All three of these were civilian associations, made up mainly of ordinary working people — most of them shop clerks, labourers, and apprentices......I served as a volunteer police, going in on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, without any pay. Light uniforms were issued in ordinary times and padded cotton uniforms in winter; some people were willing to join simply because it meant having clothes to wear. The uniform was identical to that of the regular police, with one distinction: the badge on a regular officer's cap bore the character of "police", while ours bore the character of "volunteer".
—Rao Wenzhong, born in 1937 in Sichuan Province
这三个组织都是群众组织，参加的人主要是普通员工，最多的是店员、工人，学徒......我是义务警察，星期一、三、五去，没有工资。平常发单衣，冬天发棉衣，老百姓觉得有衣服穿，就愿意去。服装与正式警察的一样，区别在于帽子正式警察帽徽是“警”字，我们是“义”字。
—饶文忠，1937年生于四川