A terminally ill police officer in California, who initiated the idea of sending get-well wishes to a Chinese policewoman battling cancer three weeks ago, has received similar wishes himself from his Chinese counterparts.

"So far, we have received more than 100 photos from Chinese police officers in the past three days," said Cartier Lee, vice-chairman of the police chief's advisory board of the San Leandro Police Department, where the sick police officer works.

Lee said he preferred not to disclose the officer's name now due to privacy concerns, but told China Daily he is a Chinese American in his late 40s.

The Chinese police officers who have sent get-well photos are from Beijing, Xiamen, Guangzhou and many other cities from wide-ranging provinces such as Sichuan, Yunnan and Xinjiang. In the photos, they hold signs with their wishes.

Of the more than 100 photos, Lee posted only one on Weibo.

"We have to post this photo that should not have been posted for now," Lee said in the post. "We want to say 'thank you' to the people in the photo and the person who sent it."

In the photo are the late Chinese policewoman Zhao Xiaoli's husband, also a police officer, and his colleague holding a get-well sign. The sender of the photo is the late officer's sister Zhao Yang.

"My sister has passed away," Zhao wrote in a comment. "But she had received much concern and love before she left. Now we need to pass this love along."

The Ya'an Traffic Police Brigade, where the late officer worked, also commented, "Let brothers join hands and spread love around the world."

Lee said he mentioned the sick US officer to some Weibo followers through a private message three days ago, and it spread quickly.

"Many photos come every day," he said. "Some are from individual police officers, and some are from police departments or stations."

San Leandro was the first US police department to respond to news about Zhao, who lived in Sichuan, late last month.

The 33-year-old woman had received numerous get-well wishes from officers in dozens of US police departments via the San Leandro Police Department's Weibo account before she died on April 1.

"Her information came to me from a Weibo follower," said Lee, who is also the creator of the police department's page at Weibo, China's largest social media website. "I told him (the sick officer) of this, and he came up with the idea of sending get-well photos to her family."

According to Lee, the sick officer also posted the Chinese policewoman's photo on his Twitter and Facebook pages, where many police chiefs and officers are his followers, and that's how her story got spread in the US.

"I guess he had known his condition at that time, though he only notified us a few days ago in a short email," Lee said. "In the email, he said he was sick and wouldn't be able to work anymore, and that he would spend his last days with his family."

Lee said he was collecting those photos in an album for the officer and his family.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com