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KLMNO THE WORLD


As China’s wealthy grow in numbers, so do protectors Bodyguards, with a decidedly different look from U.S. counterparts, are employed more frequently as rich feel resented, insecure


BY KEITH B. RICHBURG IN BEIJING


P


erhaps themost visible sign of the explosion of private wealth in China tries hard


not to be visible at all — the private bodyguard. They work as drivers or nan-


nies, or blend into a business- man’s coterie looking like a secre- tary, a briefcase carrier or a toady. Unlike bodyguards in the United States, they are generally not tall and imposing; in fact, many are women, on the theory that fe- males in the retinue attract less attention. And also unlike in the United


States, they are never armed, sinceprivate citizens inChina are largely prohibited from owning firearms. Rather, Chinese body- guards are martial arts experts, trained to disarm or subdue an attackerwith a fewquick thrusts, jabs and hand chops. “In China, we don’t need peo-


plewho knowguns,” saidMichael Zhe, president of Beijing VSS Security Consulting Ltd, which started in 2002 and counts itself as the country’s oldest private security firm. “Bodyguards can use one or two blows to stop an attacker.” When Zhe, a national-level


kung fu coach and former gov- ernment security agent, started his company eight years ago, aiming to serve a high-end, wealthy clientele, he recalls there were few if any competitors in the game. By the end of last year, according to theMinistry of Pub- lic Security, the private security business had grown into a $1.2 billion industry with about 2,767 companies employingmore than twomillion security guards. The burgeoning personal pro-


tection industry is a reflection of the dramatic growth in prosperi- ty here that has created a new class of wealthy Chinese — but that has also exacerbated the already-wide chasm between the haves and have-nots. As millions of Chinese have


grownricher—and oftenindulge in the ostentatious trappings of new money — so, too, has the resentment increased fromthose left behind, threatening the rul- ing Communist Party’s stated goal ofmaintaining social stabili- ty. There have been stories here of kidnappings of wealthy peo- ple, contract hits being ordered by disgruntled business associ- ates, and increasing randomacts of violence. China this year has been hit by a spate of vicious attacks on kindergarten and pri- mary school children, which some psychologists have blamed on the economic dislocation. “The booming of the security


industry reflects the rich people’s worry about the safety of their families and themselves,” said Ni Shoubin, professor with the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade. “The population is dis- gusted by how these rich people are becoming rich, and all society has started to hate rich people. And the rich people must feel that resentment, and it makes themfeel insecure.”


Bombs kill 37, injure more than 100 in Iraq


BY JANINE ZACHARIA AND AZIZ ALWAN


baghdad—Six car bombs deto- nated across Baghdad on Sunday and a suicide bomber blew up a car in nearby Fallujah, killing a total of 37 people and wounding more than100inthedeadliestday of violence in Iraq since the Unit- ed States announced the end of combat operations three weeks ago. ThescopeofSunday’sattacks—


especially a pair of simultaneous car bombings — illustrated how uncertain the security situation remains as the United States hands overmore security respon- sibility to its Iraqi counterparts.A political void deepens each day that Iraqi leaders fail to form a newgovernment. Traffic snarledinparts ofBagh-


dad as Iraqi police tightened checkpoints after the twin car bombings struck at 10 a.m. in the Mansour and Kathumya neigh- borhoods, killing 29 people and wounding 111, according to Iraqi security authorities. Witnesses said the booby-


trapped vehicle in Mansour tar- geted a busymarket area near an office of the Asiacell phone com- pany and a popular restaurant. Tenpeople died. The car bomb in Kathumya,


KEITH B. RICHBURG/THE WASHINGTON POST Zhang Xiaofey, in white, at TheMartial Arts College at Beijing RenwenUniversity, practices disarming his classmate Yan Jiming, 19.


lines, regulations or standards— andwith long-established securi- ty consultants such as Zhe fret- ting that many are fly-by-night outfits that could tarnish the entire industry. In April, the State Council,


China’s equivalent of a cabinet, announced it would be drafting regulations to bring the free- wheeling security industry under control. Zhe’s company is help- ing local police bureaus draft regulations, set industry stan- dards and draft a textbook for training private bodyguards. China is still a relatively safe


KEITH B. RICHBURG/THE WASHINGTON POST


Chen Jinhong, 20, practices as part of a major that trains potential bodyguards at Beijing RenwenUniversity.


Private bodyguards now do


everything from protecting wealthy celebrities and business- men to assisting in security for such major events as the Shang- haiWorld Expo. That rapid growth has


prompted the Chinese govern- ment to start trying to rein in the industry. Up to now, the private security firms have operated in a legal “gray area,” with no guide-


country. But violent crime is on the rise. A report by China’s respected Academy of Social Sci- ences this year found a “dramatic increase” in violent crime, in- cluding homicides, robbery and rape in 2009 over the previous year, with prosecutors reporting 10 percentmore cases.The report said crimewas likely to rise again for 2010 because of factory clos- ings and high unemployment. Many of China’s new wealthy


elite have decided to maintain a lower profile. Some are dispens- ing with the usual displays of luxury. And increasingly, they are turning to private security com- panies for protection. “You need someone you can


trust to protect your assets, to protect yourself, and protect your family,” said Patrick Pun, who


returned to Shanghai from Seat- tle and three years ago started Newcogs Co. Ltd, a successful online marketing company. Pun signed a contract with Zhe’s VSS firmfor round-the-clock security for his home and office. “The wealth gap in China is


getting bigger and bigger,” Pun said. “A few people are getting wealthier and wealthier, and a majority of the people are poor. It’s a painful stage for any devel- oping country.” Pun added that he tries to keep


a low profile, and it helps to have a bodyguard who doubles as a driver. “I don’t think it’s a good option for me to have a group of security guards around me,” he said. “If you do that, the crowds will start to pay attention to you.” Chen Yongching, 27, a former


military martial arts expert who started his security company, Tianjiao Special Protection, in 2008, said the trend in China is for the bodyguards to be smaller in stature. “If they’re too big, it would be too obvious,” Chen said. “We can get lost in a crowd—you don’t recognize us.” Chen said about 40 percent of


his bodyguards are women. One, Chai Chang, 25, stands just 5 feet and 4 inches tall, and weighs 121 pounds. But she is trained in martial arts and freestyle fight- ing, and says, “Whenwe practice, I fight two guys, no problem.”


DIGEST BRITAIN


Vatican says pope’s trip ‘great success’


The Vatican declared Pope


Benedict XVI’s four-day visit to Britain a “great success” Sunday, saying the pontiff was able to reach out to a nation wary of his message and angry athis church’s sex abuse scandal. On his final day, Benedict


praised British heroics against the Nazis to mark the 70th anni- versary of the Battle of Britain andmoved an Englishman a step closer to possible sainthood. Vatican spokesman the Rev.


Federico Lombardi said the im- portant thing wasn’t somuch the turnout — crowds were much smaller than when Pope John Paul II visited in 1982 — but that Benedict’s warning about the dangers of an increasingly secu- larized society had been received “with profound interest” from Britons. Benedict arrived back in Rome late Sunday night. Prime Minister David Camer-


on, in his farewell speech to the pope, said Benedict had “chal- lengedthewhole country to situp and think, and that can only be a good thing.” On Sunday, Benedict beatified


Cardinal John Henry Newman before tens of thousands of faith- ful.


—Associated Press


flyinginfromLiverpool,England, and before he flewout toUganda, EvertBoerstra said,without spec- ifyingwhat terrorgroupmayhave been involved. The man’s name and age have not been released. “He was arrested on the tip-off


from British authorities,” Boer- stra told the Associated Press. Dutch state broadcaster NOS


reported that the suspect is alleg- edly linked to Somalia’s al-Sha- bab, which has claimed responsi- bility for suicide bombing attacks atU.N. facilities andother targets. Dutch prosecutors could not


immediately confirmthat report. —Associated Press


PETER NICHOLLS/REUTERS


Aboy receives Communion after Pope Benedict XVI led a beatificationMass for Cardinal JohnHenry Newmanin Birmingham, England. The pope was on the final day of a state visit to England and Scotland.


INDIA


Gunmen shoot 2 tourists in NewDelhi Two gunmen shot and injured


two tourists as they boarded a tourist bus on Sunday morning while visiting a historic mosque inOldDelhi. The shooting occurred around 11:30 a.m. outside the Jama


Masjid. The gunmen were on bikes andfiredmultiple rounds at the bus. Police said one tourist was shot in the stomach; another was grazed on the head. Rajan Bhagat, a police spokes-


man, said that a manhunt is un- derway. The tourists were from Taiwan and were in stable condi- tion, police said.


—EmilyWax NETHERLANDS


Britonwith alleged terror ties arrested Dutch police on Sunday arrest-


ed a Britishman of Somali ances- try at Amsterdam’s Schiphol air- port for possible links to a terror- ist group, a spokesman for the Dutch prosecutors said. The man was arrested after


China, Japan tense on boat spat: China suspended high-level ex- changes with Japan on Sunday and promised tough countermea- sures after a Japanese court ex- tended the detention of a Chinese captain whose trawler collided with two Japanese coast guard ships. The spat between Asia’s two largest economies has flared since Japan arrested the captain, accusinghimofdeliberatelystrik- ing a patrol ship and obstructing public officers near uninhabited islets in the East China Sea claimedbybothnations. “If Japan acts wilfully despite advice to the contrary and insists on making one mistake after another, the Chinese side will take strong countermeasures, andall the con- sequences should be borne by the Japanese side,” Foreign Ministry


spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement on the ministry’s Web site. Japan urged calm and said the captain’s case would be dealt with appropriately according to its domestic laws. The captain, Zhan Qixiong, has remained in custody after a Japanese court approved for the first time on Sept. 10 an extension of his deten- tion.Prosecutors canholdhimfor as long as 20 days while deciding whether to take legal action. —Associated Press


4 die in German blast, shooting: Fourpeoplediedandapoliceman was seriously wounded in south- western Germany on Sunday, af- ter an explosion in an apartment building and a shooting in the neighboring hospital that author- ities say are linked. Two people were found dead in an apartment building that exploded into flames Sunday afternoon, Loer- rach prosecutor Dieter Inhofer told ZDF public television. A woman, allegedly armed with a weapon, was seen running from the blast into the neighboring St. Elisabeth hospital, where she re- portedly opened fire, killing a member of the hospital staff, In- hofer said. The woman then turned her gun on officers re- sponding to the shooting andwas killed in an exchange of gunfire, Inhofer said. One police officer was seriously wounded, Inhofer said.


—Associated Press Chang studied computer sci-


ence in college, and her parents expected her to follow the family tradition and become a teacher. She tried it for a while, but thought the bodyguard life would be more exciting — and now she accompanies Chinese and Hong Kong celebrities around town. As China opens more to the


world, it is also becoming a destination for international ce- lebrities — rock stars and rap- pers, basketball and tennis play- ers, actors and globe-trotting bil- lionaires — and all of them re- quire 24/7 protection, an additional boost to the private security industry. For some of these visitors, the


local bodyguards initially seem too small, occasionally making for a cultural clash. Chen Zhen, director of player development for the China Open tennis tour- nament, has been contracting with VSS since 2004 to provide bodyguards for the players. For tennis players, bodyguards


should be at least 6 feet. “It’s a must for them to wear a black suit and earphones, because that’s the professional look for bodyguards,” she said. The small- er guards, she said, “just don’t give thema sense of security.” richburgk@washpost.com


Staff researcher Liu Liu in Beijing contributed to this report.


whichkilled19,detonatednearan office of Iraq’s National Security Ministry. “Itwasabigexplosion,anddust


and smoke filled my house,’’ Abu Shahad,wholivesabout200yards fromthe blast site told theAssoci- ated Press. “I went out and saw a big black cloud hanging over the area where the bomb exploded, and I rushed there because I have relatives living there.”He said his cousin and her child were killed andanother cousinwaswounded. A third bomb planted on a bus


killed the driver and his son. Aprominent Iraqi tribal leader,


Salih Ali Hamdan, was killed whenhis car exploded. Bombs that detonated in the


parked vehicle of a senior Iraqi intelligence official and in a ga- rage didnot cause fatalities. In Fallujah, a former strong-


hold of a SunniMusliminsurgen- cy 40mileswest of Baghdad, four civilians and an Iraqi soldierwere killedwhen a suicide car bomber, targeting an Iraqi army patrol, was stoppednearabakery.Asimi- lar attack occurred in that spot threeweeks ago. AlsoSunday, threerocketswere


fired at the U.S. Embassy, Iraqi security authorities and Ameri- canwitnesses said. A fourth rock- et landed in the Baghdad neigh- borhoodof Jadriya.Therewereno casualties from either rocket at- tack.


zachariaj@washpost.com


Special correspondents Alwan and JinanHussein contributed to this report.


MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2010


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