memorial Church (Mu-En Church), constructed under the supervision of the American Methodist Episcopal Church and designed by renowned Hungarian architect László Ede Hudec (1893–1958). The church still stands today at 316 Xizang Rd (M), Huangpu District, as one of Shanghai’s significant historic landmarks, bearing witness to the city’s prosperity and transformation.

— Li Chia-Hua, Metedata of the Collection of the National Center of Photography and Images, 2024

Media and Techniques：Gelatin silver print

Accession number:NCP2017-018-0027-009