Chiang Mai Uni under siege from 'bizarre' Chinese

[Thai at Heart]

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

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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.

Its all to do with this bizarre pride they try to imbibe into their graduates, to believe that learning joined up writing and staying within the lines is equivalent to a degree. The mere fact that they still maintain to have uniforms for students that can be purchased in Tesco or the market stall for about 500 baht, consisting of a pin, and a tie is something to be incredibly proud of. Fining people for impersonating their uniform hides the fact that apparently their degrees are impersonating an educational proof of ability.

The fact that in reality it makes the boys look like part time waiters and the girls like attendees at a vicars and schoolgirls adult party is lost on them. We will be proud goddamit!!!! Now shut up and put that pin on straight.

Edited March 3, 2014 by Thai at Heart

[Jbax]

I live across the street from CMU... it's ginormous! The idea of parking outside isn't feasible unless parking structures could be built and that would mean building lots of them (and what vacant land there is in on campus!!). Suthep Road itself is always jammed... this is likely just a minor high season issue with the Chinese tourists anyhow--- and sounds like an irrational response to a problem that barely exists.

Hey, we're foreigners too. The Chinese tourists should be welcomed, not scorned. I just want them to stop the ivory trade!

[muchogra]

In the past few weeks, I have seen many cars with Chinese license plates parked at the airport. Has anybody else noticed?

Every place I visited in the past few weeks in CM here with my foreign friends, there were Chinese tourists in abundance. One group of my friends from HK even complained about these mainland Chinese driving up prices everywhere - in HK, Canada, USA, etc.

For those who say the Chinese are cheap travelers, please explain to me how it could be so - that is, if you understand that a quarter of the world population is Chinese!...Don't denigrade if you can't see that! As a corollary, if China is not open for this so-called democracy, countries like the USA would not have been able to substain its life style!

My posts, in response to some Americans who spoke louder than they should have had and without facts and demeaning in nature, got deleted which I don't think is just!

[muchogra]

I live across the street from CMU... it's ginormous! The idea of parking outside isn't feasible unless parking structures could be built and that would mean building lots of them (and what vacant land there is in on campus!!). Suthep Road itself is always jammed... this is likely just a minor high season issue with the Chinese tourists anyhow--- and sounds like an irrational response to a problem that barely exists.

Hey, we're foreigners too. The Chinese tourists should be welcomed, not scorned. I just want them to stop the ivory trade!

Jbax, you are a good man, but you forgot about the shark fin!

As for ivory, it's not just a Chinese thing. I personally own many ivory items from Thailand more than 40 years ago. I gave many away to friends in America.

[muchogra]

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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

Do you have a video or some sort to support your claim?

While you are being so cynical, would you say the same thing about farangs intruding Thai bars?

[muchogra]

While being an American mysef I do hate to see the like of me feel a superiority complex!

[Jbax]

There seems to be a xenophobic streak running through a lot of Thai Visa posts (the ongoing rage against the police, Thai efficiency, corruption, the usual women rants, etc.) but I think we have to accept the fact that we're here in a foreign country, generally living far better than we could do on comparable money wherever home might be. And to some degree we make our own personal hells... but I don't feel we (no matter where 'we' are from) have any right to complain about another group of foreigners here. If you don't like it you're certainly free to leave. Yesterday at my condo in Chiang Mai, a 22-year old kid from Michigan was dragged away after walking into the lobby naked and complaining about having smoked too much meth (this happens to be one of the nicest buildings near CMU) and I felt compelled to apologize for this moron (much as I did when Justin Beiber came to Bangkok... before I realized he was Canadian). One doped out naked loony American and every Thai that works here thinks WE'RE all suspicious.

And I did forget about shark finned soup. And I too I hate to see the likes of me have a superiority complex.

[Tomtomtom69]

In the past few weeks, I have seen many cars with Chinese license plates parked at the airport. Has anybody else noticed?

Every place I visited in the past few weeks in CM here with my foreign friends, there were Chinese tourists in abundance. One group of my friends from HK even complained about these mainland Chinese driving up prices everywhere - in HK, Canada, USA, etc.

For those who say the Chinese are cheap travelers, please explain to me how it could be so - that is, if you understand that a quarter of the world population is Chinese!...Don't denigrade if you can't see that! As a corollary, if China is not open for this so-called democracy, countries like the USA would not have been able to substain its life style!

My posts, in response to some Americans who spoke louder than they should have had and without facts and demeaning in nature, got deleted which I don't think is just!

I've noticed numerous cars with Chinese number plates in Thailand in the past few years, especially during holiday times. A significant number have 云A plates meaning they are from Kunming in Yunnan province, although some Chinese drivers with a hell of a lot of free time have driven from the northernmost provinces down to Thailand and then onto Malaysia in some cases too (Chinese cars can enter Laos, Thailand and Malaysia quite easily - they can't enter Vietnam though). Interestingly just after Christmas I didn't notice a single Chinese car in Chiang Rai or Chiang Mai at popular tourist sites, but just before New Year in Sukhothai, I stopped the only Chinese car in Sukhothai, which happened to stay in the same resort as we did.

I've never noticed any Chinese cars parked at Chiang Mai airport - not sure why they would need to go to the airport if they arrived in Thailand by car - perhaps some have decided to fly to Bangkok on a cheap flight to continue their holidays rather than steer a car with the steering wheel on the wrong side 700km to a city with some of the world's densest and difficult to negotiate traffic, although I have seen 2 Chinese registered cars in Bangkok, one last month during the height of Bangkok shutdown - this car was turning into Sri Ayuttaya road from Phahonyothin road seemingly able to navigate his way through Bangkok when many intersections including Victory Monument were blocked (hats off to the guy - hardly any locals were driving in downtown BKK then, but this guy managed pretty well). The second one I saw a week or two ago at Mega Bang Na in the parking lot there - the 3 occupants, a family from Kunming probably came to go shopping at Ikea, lol.