Chiang Mai Uni under siege from 'bizarre' Chinese

[northernjohn]

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Maybe the University could stop allowing anyone (students included) to drive onto campus grounds, period? Just build a few multi-storey parking lots near the various entrances, force everyone except teachers to park there and only teachers would be allowed to park in front of their buildings. Everyone else would be forced to walk, ride a bicycle or catch a shuttle bus.

Over the years universities in other parts of the world have progressively banned cars from being driven around campus and turned their campuses into walking zones. An example is UNSW in Sydney, Australia. Back in the late 80s and early 90s it was possible to drive through campus, going from Barker St. to High St. although there would have been some parking restrictions already in place. Now, except for service vehicles, it is impossible to drive through most parts of campus anymore and you either have to park off campus or on campus in one of the provided parking garages if you have a parking sticker.

Such a solution would solve the issue of traffic accidents.

Note that even Chinese universities are following their western counterparts - there are universities in Kunming for example, where I wouldn't know where to find parking inside and there's no way you can drive through those campuses. Basically you are forced to park outside or only in specially designated areas.

Why can't Chiang Mai university learn from these international examples?

Because it is not Thai.

[heybruce]

"The intrusive behaviour included some Chinese pitching a tent near the Ang Kaew lake and writing “We are here” in paint on the ground; causing car accidents; sneaking into classrooms to take snaps of teachers and students; and leaving a mess in the canteen."

It's a university, it's not a theme park. Access was not restricted in the past because it wasn't abused, now access is being abused. I'd hate to see university access severely restricted, but it that's what it takes then that is what should be done.

I'll anticipate the derogatory comments that are sure to come: I've helped some of these students with English and sometimes other homework, they're intelligent young people who work very hard for their degrees. Most of them received piss poor English instruction before university and now have to do homework and research with books and papers written in English. They don't need the distractions and disturbances of clueless tourists that have no business on campus.

[Prbkk]

Lunacy. Money can't buy the publicity given to CMU by this film and they manage to turn it into a negative .

[Tomtomtom69]

A year in jail for wearing a school uniform???

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

That's quite extreme and if I were the family at the center of attention, I would immediately write a letter of complaint to all parties concerned: 1) the university concerned (Chiang Mai university), 2) the tourism authority of Thailand, 3) the ministry of tourism, 4) the Chinese consul-general, 5) the Thai ambassador or consul in the nearest Chinese city that has a Thai embassy or consulate (such as Kunming, Guangzhou, Beijing or Shanghai) and would leave Thailand immediately (that day or the next day), telling all my friends and relatives to avoid visiting Thailand. Similarly, I would go to the media to run a story on how I was treated.

Yes, it may have been poor form to do what they did, but is wearing a uniform they PAID for and taking pictures really such a "crime"? 100,000 Baht fine and 1 year in jail (even though it won't be imposed is quite extreme to even have such laws on the statute books).

Not to sidestep this discussion, but something is seriously wrong with the laws in this country when a benign stunt threatens to land you a whopping big fine and even jail time but major incidents get slap-on-the-wrist infractions. For example, no helmet, oh, that will be 100 Baht, thanks - run away from the police, no problem, they don't even attempt to chase you. In Vietnam, that'll be $15-50 or your bike, thanks.

100 Baht in this case should write the slate clean - but as I said, if I were the family I'd be so offended that I'd demand an apology for being harassed like this.

Edited March 2, 2014 by Tomtomtom69

[noitom]

Thais sieze on a money making opportunity. The Thai will think twice when some crazy Chinese starts stabbing people and killing a few. The Thais should enforce security at the university, and not view it as a paid show.

[Stone Inscription 1]

Nothing like that ever happened in the two years that I spent at Chiang Mai University in the mid-1980s.

Well, there was this one manager from Coca-Cola in Australia who came to the History Department looking for the best way to find a Thai wife. He was in a hurry because he had to return to Australia in two weeks. The next morning after telling the villagers where I was staying, between Doi Saket and Bo Sang, around 8 girls informed me that they would be willing to marry the guy. 555+

Of course, a number of Japanese men associated with Japan Air would come out to the campus and be introduced to female students for a short-term relationship by a member of one of Chiang Mai's tour groups.

[harrry]

A year in jail for wearing a school uniform???

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

That's quite extreme and if I were the family at the center of attention, I would immediately write a letter of complaint to all parties concerned: 1) the university concerned (Chiang Mai university), 2) the tourism authority of Thailand, 3) the ministry of tourism, 4) the Chinese consul-general, 5) the Thai ambassador or consul in the nearest Chinese city that has a Thai embassy or consulate (such as Kunming, Guangzhou, Beijing or Shanghai) and would leave Thailand immediately (that day or the next day), telling all my friends and relatives to avoid visiting Thailand. Similarly, I would go to the media to run a story on how I was treated.

Yes, it may have been poor form to do what they did, but is wearing a uniform they PAID for and taking pictures really such a "crime"? 100,000 Baht fine and 1 year in jail (even though it won't be imposed is quite extreme to even have such laws on the statute books).

Not to sidestep this discussion, but something is seriously wrong with the laws in this country when a benign stunt threatens to land you a whopping big fine and even jail time but major incidents get slap-on-the-wrist infractions. For example, no helmet, oh, that will be 100 Baht, thanks - run away from the police, no problem, they don't even attempt to chase you. In Vietnam, that'll be $15-50 or your bike, thanks.

100 Baht in this case should write the slate clean - but as I said, if I were the family I'd be so offended that I'd demand an apology for being harassed like this.

In most countries wearing a uniform to which you are not entitled to will get severe penalties. Just try wearing an army uniform with badges in the US. Or a Police uniform in england. Penalties would not be the same as for a traffic offence.

[hansnl]

So the DPR state of Lanna has got their first tourist attraction, to generate income to pay their farmers, progress made quickly

They get time to get used to be swamped by Chinese, governed by Chinese, do business China style, etc

I wonder what those stupid students would get for wearing Nazi-style uniforms?

Edited March 3, 2014 by hansnl

[klauskunkel]

They were taken to a local police station and warned they could be fined B100,000 or face up to a year in jail under Thai laws covering university dress codes

Hmmm, how much for a military uniform? Or police tights, or monk robes? Is Halloween exempt?

[SOTIRIOS]

....xenophobia at its worst....

(...at this point it seems that tourists should just transfer their funds to Thailand.....and stay home....)

[BuddhaMind]

Mr Rome said on many occasions Chinese tourists in university uniforms have sneaked into classrooms and attended lessons.

This line had me seriously laughing hard. It's hysterical. On so many levels.

[brit1984]

Disrupting these poor students... How will be resolve this? I know let's charge 50 baht per head!

Indeed. what it actually translates to is:

"Forget about the students. Lets turn it into a cash cow and fill up lots of brown envelopes with untraceable daily cash."

500 tourists at 50 baht each is 25000 per day.... maybe not Mercedes Benz quality but still a nice little earner.

That's a fair chunk of change per month If you work it out by 30 days. Around 750,000 a month. Any self respecting University would not do this.

Oxford and Cambridge both charge visitors to enter the more aesthetically appealing (= photogenic) colleges.

Most people would consider those respectable universities but I understand your standards may be higher.

[harrry]

Does a lot to match with this:

http://www.iseas.edu.sg/documents/publication/ISEAS_perspective_2013_33_chinas_soft_power_in_thailand.pdf

[Lupatria]

let's wait and see what they're up to visiting Warsaw and Auschwitz after watching "Schindler's List"

[leosuntime]

chinese ppl sound pretty fun

[BigC]

Come on now, these are the quality tourists the government has been working on for years now to attract..

They can't drive any worse than the locals ?? Can they ??

Question : are the Chinese crashing into the Chinese , or who exactly is crashing into who ?

It has been tradition here in the North that the foreigner is always at fault for any accident, and pays accordingly for damages.. Maybe they are not as generous as some of the Farang visitors to the Country ?

Unless what was published was all lies then they have good reason to be worried if tourists sot in classes

That could mean bag anyone could walk in and out which an intension

[moe666]

Love all of the nonsense post here about how stupid Thais are and how it is non sense for them to want to control access to campus. Why are you people here on this forum or in Thailand if you dislike it so much. Reminds me of a dyke who wants to look like what she hates so much

[elzach]

They think THIS is bad?....wait till masses of Chinese tourists actually migrate to Thailand in the near future, legally or illegally.

There are certain areas in BKK that are full of Chinese mainlanders, living and working here (ie. Ratchada). How many were there let's say in 2008? zero.

edit: Does your local Big C make the occasional announcements in Thai, English and...Mandarin?

Edited March 3, 2014 by elzach

[ChiangraiTony]

Does that mean everyone entering the CMU areas will be charged? Many that don't actually attend the university visit the Canteen ( cafeteria) for lunch and well as use the Post Office on campus. Anyone have any insight on this?

[tubby johnson]

On my first (and probably last) visit to China I saw people defecate and urinate in public. Do they also do that on the lawn of Chiang Mai University?

[featography]

If people are fined B100,000 for wearing university uniforms when they are not students, how much are students fines for not wearing the uniforms?

While they're at it, start charging the students in any/all the universities for wearing their uniforms on their hotel rendevouz with male customers.

[Tomtomtom69]

A year in jail for wearing a school uniform???

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

That's quite extreme and if I were the family at the center of attention, I would immediately write a letter of complaint to all parties concerned: 1) the university concerned (Chiang Mai university), 2) the tourism authority of Thailand, 3) the ministry of tourism, 4) the Chinese consul-general, 5) the Thai ambassador or consul in the nearest Chinese city that has a Thai embassy or consulate (such as Kunming, Guangzhou, Beijing or Shanghai) and would leave Thailand immediately (that day or the next day), telling all my friends and relatives to avoid visiting Thailand. Similarly, I would go to the media to run a story on how I was treated.

Yes, it may have been poor form to do what they did, but is wearing a uniform they PAID for and taking pictures really such a "crime"? 100,000 Baht fine and 1 year in jail (even though it won't be imposed is quite extreme to even have such laws on the statute books).

Not to sidestep this discussion, but something is seriously wrong with the laws in this country when a benign stunt threatens to land you a whopping big fine and even jail time but major incidents get slap-on-the-wrist infractions. For example, no helmet, oh, that will be 100 Baht, thanks - run away from the police, no problem, they don't even attempt to chase you. In Vietnam, that'll be $15-50 or your bike, thanks.

100 Baht in this case should write the slate clean - but as I said, if I were the family I'd be so offended that I'd demand an apology for being harassed like this.

In most countries wearing a uniform to which you are not entitled to will get severe penalties. Just try wearing an army uniform with badges in the US. Or a Police uniform in england. Penalties would not be the same as for a traffic offence.

Actually traffic offenses can attract VERY tough penalties, particularly running away from the cops, which in Thailand, is just laughed upon and seems to be acceptable, but in America they'd be pulling out their helicopters etc. to catch you and then charge you with evading law enforcement.

I mentioned Vietnam because I'm continually surprised at how tough they are (for a developing country with limited resources) when it comes to enforcing traffic laws or meting out punishments which are far more effective than in much richer Thailand. Something just doesn't add up here.

Anyway, I digress.

Let's get back to the issue at hand - I agree that impersonating a cop or an army officer would be a serious offense, but that's not what happened here, we're talking about merely putting on a university uniform, which for foreigners including Chinese (who don't wear uniforms at university) must be kind of a novelty. Thailand must be the only country where university students still wear uniforms, I have not seen this in any other country and I've attended universities in Australia, the USA, China and been a visitor to universities in Europe and Canada as well.

Merely taking pictures whilst wearing a university uniform BUT not wearing them around campus or attending classes isn't nearly as bad as then attending classes in those uniforms. In the case of the former, the family was caught, but nowhere in the story does it mention that THEY also went into classrooms to pose as students.

Therefore I think that they should simply be informed that such behavior is not good form, but they should certainly NOT be threatened with such extreme punishments. I don't want to sidestep the discussion further and thus didn't point out the fact that some outrageous crimes have been committed here in Thailand where the penalties imposed were just 500 Baht or something (and no, I'm not talking about traffic offenses here) but here they tried to pull out all stops to threaten this family.

Somehow I think it may have something to do with racist double standards - foreigners behaving slightly inappropriately are threatened with the full force of the law and Thais that commit outrageous atrocities are given only minor penalties.

[Sing_Sling]

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How many monuments or landmarks have you seen in movies that don't charge you to view them? TIT 555 Chinese got big money anyway

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Monuments or landmarks that don't charge? How about most of them . . . shall we start with wats or how about islands . . . and you seem to swim contrary to the common TV idea that ALL Chinese tourists are cheap Charlies

Interesting

[Johnnie99]

Communists are always bizarre.

Why should these people be any different?

[lostmebike]

Permission to check the females in their UNIforms

[Morakot]

Over the years universities in other parts of the world have progressively banned cars from being driven around campus and turned their campuses into walking zones.

God forbid! You're not suggesting people should be walking short distances...

[FiftyTwo]

Was walking through CM uni this aft .........

Two rented scooters with Chinese tourists on zipped past us.

So I guess the ban hasn't been implemented yet.

[heybruce]

If people are fined B100,000 for wearing university uniforms when they are not students, how much are students fines for not wearing the uniforms?

While they're at it, start charging the students in any/all the universities for wearing their uniforms on their hotel rendevouz with male customers.

Are you speaking from experience? Are you sure you didn't just have a hooker who knew she could charge more if she wore a school uniform?

[Jbax]

Living in Chiang Mai, the only disgusting thing I've seen Chinese tourists do is flock to the jewelry markets looking for ivory. But the Thais sell it... so who's worse in that respect?

The Chinese tend to arrive in VIP buses (the kinds that tend to crash)... I don't think I've seen a single one drive a car or rent a scooter here.

[VegasVic]

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Maybe the University could stop allowing anyone (students included) to drive onto campus grounds, period? Just build a few multi-storey parking lots near the various entrances, force everyone except teachers to park there and only teachers would be allowed to park in front of their buildings. Everyone else would be forced to walk, ride a bicycle or catch a shuttle bus.

Over the years universities in other parts of the world have progressively banned cars from being driven around campus and turned their campuses into walking zones. An example is UNSW in Sydney, Australia. Back in the late 80s and early 90s it was possible to drive through campus, going from Barker St. to High St. although there would have been some parking restrictions already in place. Now, except for service vehicles, it is impossible to drive through most parts of campus anymore and you either have to park off campus or on campus in one of the provided parking garages if you have a parking sticker.

Such a solution would solve the issue of traffic accidents.

Note that even Chinese universities are following their western counterparts - there are universities in Kunming for example, where I wouldn't know where to find parking inside and there's no way you can drive through those campuses. Basically you are forced to park outside or only in specially designated areas.

Why can't Chiang Mai university learn from these international examples?

Great idea on the parking garages outside the university, also the university should up their tours via minibus as the appropriate way to see the university thereby having some degree of control over the throngs of Chinese tourists that are disrupting university students