Thai editorial: Chinese barbarians at the boarding gate

[webfact]

EDITORIAL
Chinese barbarians at the boarding gate
The Nation

Except it's not just tourists from China who behave badly abroad

BANGKOK: -- Chinese authorities and state-run media seem to have finally lost their patience with bad-mannered tourists from the mainland following an incident aboard a China-bound flight from Thailand.

Last Thursday a low-cost flight to the Chinese city of Nanjing was forced to return to Bangkok after a Chinese passenger scalded a cabin attendant and another threatened to blow up the plane. After landing at Don Mueang, four passengers involved in the unruly incident were taken to a police station, but then let off with fines. They left Thailand the next day. But by the time they touched down in China, their behaviour was headline news across their homeland and beyond, triggering heated debate on the social media.

China's National Tourism Administration pledged that the passengers involved would be "severely punished" and have their names placed on a database of troublesome travellers. Observers say this marks the first time the Chinese authorities have stipulated that such behaviour should not only be punished by law, but also recognised and recorded as a separate category of tourist misdemeanour.

The state-run China Daily said in an editorial that the passengers had tarnished the image of the Chinese people. "They believed that behaving like barbarians would get them what they wanted, forgetting that civility demands that a fellow human being be treated as an equal," it said. "The incident should serve as a lesson not just for the four culprits but also for all Chinese to behave properly to get respect." A separate commentary in the same newspaper noted that this was "not the first time that a handful of ugly tourists have given Chinese travellers a bad name".

In fact, Thursday's headline-maker was the latest in a series of well-publicised incidents involving Chinese behaving badly overseas. Many have left criticism and feelings of bitterness in their wake.

Strong economic growth and growing affluence at home has greatly increased the number of Chinese travelling overseas in recent years. Chinese tourists made 98 million trips abroad last year, and that figure is expected to surpass 116 million this year, according to the China Daily. Last year Thailand alone welcomed 4.7 million Chinese tourists.

Though the vast majority was well behaved, the unruly few have been a cause of embarrassment for their compatriots. Criticism has been especially strong on the social media, where Chinese users have also sought to apologise for tourist troublemakers. Officials have repeatedly warned that "uncivilised behaviour" of citizens overseas is harming China's image.

Chinese authorities and media are to be commended for their tough response to their loutish tourists, aimed at shaming the miscreants and deterring others from stepping out of line.

A lack of sensitivity towards local customs can be forgivable in tourists who know little about the culture they are visiting. But locals aren't likely to tolerate rude and violent behaviour, even as a reaction to the stress or anxiety of travel.

Last week's incident and its consequences should serve as a valuable lesson for tourists around the world, not just those from China. Aggression and bullying are unlikely to get you what you want on trips abroad. What they will deliver instead, as Thursday's events demonstrated, are condemnation and contempt, both overseas and at home.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Chinese-barbarians-at-the-boarding-gate-30250101.html


-- The Nation 2014-12-18

[puukao]

Nothing good will be said in this thread......let me get some popcorn and work on my meditation......

[uel1968]

Why do the Chinese get so excited,i remember on a Cathy pacific flight from HK to Bangkok,they released their seatbelts and where jumping towards the overhead luggage compartments,Omg,this took place about 500 feet in the air before landing,"what's the rush"?

[aussiesteve63]

The downside of low cost travel,low intelligence travellers

[sundrenched]

I have to commend them for at least trying to do something against it.

[Briggsy]

Why do the Chinese get so excited,i remember on a Cathy pacific flight from HK to Bangkok,they released their seatbelts and where jumping towards the overhead luggage compartments,Omg,this took place about 500 feet in the air before landing,"what's the rush"?

They need to be first and fear being overtaken by others. It is a direct result of the Chinese "win every encounter" philosophy.

[NeilSA1]

Nothing good will be said in this thread......let me get some popcorn and work on my meditation......

Good for the Chinese authorities, taking action.

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Why do the Chinese get so excited,i remember on a Cathy pacific flight from HK to Bangkok,they released their seatbelts and where jumping towards the overhead luggage compartments,Omg,this took place about 500 feet in the air before landing,"what's the rush"?

They need to be first and fear being overtaken by others. It is a direct result of the Chinese "win every encounter" philosophy.

You could never generalize people but it seems like many of the Chinese are very selfish and greedy people with a “me first” mentality. The Chinese school system must have missed to teach them manners, or is it acceptable to behave like that in China?

[ExPratt]

Don't want to sour relations and turn Thai against Chinese , or they'll never get the Tracks built

[Tatsujin]

I have to commend them for at least trying to do something against it.

+1 ... some people closer to home could learn some lessons from this.

[Laughing Gravy]

I have to commend them for at least trying to do something against it.

+1 ... some people closer to home could learn some lessons from this.

I agree it is nice for the Authorities to try and do something. But if it is anything like they did for the Beijing Olympics, getting the people to learn and queue, then it will not last long. The Chinese people went right back to their normal ways after the Olympic games, pushing in queues and really behaving without any manners and decorum.

I would make them do some training beforehand on queuing along with some of the middle eastern tourists. For the Thai Tourism Authority, I would start redefining what a quality tourist is.

[HannahD]

Perhaps these unfortunate incidents of bad Chinese behavior is a result of the one child policy-a nation of spoiled brats!

[SoilSpoil]

Thai tourist behavior in China:

http://www.samuitimes.com/outrage-thai-tourists-vandalising-great-wall-china/

Edited December 18, 2014 by SoilSpoil

[craigt3365]

Why do the Chinese get so excited,i remember on a Cathy pacific flight from HK to Bangkok,they released their seatbelts and where jumping towards the overhead luggage compartments,Omg,this took place about 500 feet in the air before landing,"what's the rush"?

They need to be first and fear being overtaken by others. It is a direct result of the Chinese "win every encounter" philosophy.

You could never generalize people but it seems like many of the Chinese are very selfish and greedy people with a “me first” mentality. The Chinese school system must have missed to teach them manners, or is it acceptable to behave like that in China?

Every nationality has good and bad citizens. One thing I've heard about the Chinese behavior is the "little emperor complex". Most men are single children and are seriously spoiled by their parents and grandparents.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Emperor_Syndrome

The Little Emperor Syndrome (or Little Emperor Effect) is an aspect of China's one-child policy where only children gain seemingly excessive amounts of attention from their parents and grandparents. Combined with increased spending power within the family unit and parents' general desire for their child to experience the benefits they themselves were denied, the phenomenon is generally considered to be problematic. Andrew Marshall even argues that it is shaping Chinese society in unexpected ways^[1] that may culminate into a future "behavioral time-bomb."^[2]

The other issue is they are use to masses of people and like New Yorkers, deal with this in a variety of ways. Some good....some not so good.

[baboon]

Why do the Chinese get so excited,i remember on a Cathy pacific flight from HK to Bangkok,they released their seatbelts and where jumping towards the overhead luggage compartments,Omg,this took place about 500 feet in the air before landing,"what's the rush"?

They need to be first and fear being overtaken by others. It is a direct result of the Chinese "win every encounter" philosophy.

You could never generalize people but it seems like many of the Chinese are very selfish and greedy people with a me first mentality. The Chinese school system must have missed to teach them manners, or is it acceptable to behave like that in China?

A reflection of their society?

I am looking after an old soi dog. He reached old age by killing any animal that got in his way and putting the fear of God into humans. Now he has a place to stay, food and kind treatment he is quite a friendly old thing...

[craigt3365]

Nothing good will be said in this thread......let me get some popcorn and work on my meditation......

Well said. Please keep comments within forum rules.

[yankee99]

This is one of the benefits of a communist country. Take them away and punish them severely. No one is gonna cry about it. I say lock them up for a few years and post pictures on social networking as a warning to future troublemakers.

[Blindside]

Headline is great (very clever).

Always difficult to change behaviour or mindset.

Unfortunately, Chinese tourists tend to move in large tour groups - so the behaviour is not challenged or exposed. Rather it is probably going to be reinforced.

In a country where edicts and severe punishment is the norm, this is probably the only way it will be solved in the near future (unfortunately).

On the upside I have recently bumped into one or two couples going it alone. Very polite, asked for directions with a disposition of please and thank-you. One of the guys shook my hand and said thank-you.

So there is hope.

[Jimbo2014]

Why do the Chinese get so excited,i remember on a Cathy pacific flight from HK to Bangkok,they released their seatbelts and where jumping towards the overhead luggage compartments,Omg,this took place about 500 feet in the air before landing,"what's the rush"?

I guess when you have lived through the "great leap forward" you learn to grab at anything.... more quality tourists for Thailand

[klauskunkel]

Last week's incident and its consequences should serve as a valuable lesson for tourists around the world, not just those from China. Aggression and bullying are unlikely to get you what you want on trips abroad. What they will deliver instead, as Thursday's events demonstrated, are condemnation and contempt, both overseas and at home.

The lesson was actually, that the crime of threatening to blow up a plane, assaulting and injuring a flight attendant, and inconveniencing and delaying fellow travelers will result in a token fine, if those crimes are perpetrated in Thailand. The other lesson was, if the criminals are of Chinese nationality, don't return home.

[smedly]

Why do the Chinese get so excited,i remember on a Cathy pacific flight from HK to Bangkok,they released their seatbelts and where jumping towards the overhead luggage compartments,Omg,this took place about 500 feet in the air before landing,"what's the rush"?

Look at it this way, they are new to this stuff, they have just entered the world of planes and global travel outside their own country, they are exploring their new found freedom and wealth and feel special and powerful

They just haven't realised that we in the west have been doing it for 50 years and they are not so special after all

[maidee]

whaT?

they treathen to blow up the plane = terrorist act and they let of with fine ?

someone overthere will be very happy with his CHRISTMAS bonus he just received

under the table off course

[Johnsy]

Why do the Chinese get so excited,i remember on a Cathy pacific flight from HK to Bangkok,they released their seatbelts and where jumping towards the overhead luggage compartments,Omg,this took place about 500 feet in the air before landing,"what's the rush"?

They need to be first and fear being overtaken by others. It is a direct result of the Chinese "win every encounter" philosophy.

You could never generalize people but it seems like many of the Chinese are very selfish and greedy people with a “me first” mentality. The Chinese school system must have missed to teach them manners, or is it acceptable to behave like that in China?

They all have "only child syndrome". An entire population of one child families and all the children are selfish, narcissistic and conceited.

[Caveat Emptor]

If talking about people learning anything I don't suppose the Thai authorities will be concerned that this unacceptable behaviour has been dealt with more harshly by the Chinese than them as all they bothered to do was impose a fine and close the matter.

Does Thailand want a reputation as a destination where you can do as you like with little or no consequences ?

Throwing hot water over someone and threatening to blow up a plane isn't something to be brushed off lightly.

[toolpush]

I agree. I work in China near Tianjin and have done so for 10 years. I know how the Chinese are. For the most part, they are just like people anywhere else. I was standing near the door of the of the North Pattaya Mall (Central) waiting for it to open one fine morning. I had about a 20 minute wait. 4 Chinese females walked up and one of them asked me in very good English if I could tell them how to get to the beach and where was the biggest shopping mall in Pattaya. I gave them directions to the new Central mall in central Pattaya on Beach road. They thought about it for a minute or so and then she asked me if I would give them a ride. I was shocked at how brazen she was and started to chuckle. Then I said to myself: "Why not, what the heck, I still have 15 minutes to wait anyway". So, we all climbed into my 4 door pickup and I drove them down to beach road and dropped them off at the New Central Mall. Before they got out, all 4 of them tried to hand me 1000 baht notes. I laughed and told them they could probably get a ride to Bangkok in a limousine for that, but they certainly didn't need to pay that to anybody for a ten minute ride in Pattaya. I told them to put their money away and have a good time in Thailand. They were extremely effusive with their thank you's and away they went with big smiles. Chalk one up for Canada-China realtions LOL

[toolpush]

I should have said vthat "I agree with Blindside". Sorry for the omission

[kurnell]

I'm glad the focus is on poor behavior of Chinese tourists. It takes the pressure off us immaculate Aussies

[mikiea]

[quote name="HiSoLowSoNoSo" post="8817702" timestamp= it is expected of them,

Why do the Chinese get so excited,i remember on a Cathy pacific flight from HK to Bangkok,they released their seatbelts and where jumping towards the overhead luggage compartments,Omg,this took place about 500 feet in the air before landing,"what's the rush"?

They need to be first and fear being overtaken by others. It is a direct result of the Chinese "win every encounter" philosophy.

You could never generalize people but it seems like many of the Chinese are very selfish and greedy people with a me first mentality. The Chinese school system must have missed to teach them manners, or is it acceptable to behave like that in China?

[IAMHERE]

To even think of ordering hot noodles so you can throw boiling water into the face of a lowly flight attendant... those China people can really think outside the box. Got to give them that.

[SABloke]

I met a pair of young Chinese tourists a few years ago. They were really nice guys and our brief journey together was a lot of fun. The one thing that stood out for me was their disdain for their fellow countrymen-the one chap said that the country's biggest problem was that nobody ''believed'' in anything. At first I thought he was talking about religion etc. but he corrected me: He said that everyone's life was 'planned out' by the state: you are born, you go to school, you go to work, you die. His theory was that this indoctrination led to people being very selfish and so any opportunity to ''stray from the herd'' is fought for tooth and nail. He said that everyone in China was a selfish, arrogant prick....himself included. He was travelling to become a better person.