The delegation of General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping and his wife to visit Vietnam have a powerful security force approaching China, they will go to “cut off” themselves to follow the object of the guard. surname.
But when they set foot in Vietnam, Vietnam’s security forces will have the task of approaching and protecting that delegation. At that time, because of my duty, I had to approach the lady, keep a certain distance, even the guard of my country did not walk next to her like that. After a few activities, they said they were very secure with Vietnam’s security forces.
After the airport pick-up ceremony, when going back to the delegation’s place, only me and my wife Peng Le Vien sat in the car, at that time I exchanged in English and asked the lady what the scenery was like in Hanoi. ? The lady said to teach her some Vietnamese sentences like “hello”, “thank you Nhung”. Because I also know a little bit of Chinese, I greeted my wife in Chinese, she said “can you speak Chinese?”, I answered yes, but very little.
Before performing her duties, how does Nhung often find out information regarding the object of the guard?
– My duty is to protect the access for foreign politicians who are women, including the wives of politicians, when on duty, the unit disseminates information to me. Personally, I often go online to find out their faces, age and height. I also learn regarding their social activities, which can be activities related to children, health care, education… Are they politicians or just doing professional jobs like doctors, teachers? … I meet many wives who are simply professionals. When they come to Vietnam, they often find out regarding similar jobs in Vietnam and I prepare information in advance to exchange.
I also learned regarding the customs and traditions of that country. During the course of my protection, there are many groups that are Jewish, some are Muslim or Buddhist… For example, if they follow Buddhism, I will share Vietnam’s Buddhist culture with them.
In addition, I also search for information regarding the subjects I will protect through official press channels, newspapers of their countries in English. This information is open information, which is very important for security officers to access. There are countries where they have a lot of similar faces, especially in Islam, when they wear a scarf, then we have to look through the body shape, jewelry …
My experience shows that when the delegations come to Vietnam, I introduce that Vietnam’s security will protect them, only following 1-2 activities, they trust me very much. They will respect their personal opinions. The country of Vietnam is a peaceful country, the female police officer also represents the female police of Vietnam, so what should be done to make them feel very friendly and completely secure.
So is there anything taboo that I need to avoid?
– Prior research regarding the factors is important information. There are subjects who guard themselves absolutely not to touch or shake hands, not to go too close, not to look directly in the face, … Delegations from Muslim countries are not allowed to touch their bodies.
In fact, when approaching protection, it is not necessary to touch their body, just in case of danger. If they shake hands, usually at the end of the show, they thank me when they leave. As for such taboo countries, I cannot shake hands and usually they will not extend their hand to shake my hand.
As far as I understand, the approaching security officer is not only good at martial arts, shooting… they also have very good observation and judgment, Nhung can share regarding this?
– We must understand the professional work process of the police officer. When doing tasks, the ability to observe is the instinct of each person. The generations before them also taught us how to observe, how to maintain a distance, a safe distance to stand in different terrains…
To do a good job of guarding access, each police officer himself must pay attention to the very small details. Therefore, sometimes the security officer approaches like the receptionist, because when passing through a certain landscape of Hanoi, they will ask, some people know very well regarding Vietnamese history. There are wives I meet, they love Vietnamese history very much and they respect President Ho Chi Minh very much, I must have knowledge of history.
With 12 years in the industry, of which 10 years as an approaching officer, which group impressed Nhung the most?
– The duty of the approaching security officer is to ensure absolute safety for the object he is protecting, because he may only meet them once. Therefore, when taking on a task, you have to put all your heart into the work. This work of ours is not allowed to make mistakes, because mistakes do not have the opportunity to correct mistakes and learn from experience.
Every group that comes is friendly and approachable, I personally sometimes teach a few Vietnamese sentences to them, or like Japan’s Empress Michiko, I feel like my grandmother, I feel very comfortable.
Also, I remember, at the end of 2016, the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina Higgins visited Vietnam. I have been assigned to protect the access of Lady Sabina Higgins.
Lady Sabina Higgins is a person who respects President Ho Chi Minh very much, once she and her wife went to buy badges with Uncle Ho’s picture as a souvenir. At that time, she was unmarried, when she went to the jewelry store, the lady bought her a bracelet and said, “I know that in Vietnam before the wedding, there is usually a ceremony, I give you this bracelet. for you to wear on that holiday, please take a photo and send it to me.”
Lady Sabina Higgins also gave me a fleece scarf and said I’ll give it to the baby in the future (laughs). She still has a card from Lady Sabina Higgins, which reads: “I am very happy in this visit to Vietnam, very happy to have you as my companion. I know you are not married, I hope You have a family and I dedicate this fleece blanket to keep your baby warm.” (laugh).
A group of children was also very impressed that in 2017, Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited Vietnam. Empress Michiko is elderly and has a warm voice.
An official of the Vietnamese embassy in Japan told me that I am a lucky person, in Japan people only get to see the King and Queen twice a year, on birthdays and Tet, but I was the one approached during the trip.
I remember at that time when I went to Hue City to receive the task of protecting the approach for Empress Michiko, it was raining heavily, but when the Emperor and Empress of Japan arrived at Phu Bai airport (Thua Thien Hue), the rain stopped. The weather was very nice at that time.
In principle, the Empress is not allowed to hold hands, but Empress Michiko always reaches out to hold her hand and say “Thank you”. The empress also told her that Japan will bring you blessings, you will have a husband and a baby. Indeed, following the visit of the Emperor and Empress of Japan, I got married.
In real life, she is happy and approachable, but in the press and television, Nhung is very cold. Is it because the job requires it?
– When I go to protect the group, I focus all my attention on work, so I don’t pay attention to the lens of the camera or camera. Sometimes I don’t have time to smile at the camera anymore. At that time, how can my guard object be on the right, so I have to cover more on the right. Your work must not be wrong, because wrong is no chance to correct.
But when she took off the police officer’s suit and returned to her family, in everyday life, she was like any other normal woman, cheerful, fresh and approachable. (laugh).
Thank you Nhung for this interesting conversation!
Content: Nguyen Duong
Photo:Do Quan, NVCC
Design:Tuan Huy
23/01/2023
