International
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hinese criminal gangs are also now renowned for carrying weapons including firearms, allegedly bought illegally from corrupt police or military personnel. Furthermore, there have been a number of major incidents during the last several years including the countdown to the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. Some of those included the March 2008 hijack of a bus in Xian which was carrying Australian passengers and was hijacked by a Chinese man wearing explosives and threatening to blow it up. Furthermore, there was an alleged attempt by Uighur minorities in China to hijack a plane traveling to Beijing in the same year. Many Chinese are rushing to join the ranks of one of China’s newest and best paid professions and Chinese bodyguards can look forward to salaries of about $200 USD - $5,000 a month depending on their military/ police background, formal bodyguard training, education, appearance, knowledge of martial arts and foreign languages. However, whilst many sign up to a world of glamour there are many underlying problems including exploitation of female bodyguards as nothing more than an attractive fashion accessory or for ‘ornamental reasons’. And there are those companies that also require a secretary, public relations officer and a bodyguard, so with some females, they can fulfill them all in one role. The director of a firm that Watson and his team has previously trained, stated that he dresses his bodyguards in matching designer suits and long black coats as symbol of status and as far as he is concerned, if people see this in conjunction with his latest European designer car, then it means success and that they will want to do business with him. In 2008, Watson was invited to train students undertaking specialist bodyguard training in the lead up to the Beijing Olympic Games. He also oversees several Chinese bodyguard teams for visiting movie stars and celebrities as well as company directors and banking executives. A client of Watsons, who asked not to be identified, said he had decided to get protection after a close friend was abducted and killed when the ransom exchanged was compromised. He now employs 15 bodyguards and pays approximately 400,000 Yuan (68,800 AUD) for each bodyguard. Watson states that the Chinese Bodyguards rely too much on traditional and outdated martial skills which are not relevant to the modern bodyguard. Whilst having these skills is an advantage they are not suited to the close quarter and dynamic situations of the modern era. Instead, systems such as Israeli Special Forces Krav Maga and Bujinkan Ninjutsu are much more suited to the Bodyguard/High Risk Protection industry due to its close quarter effectiveness. Watson said that like Australia and the western world, there are some schools which are professional and understand the complexities of what constitutes the role of a bodyguard whilst there are many other courses that run their course from an outdated training manual without any formal experience or training. During the last several years there have been prominent media reports throughout China which have shown young female students at a bodyguard training school having bottles smashed over their heads. Watson said it’s designed to prepare them in the event they may encounter this type
There are unconfirmed reports that there may be more than 20,000 companies throughout China who are involved in security, body guarding and private investigation work. of attack when they are a bodyguard. He states that this type of training is more for show then having any real learning outcomes for the students. Students can expect to pay up to 12,000 Yuan ($2,100 AUD) for a three or four week course which results in little more than the students ability to crawl through mud, dive through fire, immerse themselves in freezing water and use nunchucks. Furthermore, he said that students were often subjected to physical abuse from instructors and that undertaking training with replica Chinese 95 semi-automatic rifles and pistols was counterproductive as the law prohibits private security guards from carrying guns, and there are also very strict laws in relation to carrying knives. In theory, Chinese bodyguards do not have any special privileges and they have the same rights and responsibilities as civilians including they have no right or entitlement to carry firearms, however, it is often the case that many do carry weapons in complete violation of the law and are often ‘protected’ by corrupt Government officials or because they ‘know someone’. There are unconfirmed reports that there may be more than 20,000 companies throughout China who are involved in security, body guarding and private investigation work. Although there are some that are licensed by the State Public Security Bureau (PSB), Watson believes that there are many firms operating underground or in a gray area with little regulation or by paying bribes to local Government officials to turn the other way. With the increase of crime in China including murder, assassination, kidnapping, corporate and financial crime the Government is not in a position to be sending police and
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