Dangerous hours

Private bodyguard services are also coming to the rescue in cases that are outside the remit of public security bureaus.

In September this year, a Shanghai man hired guards for his wedding banquet to stop his ex-girlfriend from ruining the event. Although the groom had received threats from the woman, experts say police are powerless to act unless a crime is actually committed.

"When people feel the threat but have no evidence, the authorities can't intervene," said Fang Fulai at Changhang Security, a Shanghai-based firm with about 6,000 employees. "Bodyguards are more experienced in dealing with disputes and can cater to specify needs."

Among the most burgeoning markets for security firms today is lawyers, who often faced with intimidation and violence.

Chai Chang, 25, has worked as a bodyguard in Beijing for more than a year. [Photo/China Daily]

Wu Dong at the Shanghai Bar Association said, although none of his colleagues have hired bodyguards, he knows of several who have been attacked by people involved in cases they are handling.

"We recently accompanied an attorney to a hearing in Jiangsu province," said Cheng Guanyao, a department manager for CCG Security. "The accused had hired people to threaten him and we were there to make sure we got him through the emergency gate safely."

Depending on the quality, security services are relatively inexpensive, with companies offering guards for as little as 100 yuan per hour. However, the more the danger, the higher the price.

Chai Chang raised her right hand to show China Daily reporters a long scar that runs along the tips of three fingers. She received the wound in October after tackling a thief.

"Of course, there are dangers. Otherwise why would people pay us to protect them?" said the 25-year-old, who has worked for Tianjiao Security in Beijing for more than a year. Looking at her scar, she added: "It's only a minor injury. They're common. Some of my colleagues have suffered much worse."

Chai was guarding a 40-year-old Beijing entrepreneur during a business trip to Shenzhen, a city in South China's Guangdong province, and had "sensed someone following us" during a walk by the sea.

"A man ran past and grabbed my client's Hermes handbag," she said. "I ran after him and caught him but he had a knife. I grabbed the blade with my right hand and held him down until the police arrived."

Even after surgery, the feeling in the tips of her fingers has not returned. Yet, she remains philosophical and insisted her job is to risk her well-being to protect someone else's. The salary helps, too.

Chai earns roughly 30,000 yuan a month, more than 10 times the average wage in Beijing, "so we're paid to face danger", she added calmly.

Zhou Jie (left), 26, from CCG Security in Shanghai, guards a Thai boxer at an event in Shanghai on Oct 27. [Photo/provided to China Daily]

Two employees of Tianjiao Security in Beijing practice their fighting skills. [Photo/China Daily]

Seeking protection

The security services market is also being boosted by customers involved in the country's property, mining and financial sectors, which are also prone to conflict.

Xu Ming (not her real name), from Zhengzhou, Henan province, whose family own development firms and hotels, told China Daily that, in 2007, she got bodyguard for her son - then 5 years old - after the attempted kidnap of one of her relatives. She said she also received several threatening text messages.

"Most people I meet from the business world have bodyguards for themselves or their families because there are so many kidnappings and acts of violence happening today," she explained.

Coal mine boss Zhang Min (he also did not want to be identified) in Beijing said he hired an army veteran and martial arts expert to be his driver in 2008 as "mining is a dangerous industry and very often I have to carry large amounts of cash with me".

However, many businessmen and women are choosing to beef up their security simply because their competitors are. China Daily reporters posing as potential customers contacted a man advertising bodyguard services on Baidu, the Chinese search engine. He said he was willing to "slash enemies" and claimed he had "forcefully collected debts" for previous clients.

Luo Ying, deputy manager of CCG Security's Beijing branch, said his company receives many calls from customers wanting "big-built men who can fight".

"There is still a gray area in the industry that clients want bodyguards to use for violence. Some companies don't reject (that kind of) business," he said, adding that there is also a habit of people hiring friends instead of professionals, which means there is a risk they could be untrained or undisciplined.

Zhang Hong at the Chinese People's Public Security University said the current level of social conflicts and crime is "natural" for a country with an economy at this stage of development.

However, other experts argue that the growing number of disputes over home relocations and migrant workers in recent years has exacerbated the situation.

After a spate of shocking attacks on school children last summer, security firms said they saw a marked increase in the number of wealthy families looking for bodyguards to protect youngsters.

In 2009, the financial crisis forced many large factories to downsize or relocate, causing labor disputes or social instability.

Luo said he and his colleagues have been drafted in many times to escort company managers during standoffs with angry or sacked workers demanding more compensation.

Last year was the best on record for CCG Security, as well as for many others, and bosses expect revenues to peak even higher in 2010.

In fact, China's nouveau riche are creating such a demand for protection services that many international firms are attempting to take a piece of the pie. One of them is GST Security Technique Consulting, a German company that set up offices in Beijing two years ago and is looking to further expand its operations.

As the firm's general manager Armin Liebler put it: "No company can afford to ignore the Chinese market right now."

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