In China, pornography is illegal and anyone found spreading it is prosecuted. However, the underground pornography business is still rampant, and it is the job of China's police to crack down on it. Liu Chunqi, is a porn censor whose job is to submit conclusions on suspected porn materials to prosecutors and courts as evidence.

Liu, 59, from Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, has been in the job for more than five years and says he will retire soon; he is suffering from the experience.

In his 10-square-meter office, there is a desk, a computer and piles of disks. Other people are not normally allowed in. "You only know how it makes you feel when you actually do the job," Liu said.

On Sept. 25, 2008, Liu recalled, the head of the police unit assigned him the job, as he was old enough and has a family. He protested, but his boss persuaded him to take on the challenge.

The next day he received 12 suspected pornographic videos and he sat by the computer for 10 minutes doing nothing, caught by an internal conflict. After he opened the first video, he went red and started to sweat, feeling “like a thief fearing being caught in the act.”

He soon identified the 12 videos as pornography and provided legal certification and evidence to police colleagues, and the suspects were soon detained.

But the challenges of his job had just begun. Liu is a role model policeman, popular among relatives and neighbors. His mother says she is proud to have such a son.

Just after he became a censor, his colleagues played jokes on him and asked him about details of the films and how it made him feel. Liu just smiled and carried on. His hard work and prominent achievements led colleagues to understand his job and the hardships he faced. They stopped playing jokes on him and helped him cover up the nature of the work from his family.

However, Liu's wife and mother eventually discovered what he had to do at work every day. After knowing his job, his mother immediately suffered a heart attack. Fortunately, after help and support from his colleagues, his family gradually grew to understand his profession.

Liu says he has to be on call 24 hours a day whenever the police capture any suspects. Although sales of DVDs have plummeted, Internet porn has become even more widespread. Still, Liu is confident that the job he does is very significant, and the length of the sentences suspects are given depend on his conclusions.

He has already examined more than 600,000 pornographic materials. In one major case in April 2012, Harbin police found a website hosting porn pictures, videos and contact information. The police launched a special investigation and Liu had to examine more than 200,000 videos.

"I use professional standards to judge pornographic materials. It's not like I just watch it to have fun," he said, admitting that some of the scenes he watched caused him to throw up and lose his appetite. His conclusions helped to nail down the suspects, and in January 2013, the website owner was captured – a lasting reward for Liu's sacrifice and difficult work.

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