With her jam jar full of tea, a little stool and a bright red armband, retired 50-something Wang Ying appears an unlikely foot soldier for the sprawling Chinese police state.
As a member of her neighbourhood committee in a suburb of the north-eastern city of Harbin, Ms Wang has been increasingly busy since the government revived the Mao-era practice of organising residents to spy on one another.
“Our committee was kind of dormant until 2008. But now it is more like it should be – we do our duty and watch out for elements that could be harmful to stability,” says Ms Wang, who is paid Rmb200 ($31) to sit at the corner of her alley with two other retired women for six hours a day.
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