After waiting for more than half an hour, Director Wei, who went to coordinate with the airport, came back. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Director Wei is in his fifties, dressed in a suit and leather shoes, with a personable demeanor and a warm attitude. Director is just a customary title within the embassy, but in fact, he is also a counselor, and he is a political counselor!

There are so many functional departments of the embassy, and the political department in charge of him ranks first.

The Political Office is responsible for the political relations between the two countries, the contacts and exchanges between the Governments, and is responsible for collecting, understanding and studying the political, social and economic conditions of the host countries, and providing the necessary materials and opinions for the formulation of policies by the Governments.

It can be said that the Political Department is the most important office of the embassy, so each embassy abroad does not necessarily have a science and technology office, a cultural office, an education department or even a military attache office, but without exception will have a political office.

In some embassies that do not have a minister or the rank of minister counselor, the political counselor is the second in command of the embassy, also known as the chief librarian, who assists the director in presiding over the affairs of the embassy and leading the work of the whole embassy. When the ambassador leaves the host country or returns home for vacation, debriefing, or meetings, the political counsellor acts as chargé d'affaires a.i., acting as the embassy's agent in all matters.

The three requirements of "finding people, being able to speak, and getting things done" also apply to professional diplomats like Counselor Wei.

When the prime minister visits South Africa next month, after the special plane lands, the embassy personnel and personnel of the Chinese-funded institutions who come to the airport to greet them will have to go to the airport security department to take pictures and make temporary documents before the special plane lands.

According to the plan, the special plane will stay at Johannesburg Airport for more than 40 hours, when the busy post-flight work such as refueling, maintenance, and cleaning of the special plane will be completed immediately. In order to ensure the safety of the special plane, several flight attendants and one safety officer should be left on the plane, and comrades from the Central Guard Bureau should remain on the plane to be responsible for security work.

The premier's visit is a big deal for the embassy, and every detail must be taken into account, and Counselor Wei is here to do these things, so he will give some gifts today, and invite people to dinner in two days.

As the head of the police liaison team, Han Bo is qualified to know this, and he will even participate in various preparations in the future, but there are many people in the car, and he can't say much about confidential matters.

Counselor Wei's words changed: "Comrade Xiaolei, although it is the first time we meet, I still know a lot about your situation, a strong woman, I have seen the world, and I am very fluent in English, so the museum needs talents like you." Even if I don't mention it now, when I get to the embassy, Ambassador Chen will ask if you are interested in helping out in the consular section?"

"Counselor Wei, can I help?" Although Li Xiaolei didn't want to be idle, she was not mentally prepared to work in the embassy.

She is not a diplomat, even her husband is not a professional diplomat, and it is normal not to understand this.

Counselor Wei and Counselor Jiang glanced at each other, and explained with a smile: "Comrade Xiaolei, you have caught up with the good times, and you can be stationed abroad with Counselor Han." On the issue of the family life of personnel stationed abroad, when the founding of New China was first established, we learned from the Soviet Union, and diplomats were allowed to take their wives abroad with them. However, due to financial difficulties, this benefit was soon abolished, and the personnel stationed abroad could only leave their families and embark on the journey abroad alone.

The first time I went abroad, I went to work as an attaché at an embassy in Europe, and for seven years I was alone away, leaving my children in the care of my wife, and I could only go back once every two or three years. The other comrades in the embassy are the same, so diplomats from other countries call our Chinese embassy a 'gong' embassy, and all of them are men, like a monk's temple. ”

"There aren't many people with their families now. Counselor Jiang was from the past, so he couldn't help but interject.

Counselor Wei nodded, and continued: "Later, the policy was slightly relaxed, and those who held the position of first-class secretary or above could consider bringing their wives." But there are still a few people with their wives, one is that there is no one to take care of the children, and the other is that if they go abroad, their own work in China will have to be lost, and can they still find a job when they return to China after going abroad for a few years? Therefore, only the wife who has retired and the child has reached adulthood is willing to go abroad with her husband, and most of them are unwilling to go abroad when you are so young. ”

"Counselor Wei, so there are not many family members in our embassy?"

"Not much. ”

Counselor Wei looked at Han Bo, and his eyes shifted to Li Xiaolei again: "With the increase in the country's economic strength and the liberalization of policies, diplomats can bring their wives when they go abroad." Because of work, children, etc., despite the policy, there are still very few people who are willing to go abroad together.

There are two situations for going abroad, one is within the establishment and the other is outside the establishment.

If you work in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs within the establishment, you will be determined to work in the embassy according to your specialty. For example, our wife of Ambassador Chen also works in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and with Ambassador Chen taking office, Mrs. Chen was appointed as the first secretary. There are also some wives who are proficient in foreign languages, and the ministry will give them a temporary establishment according to the actual situation, but the salary is not very high. ”

"There's no problem with the salary, but this doesn't meet the regulations?" Li Xiaolei really didn't want to be idle, so she looked back at her husband and stopped talking.

"In line with the regulations, Comrade Xiaolei, don't look at our embassy, the Political Office, the Military Attache Office, the Commercial Counsellor Office, the Cultural Office, the Science and Technology Office, the Education Office, and the Consular Department are all in charge, each performing its own duties. However, in South Africa, there are many Chinese citizens, there are many exchanges between the two countries, and the workload is rising, and comrades often wear multiple hats, and everyone has to learn to 'punch and kick'.

When manpower is the tightest, the accompanying family members have to go into battle, some work as cashiers, some manage the warehouse, and everyone has something to do anyway. For example, when the chief came to visit, all the men, women and children in the museum went into battle, but there were still not enough manpower, and they even had to ask for help from the neighboring embassies and consulates. ”

It's better to have something to do than nothing to do, and besides, she's just an idle person.

Han Bo nodded slightly, Li Xiaolei understood, and said with a smile: "Okay, I'll try, it doesn't matter if the salary is not paid, the main thing is to have something to do." ”

"It's definitely no problem, to be honest, it's really overkill for you to go to the consular department to help. ”

……

Let's talk and laugh, the construction site of the new museum has arrived, and the surrounding environment is really good.

It was important to take office, and I didn't have time to visit, so I shook hands with the compatriots of Zhongcheng Group and said goodbye, and went to the embassy with the car.

The new building is under construction, and the current building is an old building like a hotel, with a flagpole in front of the door, a five-star red flag fluttering on the flagpole, and a large national emblem hanging on the upper floor.

Han Bo was not surprised by the fact that during the period of chasing fugitives and recovering stolen goods, he often asked for assistance from embassies stationed abroad, because this was very characteristic of Chinese embassies abroad, and for quite a long time Chinese embassies and consulates abroad had adopted the practice of concentrating their lives and offices in the same place, and it was more convenient to use the buildings, so quite a number of Chinese embassies abroad purchased buildings -- especially hotel buildings -- to serve as the premises of Chinese embassies.

The layout is also similar, which can be roughly divided into several parts: office area, confidential area, activity area, and living area.

The office area is the main office of the embassy, and there is a reception room (reception room) that serves as the façade of the embassy, and there are offices in various offices. The confidential area is where the embassy's confidential communication equipment is located, the translation room, and the storage place of confidential documents and materials, which is where the core secrets are located, and it is also the nerve center of the embassy, and it is the most heavily guarded place for embassies of various countries.

The event area is a place for external activities, including reception rooms, banquet halls and multi-purpose halls.

The multi-purpose hall can be used to show movies, or hold large dinners, dances, various receptions, small exhibitions, etc. There are also auxiliary rooms such as workshops, kitchens, and screening rooms.

Of all the offices, the Police Liaison Group is the smallest.

For two people in total, only one office is required.

The dormitory is upstairs, similar to the standard room of the hotel, air conditioning, color TV and other electrical equipment are readily available, although the small is a little smaller, the living conditions are still good.

After settling down with the help of Liu Sansecretary, he went up and down in a circle, and visited the counselors, first secretaries, second secretaries, third secretaries, attachés and a few accompanying wives who were "doing chores" in various departments and offices in the museum, and an afternoon passed unconsciously.

In other words, when a counselor arrives at the museum, a small welcome ceremony is held.

However, this is not the usual time, and in order to welcome the arrival of the chief, the whole body and bottom are very busy, and it is not until after dinner that they are about to walk around the courtyard that Ambassador Chen and Minister Yang come back from their errands.

"Comrade Han Bo, welcome. ”

"Comrade Li Xiaolei, I'm sorry, according to the usual practice, I want to give a warm welcome, but there are a lot of things. ”

When he arrived at the embassy, the ambassador and minister were the top bosses, and Han Boli was saluting, serious and respectful. The two leaders were gentle and elegant, and after shaking hands, they directly invited the two to a reception room on the first floor.

This is a new unit, and not a new unit in general.

Han Bo is full of confidence in China, but here he feels like a primary school student, more or less restrained. Li Xiaolei was also a little uncomfortable, so she could only sit on the side and laugh without saying a word.

Ambassador Chen personally poured water for the two, and Minister Yang said that Han Bo did not smoke, so he walked to the window and smoked very gentlemanly.

"Comrade Han Bo, Comrade Xiaolei, don't be so restrained, going to the embassy is like going home, in fact, the embassy is a temporary family composed of people from all walks of life, and the members of the 'family' include career diplomats like me and Minister Yang, including civil servants of state organs, military officers and even chefs of the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, everyone knows each other here, and they will break up here in the future......"

The leaders talk and laugh like a homely person, without any arrogance, and give people the feeling that they are completely inconsistent with the ambassadors and ministers in suits and leather shoes, who enter the hall and enter the room, and who are extremely serious in the TV news, and there are no professional terms such as protocol, visits, appointments, notes, negotiations, protests, etc.

Han Bo smiled, Li Xiaolei was not as uncomfortable as before.

Since they arrived at the embassy, they are the people of the embassy.

During this period of work, Ambassador Chen decided that it was better to choose a day than to hit the day, and used this time to talk to the two of them, he looked around and said meaningfully: "In the 80s of the last century, people from foreign units made up a slip for us with envy, called 'Entering the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, going abroad is like walking'. Meaning, it is easy for people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to want to go abroad.

However, the taste of staying abroad is far less leisurely and chic than walking. Imagine, if you are alone, far away from your relatives, staying in a foreign country for many years, working day and night, and living a monotonous and boring life, even your children will not recognize you as a father after returning to China, let alone family education. How would you feel about such a 'walk'?"

"At that time, the messenger went to the embassy every one or two months, and it was really 'worth 10,000 dollars'!" Minister Yang added with a tacit understanding, and together with Ambassador Yang, he gave the two of them "on-site education".

"Some comrades whose parents have passed away can only be shocked by the late letters, so they have to mourn in their hearts. Many diplomats lament that they owe too much to their children, their wives, and their parents! Now, although they are allowed to take their wives and children abroad, many embassies are still 'monks' temples,' and their wives have not been able to accompany them. ”

Ambassador Yang took a sip of water and sighed with emotion: "I don't know if you have heard the story of 'one person raising the national flag'. In 1990, Comrade Wu Zhonghua was ordered to go alone to Kiribati, an island country in the South Pacific, to establish an embassy. On that pristine island, there was only an improvised road, no newspapers, no radio, not to mention television, and only the rough waters of the Pacific Ocean.

No one spoke Chinese to him, so he had to talk to himself in the mirror every day. The embassy is a straw-roofed bungalow with no courtyard walls. He overcame many difficulties, finally erected a flagpole in front of the embassy, and every morning he solemnly raised the bright five-star red flag alone. ”

"I've heard of it. ”

Compared with the old-timers, he really caught up with the good times, Han Bo said sincerely: "He is indifferent to fame and fortune, can endure hardship, endure loneliness, and writes a touching page of our Chinese diplomats being loyal to the motherland." ”

Ambassador Yang nodded with satisfaction: "The term of office of a police liaison officer is only two to four years, but career diplomats often spend half or more of their time in embassies and consulates abroad after joining the work. Moreover, some diplomats may be sent to several different countries in their lifetime, and their decades of diplomatic career may be spent in Europe, the United States, Asia, and Africa.

Whether a diplomat spends most of his life breathing the dry air of the Sahara Desert or spending many years of his youth in the cracks of New York's skyscrapers, or someone who has the opportunity to see different starry skies in the northern and southern hemispheres and hear the different waves of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans in his lifetime is entirely arranged by his superiors according to the needs of his work.

In a sense, the diplomatic career we are engaged in is a silent selfless dedication that involves personal and family sacrifice. And this spirit of dedication comes from boundless loyalty to the party and the people!"

Mystery and legend are just one side of a diplomat's life.

In fact, the life of a diplomat is the same as that of ordinary people, there are ups and downs in life, but at the moment the leaders are not only talking about the ups and downs of life.

When the ministry selects and dispatches personnel to foreign countries, the first consideration is also political reliability.

Han Bo immediately stood up and expressed his stance that he would take the predecessors of "one person raising the national flag" as an example, fulfill his duties, perform his duties, and never let down the trust of the party and the country in him.