Legendary APEC bodyguards: the little-known "shadow" legend
U.S. Secretary of Defense Hagel's bodyguards are using their burly bodies to block the media from approaching, these dignitaries' "shadow", often playing the role of human shields. (Southern Weekend reporter Yao Yijiang / photo)
The bodyguards who were able to appear in the APEC footage were the most high-profile of the group of "shadows". Behind them, there is the most confidential security system for dignitaries in each country, as well as the "secret weapon" to ensure the safety of dignitaries.
These days, the Beijing police have done enough work for the APEC meeting security, and the use of new equipment to build the outermost circle of protection: three "eyes" of the detonation robot, the new 768 bus lane dedicated cameras, 161 street security "command "...... but to guarantee 100% security for the heads of state, this is not all.
The important meeting where dignitaries gather, photojournalists pay a little attention, you may find some of these people: headphones, not a word, serious expression. When the dignitary speaks, stand behind; when the dignitary meets, wait at the door; when the dignitary is interviewed, stand aside. They are the bodyguards of the dignitaries - also known as "shadows", the most personal layer of protection for the dignitaries.
To be able to appear in the camera bodyguards, has been the highest profile of this group of "shadow" existence. Behind them, there is the most confidential security system of each country's dignitaries, as well as the "secret weapons" to ensure the safety of dignitaries.
Headphones, not a word, serious expression, is the commonality of all "shadow", the reporter tried to talk to Singapore's defense minister Huang Yong Hong's bodyguard, but did not get a response. (Southern Weekend reporter Yao Yijiang / photo)
Not every dignitary can have a bodyguard
"Bosnia, arrival received, 43."
"Slovakia, arrival, 46."
This conversation took place on September 23, 2010, at 2:30 p.m. The U.S. Secret Service was closely monitoring the heads of state coming to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. 43 and 46 are code names set by bodyguards for specific places.
The Secret Service is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and in the world, most of the bodyguards of dignitaries come from various related units such as military, police and gendarmerie. However, bodyguards have limited resources, which ones are their key protection targets?
Generally speaking, presidents, prime ministers, speakers of parliaments, military handlers and members of the royal family are able to enjoy the protection of higher-level guards. Within the country, dignitaries hierarchy, positions and job attributes often determine the likelihood of danger and the availability of bodyguards.
For example, the French security services assign bodyguards to the president, prime minister, interior minister, defense minister and foreign minister, while the speaker of the parliament and other ministers have an entourage of guards. The Prime Minister has more than 30 bodyguards, the Ministers of Interior, Defense and Foreign Affairs have more than 10 bodyguards, while the other ministers have only 2 bodyguards in their entourage.
In Germany, the Federal President, the Speaker of the Parliament, and the Federal Chancellor are the main leaders of the country, and they are protected by first-class security measures with 24-hour bodyguards. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance and Defense take a higher level of security, while other ministers may not assign accompanying guards.
The UK has security guards for members of the royal family, the Prime Minister, and some important cabinet members, generally with one personal bodyguard each. The chief of defense staff, chiefs of staff of the army, navy and air force, and other senior generals are generally not provided with bodyguards, but have specially trained drivers who also serve as bodyguards.
Among the 45,000 police officers of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, there are only about 200 people who can enter the "Security Special Police Team" to protect the Prime Minister, and Moeomi Ishida, who is in her early twenties and a third-degree kendo player, is one of them. Recently, she has been talked about in the Japanese political circles of Nagata-cho because she is one of the personal bodyguards of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. It is not too much to describe Ishida as "the elite of the elite". The black suit, white shirt, and coat buttons are not fastened in order to be able to quickly take out the equipment. Moeomi Ishida's resemblance to Japanese actress Yoko Maki was filmed on duty and spread on the Internet.
The security police team is part of the Police Protection Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, and all of them wear fitted civilian clothes and a numbered badge on their chests. The badge features the sun, moon and cherry blossoms, symbolizing their hard work in defending Japan day and night.
In addition to guarding their own Prime Minister, Japanese police officers are also required to take care of all security work when foreign dignitaries visit Japan. In Japan, relatively tight security guards are adopted and bodyguards are arranged to accompany heads of state and government of politically sensitive countries such as the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany, as well as South Korea and Israel. Japanese regulations prohibit all bodyguards of foreign dignitaries from carrying weapons to avoid disputes over relations between the two countries in the unlikely event of a shooting incident.
Generally speaking, when dealing with visiting foreign leaders, each country arranges the corresponding security measures at home. For example, Germany lists visiting heads of state, speakers of parliament, heads of government, cabinet members, etc. as targets for providing security, with the level of protection corresponding to the level of their leaders.
In 2010, Ambode, a White House correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, was allowed to cover the Secret Service's security deployment in New York during the UN General Assembly, becoming the first journalist to shadow Secret Service agents on the ground.
Similar to the preparations for the APEC conference in Beijing, the U.S. Secret Service arranged for 130 canine teams to screen for explosives, conducted fire safety sweeps, coordinated the installation of biological, chemical and radiation sensors, and had to replace some hotel room windows with bulletproof glass and blast screens. ...... Ambode's article depicts the Secret Service guarding more than 150 heads of state around the world.
A bodyguard usually guards the doorway at the scene of a gathering of dignitaries. (Southern Weekend reporter Yao Yijiang/Image)
It is a trait of a bodyguard to be highly alert to his surroundings at all times. (Southern Weekend reporter Yao Yijiang/photo)
"Armed to the teeth" multi-layered security
On the night of Sept. 19, 2014, Gonzalez, a 42-year-old U.S. Army veteran, darted more than 60 meters before turning the door handle of a building with his hand and entering the vestibule.
This would not have been an uncommon event, however, he turned away from the vestibule of the U.S. White House, just a few stairs away from President Barack Obama's residence.
Gonzalez, who spent six years in the U.S. Special Forces in Iraq, was plagued by a mental disorder and was eager to tell Obama "the sky is falling" that day, but unfortunately the president had just left the White House a few minutes earlier.
A few minutes of laxity only after the president left, the Secret Service in charge of security paid a small price, more than ten days later, the first female Secret Service Director Pierson announced her resignation and said "this will never happen again".
In fact, even if you enter the White House, Gonzalez has only broken through the outermost firewall, and if you turn inward, he will face the White House's tightly guarded deep defense system.
The U.S. Secret Service has divided all the agents guarding the White House into three teams deployed at specific strategic points. In addition to the outermost 500 agents in police uniforms, the middle layer of the security circle is located near the main buildings inside the White House and is on 24-hour patrol duty. The innermost circle of guards is located at the entrance to the president's office and rooms where he is staying. All bodyguards carry short weapons, and those in the middle level are able to place defensive weapons such as hand-held machine guns in nearby concealed places to deal with special situations.
Most countries in the world take such a defense system as the Secret Service for the protection of the president's residence, and if it comes to the president's travel, the bodyguards have more work to do.
Li Xu, who weighs 100 kg and has a 46 cm arm circumference, is known as "China's No. 1 bodyguard" after graduating from the American Academy of Political Protection. In his opinion, when the bodyguard has to risk his life, the protection work has failed.
"For dignitaries, most attacks from political enemies and foreign forces are fatal. That's why multiple layers of protection and preparation can be especially important." Li Xu said.
When Russian President Vladimir Putin travels, the bodyguards of the Russian Presidential Security Service can be divided into two types of roles: "entourage" and "men in black". The "attendant" is the person closest to him, dressed in civilian clothes, carrying a 9mm pistol and a briefcase and other similar items in his hands, which are actually folding bulletproof shields. The "men in black" are other guards dressed in black, serving as a deterrent and peripheral protection.
Typically, the Presidential Security Service has four layers of firewalls to ensure security. The inner layer is usually composed of strong young men, wearing headphones and carrying "briefcases", surrounding Putin in front and behind, forming a human shield; the second outer layer is mixed in the crowd of "plainclothes", to find suspicious faces, before people are aware of, secretly The second layer is the "plainclothes" people who find suspicious faces and secretly shoot down dangerous people before they notice; the next layer is the escorts who block the crowd; the outermost layer consists of snipers who can kill dangerous people directly from the outside when they find problems.
When Putin first took office, he went all out against illegal Chechen forces when terrorists offered a $2 million bounty on the Internet for Putin's life. The dire situation led the public to suggest finding a stand-in for Putin to keep him safe. The Russian Presidential Security Service responded to this with - "No need".
The bodyguards who were able to appear in the APEC footage were the most high-profile of the group of "shadows". Behind them, there is the most confidential security system for dignitaries in each country, as well as the "secret weapon" to ensure the safety of dignitaries.
These days, the Beijing police have done enough work for the APEC meeting security, and the use of new equipment to build the outermost circle of protection: three "eyes" of the detonation robot, the new 768 bus lane dedicated cameras, 161 street security "command "...... but to guarantee 100% security for the heads of state, this is not all.
The important meeting where dignitaries gather, photojournalists pay a little attention, you may find some of these people: headphones, not a word, serious expression. When the dignitary speaks, stand behind; when the dignitary meets, wait at the door; when the dignitary is interviewed, stand aside. They are the bodyguards of the dignitaries - also known as "shadows", the most personal layer of protection for the dignitaries.
To be able to appear in the camera bodyguards, has been the highest profile of this group of "shadow" existence. Behind them, there is the most confidential security system of each country's dignitaries, as well as the "secret weapons" to ensure the safety of dignitaries.
Headphones, not a word, serious expression, is the commonality of all "shadow", the reporter tried to talk to Singapore's defense minister Huang Yong Hong's bodyguard, but did not get a response. (Southern Weekend reporter Yao Yijiang / photo)
Not every dignitary can have a bodyguard
"Bosnia, arrival received, 43."
"Slovakia, arrival, 46."
This conversation took place on September 23, 2010, at 2:30 p.m. The U.S. Secret Service was closely monitoring the heads of state coming to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. 43 and 46 are code names set by bodyguards for specific places.
The Secret Service is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and in the world, most of the bodyguards of dignitaries come from various related units such as military, police and gendarmerie. However, bodyguards have limited resources, which ones are their key protection targets?
Generally speaking, presidents, prime ministers, speakers of parliaments, military handlers and members of the royal family are able to enjoy the protection of higher-level guards. Within the country, dignitaries hierarchy, positions and job attributes often determine the likelihood of danger and the availability of bodyguards.
For example, the French security services assign bodyguards to the president, prime minister, interior minister, defense minister and foreign minister, while the speaker of the parliament and other ministers have an entourage of guards. The Prime Minister has more than 30 bodyguards, the Ministers of Interior, Defense and Foreign Affairs have more than 10 bodyguards, while the other ministers have only 2 bodyguards in their entourage.
In Germany, the Federal President, the Speaker of the Parliament, and the Federal Chancellor are the main leaders of the country, and they are protected by first-class security measures with 24-hour bodyguards. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance and Defense take a higher level of security, while other ministers may not assign accompanying guards.
The UK has security guards for members of the royal family, the Prime Minister, and some important cabinet members, generally with one personal bodyguard each. The chief of defense staff, chiefs of staff of the army, navy and air force, and other senior generals are generally not provided with bodyguards, but have specially trained drivers who also serve as bodyguards.
Among the 45,000 police officers of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, there are only about 200 people who can enter the "Security Special Police Team" to protect the Prime Minister, and Moeomi Ishida, who is in her early twenties and a third-degree kendo player, is one of them. Recently, she has been talked about in the Japanese political circles of Nagata-cho because she is one of the personal bodyguards of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. It is not too much to describe Ishida as "the elite of the elite". The black suit, white shirt, and coat buttons are not fastened in order to be able to quickly take out the equipment. Moeomi Ishida's resemblance to Japanese actress Yoko Maki was filmed on duty and spread on the Internet.
The security police team is part of the Police Protection Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, and all of them wear fitted civilian clothes and a numbered badge on their chests. The badge features the sun, moon and cherry blossoms, symbolizing their hard work in defending Japan day and night.
In addition to guarding their own Prime Minister, Japanese police officers are also required to take care of all security work when foreign dignitaries visit Japan. In Japan, relatively tight security guards are adopted and bodyguards are arranged to accompany heads of state and government of politically sensitive countries such as the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany, as well as South Korea and Israel. Japanese regulations prohibit all bodyguards of foreign dignitaries from carrying weapons to avoid disputes over relations between the two countries in the unlikely event of a shooting incident.
Generally speaking, when dealing with visiting foreign leaders, each country arranges the corresponding security measures at home. For example, Germany lists visiting heads of state, speakers of parliament, heads of government, cabinet members, etc. as targets for providing security, with the level of protection corresponding to the level of their leaders.
In 2010, Ambode, a White House correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, was allowed to cover the Secret Service's security deployment in New York during the UN General Assembly, becoming the first journalist to shadow Secret Service agents on the ground.
Similar to the preparations for the APEC conference in Beijing, the U.S. Secret Service arranged for 130 canine teams to screen for explosives, conducted fire safety sweeps, coordinated the installation of biological, chemical and radiation sensors, and had to replace some hotel room windows with bulletproof glass and blast screens. ...... Ambode's article depicts the Secret Service guarding more than 150 heads of state around the world.
A bodyguard usually guards the doorway at the scene of a gathering of dignitaries. (Southern Weekend reporter Yao Yijiang/Image)
It is a trait of a bodyguard to be highly alert to his surroundings at all times. (Southern Weekend reporter Yao Yijiang/photo)
"Armed to the teeth" multi-layered security
On the night of Sept. 19, 2014, Gonzalez, a 42-year-old U.S. Army veteran, darted more than 60 meters before turning the door handle of a building with his hand and entering the vestibule.
This would not have been an uncommon event, however, he turned away from the vestibule of the U.S. White House, just a few stairs away from President Barack Obama's residence.
Gonzalez, who spent six years in the U.S. Special Forces in Iraq, was plagued by a mental disorder and was eager to tell Obama "the sky is falling" that day, but unfortunately the president had just left the White House a few minutes earlier.
A few minutes of laxity only after the president left, the Secret Service in charge of security paid a small price, more than ten days later, the first female Secret Service Director Pierson announced her resignation and said "this will never happen again".
In fact, even if you enter the White House, Gonzalez has only broken through the outermost firewall, and if you turn inward, he will face the White House's tightly guarded deep defense system.
The U.S. Secret Service has divided all the agents guarding the White House into three teams deployed at specific strategic points. In addition to the outermost 500 agents in police uniforms, the middle layer of the security circle is located near the main buildings inside the White House and is on 24-hour patrol duty. The innermost circle of guards is located at the entrance to the president's office and rooms where he is staying. All bodyguards carry short weapons, and those in the middle level are able to place defensive weapons such as hand-held machine guns in nearby concealed places to deal with special situations.
Most countries in the world take such a defense system as the Secret Service for the protection of the president's residence, and if it comes to the president's travel, the bodyguards have more work to do.
Li Xu, who weighs 100 kg and has a 46 cm arm circumference, is known as "China's No. 1 bodyguard" after graduating from the American Academy of Political Protection. In his opinion, when the bodyguard has to risk his life, the protection work has failed.
"For dignitaries, most attacks from political enemies and foreign forces are fatal. That's why multiple layers of protection and preparation can be especially important." Li Xu said.
When Russian President Vladimir Putin travels, the bodyguards of the Russian Presidential Security Service can be divided into two types of roles: "entourage" and "men in black". The "attendant" is the person closest to him, dressed in civilian clothes, carrying a 9mm pistol and a briefcase and other similar items in his hands, which are actually folding bulletproof shields. The "men in black" are other guards dressed in black, serving as a deterrent and peripheral protection.
Typically, the Presidential Security Service has four layers of firewalls to ensure security. The inner layer is usually composed of strong young men, wearing headphones and carrying "briefcases", surrounding Putin in front and behind, forming a human shield; the second outer layer is mixed in the crowd of "plainclothes", to find suspicious faces, before people are aware of, secretly The second layer is the "plainclothes" people who find suspicious faces and secretly shoot down dangerous people before they notice; the next layer is the escorts who block the crowd; the outermost layer consists of snipers who can kill dangerous people directly from the outside when they find problems.
When Putin first took office, he went all out against illegal Chechen forces when terrorists offered a $2 million bounty on the Internet for Putin's life. The dire situation led the public to suggest finding a stand-in for Putin to keep him safe. The Russian Presidential Security Service responded to this with - "No need".
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