Chinese take on security staff to impress potential partners
BODYGUARDS are being hired by thousands of ordinary people in China who have no need for protection but want to impress love interests or intimidate neighbours.
The number of online inquiries about bodyguard hire has risen four-fold from last year according to Taobao, a digital shopping platform.
Chinese media said more than 10,000 people placed orders for a “Private Bodyguard” service on Taobao during the first 20 days of January.
One man in his 20s named as Xiaoran reportedly paid a muscly bouncer £170 a day to speed him from the capital, Beijing, to Hebei province in northern China during last week’s Spring Festival in order to boost his image in the eyes of former neighbours.
The bodyguard carried out additional duties like carrying his bag and holding his umbrella, to give the impression of celebrity status.
Xiaoran said he used the service to convince local matchmakers to try harder to find him a “good” woman.
The practice of hiring bodyguards to impress has generated debate across social media, with some criticising “these young people who don’t have any socialist character and only care about showing off.
Some have likened the service to hiring a “boyfriend,” especially during the Spring Festival when women face a spike in pressure from family members urging them to get married.
“I’d like to hire a boyfriend for seven days during the Spring Festival. I’m not rich, I can only offer 500 yuan (£55) per day. He will talk to me, be nice to my relatives, and offer a cigarette and a cup of tea when meeting them,” said one woman on the Weibo social media app.
A client of one of the bodyguard agencies said she used the service to protect her from physical conflicts with her ex-husband.
“I had a divorce dispute with my ex-husband who is very tall and strong. I hired a bodyguard for one month to prevent him from taking my child away. The guard handled the situation successfully several times when I had physical conflict with my ex,” she wrote on Taobao.
One person who said he was beaten while out walking with his dog, reported feeling “much more safe and free now” after hiring a bodyguard.
Another service user hired several bodyguards to escort a family member who didn’t want to go to hospital for treatment.
Bodyguards-for-hire have also risen in popularity in recent years as ordinary citizens turn to them for travel companions or for more serious roles such as protecting domestic abuse survivors.
In major cities, private guards service can be dispatched within 30 minutes. Some companies offer “predominantly Dutch, British and US trained agents from specialised military, police and intelligence units.”