Chinese Red Armband Army of "Volunteers"

Photos by Debbie Stock

 There are 850,000 registered public security "volunteers" in Beijing. Many of the patrollers approached by an AFP news agency reporter appeared not to be serving the people for free. One middle-aged woman standing outside a subway station looked up from her phone long enough to say that it was "company policy" not to speak to reporters. Another two armband-wearers who were helping to direct traffic in a busy commercial district appeared bewildered when asked whether they were volunteers.

Cities such as Beijing are known for their Red Armband volunteers. While some may be volunteers, our Chinese tour guide told us that many seniors lost their retirement benefits due to bad management by the government, and they were required to serve as "volunteers" in order to receive benefits payments.

Like the US, China is preparing for a predicted depletion of the country's main pension which could run out in the next 10-15 years. A proposal to raise the retirement age which has been 50 for blue-collar female workers, 55 for white-collar female workers, and 60 for most men, has not received a warm reception with the public.

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