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Kim Jong Un impersonator ‘deported from Vietnam’ ahead of summit

Authorities were reportedly unhappy at lookalikes holding mock meetings ahead of the real summit between the North Korea and US leaders.
Authorities were reportedly unhappy at lookalikes holding mock meetings ahead of the real summit between the North Korea and US leaders. Authorities were reportedly unhappy at lookalikes holding mock meetings ahead of the real summit between the North Korea and US leaders.

A Kim Jong Un impersonator claims he is being deported from Vietnam as the real North Korean leader arrives in the south-east Asian country for a summit with US President Donald Trump.

The lookalike, an Australian who lives in Hong Kong and goes by the name Howard X, had been holding mock meetings with a Trump doppelganger around the Vietnamese capital before allegedly being “interrogated” and subsequently kicked out of the country.

“The official reason is because my visa was invalid, however my real crime was looking like the president of North Korea,” wrote Howard X in a Facebook post on Sunday.

Getting a goodbye kiss from Trump (Russell White) at my deportation of Vietnam. I was personally escorted from my hotel…Posted by Kim Jong "UM" "Howard" Kim Jong Un 김정은 Lookalike/Impersonator A貨金正恩 冒牌金正恩 on Sunday, February 24, 2019

On Friday he published a lengthy Facebook post describing a “mandatory interview” at the hands of Vietnamese police at a national television station.

Howard X and Trump impersonator Russel White were invited to film a TV appearance, he said, before “15 police or immigration officers” arrived to speak with the pair.

After refusing to comply with demands to cease the impersonation act, police reportedly said Howard X was breaking immigration laws for obtaining a visa through a travel agency which is not “recognised”.

Just got released after being interrogated by the Vietnamese security officialsYesterday I made my first public appearance with a new Donald Trump impersonator “Russell White” and hit the streets of Hanoi Vietnam at 2pm. After our story blew up on both the international and local press we were invited to VT1 building at 23 Lac Trung street, Hai Ba Trung district at around 5pm and arrived at around 5:40pm. All the 50 or so staff at the news section were extremely excited to see us and we taped an interview that was supposed to air nationally with local journalist Hoàng Duy last night. Right after we shot the piece and was being in the process of subtitled and translated, about 15 police or immigration officers came to the 6th floor of the TV station and demanded a mandatory “interview” with us.We told them that we were in no mood for an interview as we were headed out for dinner but the officer said that it was mandatory that we sit down with them as it is the law of the land that we must be “interviewed” when the police asks for one. That is despite although we were not charged with breaking any laws of the country. We were taken to different parts of the room where we were interviewed separately and were asked to present our passports in regards to our visas, how we managed to obtain them, who we obtained them from and what our plans were for the duration of our stay. They then said that this was a very sensitive time in the city due to the Trump/Kim summit and that our impersonation was causing a “disturbance” and he suggested that we do not do the impersonation in public for the duration of our stay as these presidents have many enemies and that it was for our own safety. I then told him that first of all everyone loved the act and treated us like rock stars and second we did not break any laws of the country. I told him that being a professional impersonator is not a crime and that these were our natural good looks and that even if we were not wearing a suit, we still get recognised in public and asked for photos. So I asked him if it was a crime for simply looking like a famous political figure.The officer did not seem pleased with my answer. After checking my passport he then proceeded to tell me because I got my visa through a travel agency, I was breaking immigration laws as the agency is not a recognised agency and that all visas issued through a travel agency must provide an itinerary and personally accompany all their clients 24/7 everywhere they go. Because the company had failed to do so they have the right to deport me. In addition he said that it was illegal for me to be giving interviews to the press without offical permission for the government of Vietnam although we were officially invited by the government TV channel VTC.My reply to this ridiculous threat to deport me for giving interviews and “breaking” immigration law for not having the right papers was that they were just looking for an excuse to threaten me for doing my impersonation in public. After all I known thousands of tourists go through this company, which means if the law was applied as it was written, all of them would be deported. For reference the visa was applied through https://vietnamvisacenter.org, a very reputable company for visas to Vietnam as listed on the Lonely Planet travel guides.So I said so what you are going to deport me now to the airport? He then said that as he is a low ranking officer, he will have to send this information to the people higher up the chain to make a decision whether I would be deported later on. They are willing to temporarily release us given the conditions I had to sign a statement that they had written up in Vietnamese, that I must not move from my hotel to another one, not give anymore interviews and not to do any more impersonations in public. So of course I reluctantly said yes and signed the statement they had written up for me, as if I had a choice. So after being interrogated by these officers for around 2.5 hours, we were released and driven back to the hotel in an unmarked police van. However before we left the TV building, all of the police and security wanted to take a photo with us, after all that grieve they gave us over our impersonation!When we arrived back at our hotel there were a bunch of uniformed police officers already in the lobby waiting for us. Apparently according to the guests and staff from the hotel that I spoke to, they were waiting for us since 4pm. After speaking to “Russell White” the Trump impersonator, he recognised that one of the security officers who were integrating us in the room were following us around the whole day. Although we never told anyone that we were at the TV station, this guy followed us to the building before informing the rest his crew to come and harass us. Because of this whole incident, the interview that we recorded at VT1 was not aired last night.Although I am not surprised that I got detained for doing my impersonation in Vietnam, it’s still pretty annoying. What it shows is that Vietnam has a long way to to go before they will be a developed country and I wonder if they ever will under these conditions. If the Vietnamese authorities are willing to give this kind of harassment over something as trivial as an impersonation to a high profile foreigner, imagine what all the Vietnamese artists, musicians, film producers and all the political activists have to endure for simply wanting to release a controversial film, songs or for simply speaking up about real injustices in this country.If the Vietnamese authorities are reading this, let me just say to you that this kind of harassment is making your country look backwards and stupid to the rest of the civilised world. We did not break any laws. If we do indeed get deported or jailed simply for looking like a famous political figure, you will not only make your country an international laughing stock but affect people wanting to invest in your country and tourists coming to spend their money here. After all if we get punished over something so trivial, it shows that your country has no rule of law and that any tourist, entertainer investor could simply be punished at the whim of some over zealous government official. Also I would like to add that by having such high profile impersonators in your country, we are creating good satire and giving your country an extra week of positive free press around the world before the real summit. You should be paying us and rolling out the red carpet instead! Just look at the media footage in how excited your fellow country men gets when they see us, we are approachable, the real presidents are not!As I am writing this entry, there is police officer stationed right outside my hotel to track our movements. Come on really? Are we living in 2019 or 1984?Stay tuned to this site for updates but if I suddenly fall silent, I’ve probably been disappeared by the Vietnamese government. *Attached is the video the moment the police whisked us into the room for integration before being “asked” to stop shooting.#Hanoi #HanoiSummit #VietnamSummit #Vietnam #SingaporeSummit #SingaporeMeeting #김정은 #金正恩 #KimJongUn #冒牌金正恩 #A貨金正恩 #NorthKorea #DPRK #北韓 #北朝鮮 #강성대국 #朝鮮民主主義人民共和国 #조선민주주의인민공화국 #DennisRodman #金仔 #金小胖 #A貨金小胖 #Pyongyang #SupremeLeader #DearLeader #Trump #impersonator #lookalike #interview #InterrogationPosted by Kim Jong "UM" "Howard" Kim Jong Un 김정은 Lookalike/Impersonator A貨金正恩 冒牌金正恩 on Friday, February 22, 2019

“My reply to this ridiculous threat to deport me for giving interviews and ‘breaking’ immigration law for not having the right papers was that they were just looking for an excuse to threaten me for doing my impersonation in public,” Howard X wrote.

He went on to slam the authorities for making the country “look backwards and stupid” for shutting down satire.

“As I am writing this entry, there is police officer stationed right outside my hotel to track our movements. Come on really? Are we living in 2019 or 1984?” he added.

Vietnamese authorities did not respond to requests for comment.

Howard X was pictured giving a faux-emotional goodbye to his partner in impersonations, White, who has reportedly been allowed to stay in the country on the condition that he does not appear in public in costume.

Earlier in February Howard X made headlines and drew huge crowds touring Hong Kong with a doppelganger of Philippine leader Rodrgio Duterte.

He also visited Singapore for the last Trump-Kim summit in June 2018, where he said authorities kept a close eye on his movements but “were a lot more subtle about it”.

“It just proves that all dictatorships fear any forms of satire, even something as trivial as an impersonator,” he added.