'Dealing with trifling matters'

Former PLA officer excels in her new role as a community policewoman

After 18 years in the People's Liberation Army, former lieutenant colonel Yang Yan's change of career might seem strange to some.

The computer science major joined the PLA after graduating from the China University of Geosciences in 1992, going on to help develop the country's ground-to-air missile system at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu province.