Furious tour guides rally at Phuket cop shop after fight over jobs

[webfact]

Furious tour guides rally at Phuket cop shop after fight over jobs
Prapaporn Jitmaneeyaphan


Registered guides outside Wichit Police Station this afternoon.

PHUKET: -- More than 50 legal Chinese-speaking tour guides assembled at Wichit Police Station late this afternoon (January 6) to try to learn the status of a police investigation into fighting between their colleagues and an illegal Chinese guide.

The rally was sparked by a complaint lodged with Wichit police at around 1:30 pm by Tao Langlang, who alleged that he had been assaulted yesterday at a restaurant called Jong Hua.

Somchai Saetung and some friends, all Chinese guides holding guide licenses, are accused of the attack on Mr Tao.

Police declined to say how many are accused of involvement in the attack. In fact, they refused to give any details at all to the press. Pol Lt Thapanee Warinsa-ad, officer on duty, told The Phuket News briefly, “We can’t give any details because it is still under investigation.”

Mr Tao also declined to comment.

But Pathompong Saeho, a friend of Mr Somchai’s said, “We came here to hear what the result will be. They [the alleged attackers] are our friends. [Mr Tao] asked [Mr Somchai] how long he had gone without work. He [Mr Tao] was contemptuous towards him. That’s why [the fight started].”

Another friend, Kreangkamon Wongwan, alleged, “He [Tao] is working illegally as a guide, and came here to take our jobs. Why did he have to say things like that?”

Several other guides took turns explaining to The Phuket News that the main reason they were at the police station was because they wanted to complain to the Thai government and the authorities about the lack of action against “all these illegal Chinese guides”.

Mr Kreangkamon said, “Now, we don’t have a government [in Thailand] so we don’t know who we can talk to. These illegal guides come here as tourists. They don’t know what the colours on the Thai flag mean. They don’t even know their way around a map of Phuket. They don’t know Thai history, and they give tourists wrong information. They twist history.”

Pairoj Wutthiwarawong told The Phuket News, “There are about 800 Chinese-speaking guides holding licenses in Phuket. Now, some can get no work because [the illegal guides] are competing for jobs.

“Being a guide in Thailand is reserved only for Thais. These illegal Chinese guides explain to tourists that the blue colour of the Thai flag means sapphires, red is for rubies and white is for zircon.

“They don’t know the real meaning – that red is for the nation, white is for faith and blue is for the King.”

Chaifu Saelee, leading the rally, said, “We were going to call for the right thing to be done soon, but this happened first, so we are here today to hear what the result is. We will rally again tomorrow on Poonphol Rd.”

Poonphol Rd, in Phuket Town, is home to a tour company, Tai Lee Co, which, the legal guides say, will be the focus of a rally to call for “fairness”.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/furious-tour-guides-rally-at-phuket-cop-shop-after-fight-over-jobs-43872.php


-- Phuket News 2014-01-07

[eezergood]

I love their cry for fairness, perhaps you know how it feels to be ripped off! Its that essential Thainess, enojoy

[alfalfa19]

Struggling for position at the trough.

[AyG]

Shoddy reporting. There's no such thing as "Chinese-speaking". There's "Mandarin-speaking", "Cantonese-speaking", "Hokkien-speaking" &c., &c.. Most Thai-Chinese originated in Teochew so are "Teochew-speaking". What languages does the illegal guide speak? Is it just possible he was covering a language that the local guides don't?

[chooka]

Wasn't Thailand colonised by the Chinese?

[Honkie]

Wasn't Thailand colonised by the Chinese?

That's exactly the kind of Thai History that the local guides don't want anybody to know about.

[Mrjlh]

Wasn't Thailand colonised by the Chinese?

No....

[KarenBravo]

Wasn't Thailand colonised by the Chinese?

No....

Wrong.

[steelepulse]

The Chinese guide was attacked because he said something that offended the Thai guides. Imagine that!

Looking at the body language in the above photo, this wasn't a discussion about which pub to go to for a cold beverage.

[Big Pinkie]

Wasn't Thailand colonised by the Chinese?

No....

Wrong.

we would tell you but it is still under investigation and we haven't started the fight yet.

[stevenl]

Shoddy reporting. There's no such thing as "Chinese-speaking". There's "Mandarin-speaking", "Cantonese-speaking", "Hokkien-speaking" &c., &c.. Most Thai-Chinese originated in Teochew so are "Teochew-speaking". What languages does the illegal guide speak? Is it just possible he was covering a language that the local guides don't?

This is only about Mandarin speaking guides.

[harrry]

First thing I would do is deregister the so called guides as people not suitible as shown by their engaging in violence.

[Mrjlh]

Wasn't Thailand colonised by the Chinese?

No....

Wrong.

Thailand may have been "occupied" but they have never been colonized! Show me otherwise.

[JoeThePoster]

Luckily both sides could unanimously agree that the pole was good for shafting tourists.

[Roel]

Wasn't Thailand colonised by the Chinese?

It still is but they gave them Thai citizenship.

Edited January 7, 2014 by Roel

[keestha]

These 800 licensed Chinese speaking guides, how good would their Mandarin be?

[eezergood]

These 800 licensed Chinese speaking guides, how good would their Mandarin be?

Probably very - I have 2 staff that are fluent, they are on minimum salary & can barely speak English. One can even 'get by' in Hokkien

[clockman]

Wasn't Thailand colonised by the Chinese?

Still is!

[Wombat6]

So, why all these disgruntled guides are having a meeting, who is guiding the tourists ???

[klauskunkel]

These illegal guides come here as tourists. They don’t know what the colours on the Thai flag mean.

I know!

red = hit

white = run

blue = 500bt fine

[BradinAsia]

Wasn't Thailand colonised by the Chinese?

No....

Wrong.

There were several waves of migration from what is now Yunnan province into what was then Lanna Kingdom 800-1,000 yrs ago.

Lanna Kingdom included parts of present-day northern Burma, Laos and northern Thailand. The populations of those areas today

are comprised largely by the descendants of those immigrants from southwest China.

To say that China colonized Thailand is to reveal a serious lack of knowledge of the history of this region.

[skorchio]

Wasn't Thailand colonised by the Chinese?

No Thailand was not, but Phuket was more or less. The Thais and the Chinese do share common ancestry though, the T'ai walked out of modern day China a long time ago and were separated by the Ice Age ice movements. The Tai settled in Thailand Laos and Cambodia and went brown. The Chinese stayed up north in China in the cold and went white. Chinese arrived in Phuket in 1800s and made up 80% of the population at one point, but many of them were purged or murdered when the locals decided they didn't like the Chinese any more. Those who had married and integrated were allowed to stay, but in a Thai capacity.

[Emster23]

"Wasn't Thailand colonised by the Chinese?" Sorry to say no. Perhaps could have picked up some cultural traits like hard work, value education, etc. Look at Vietnam for comparison.

[Lite Beer]

Chinese tour guide war in Phuket turns violent
Phuket Gazette -

PHUKET: Scuffles broke out in front of Wichit Police Station yesterday as tensions boiled over between Chinese-speaking Thai tour guides and Chinese nationals who they accuse of taking their jobs.

More than 100 Thai guides gathered at the station in support of Suraphol Saelub, 24; Somchai Saetung, 39; and Ja Saema, also 39, who all face charges of attacking Chinese national Ta Leng in a restaurant near Wat Nakaram on Sunday.

“Mr Leng works for the tour company Tai Lee Co, which is based at the Phun Phol Night Plaza in Phuket Town,” Wichit Police Superintendent Chawalit Phetsipear told the Phuket Gazette.

“He filed a complaint that he was attacked by six Thai tour guides, and that he was struck on the head with a bottle during the attack,” Col Chawalit said.

“We invited Mr Leng and the three men he accused to come to the station on Monday so we could question them,” Col Chawalit said.

Tempers boiled over as Mr Leng and his work colleagues left the police station after the meeting. Angry guides accused Mr Leng of working as an illegal guide and questioned the ethics of his employer.

“Illegal guides is a serious problem affecting us. Working as a guide is a job reserved [by law] for Thais, but many tour companies hire Chinese nationals as guides,” said Chaifu Saelee, a 43-year-old Chinese-speaking tour guide.

“They are taking our jobs and we are left with no work, so we would like officials to help find a solution to this problem,” he said.

In April last year, Mr Chaifu led a protest group of tour guides to complain to Governor Maitri Inthusut that over 300 Chinese guides were stealing their jobs.

Last July, Mr Chaifu noted that there were not enough legal Chinese-speaking Thai guides in Phuket and encouraged the local government to remedy the situation. He also urged police to diligently check tour companies to make sure they were complying with guide laws and not hiring Chinese citizens as guides.

To bring the issue to the attention of Phuket’s top-ranking official once again, tour guides will march from the Clocktower Circle (map here) to Provincial Hall on Friday to hand a formal complaint to Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut, Mr Chaifu added.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2014/Chinese-tour-guide-war-in-Phuket-turns-violent-23201.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2014-01-07

[mickeymouse22]

i just wonder what level their speaking and understanding ability is? if its anything like there collegues who speak english or russian as guides. quite low then.

someday won't be many tourist to fight about anyways. only so much the chinese will put up with and move on to another destination. i don't recall how many times i have read the chinese consulate and officials have told thai officials to clean up their toilet.

by the look of the photo. they all look like the maniac mini van drivers. should apply there for work.

[virtualtraveller]

I'd say, if you are Chinese speaking Thai right now and can't find a job you must be useless. Get over it. There will eventually be so many Chinese tourists you won't manage to cope.

[NamKangMan]

Wasn't Thailand colonised by the Chinese?

No....

Wrong.

Thailand may have been "occupied" but they have never been colonized! Show me otherwise.

I can show you my passport. I'm living here, I gather you are as well, and so are hundreds of thousands of other foreigners, many of which are having racially mixed kids.

Seems to me like the place is colonized.

[H1w4yR1da]

Wasn't Thailand colonised by the Chinese?

No....

You're correct. The question should have been phrased "Isn't Thailand colonized by the Chinese?".

[KarenBravo]

Seems there are only two ways to address a complaint here.

Beat it up, or, complain to the government. In this case...both.

[eezergood]

"Wasn't Thailand colonised by the Chinese?" Sorry to say no. Perhaps could have picked up some cultural traits like hard work, value education, etc. Look at Vietnam for comparison.

Who said the Chinese have these traits? How many Chinese have you employed or worked with?? I personally had about 150 staff in Beijing, hard work was not, particularly, a trait I noticed