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Chinese
tourists can be blacklisted by the government for bad behavior both at home and
abroad. (AFP Photo/China Out)
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With an increasing number of Chinese in the
financial position to enjoy a vacation either at home or abroad, Beijing is
enforcing measures to ensure that holidaymakers don’t get out of control,
harming China’s reputation abroad.
In
December 2014, Zhang Yan, a Chinese passenger on a China-bound Thai aircraft,
insulted a flight stewardess and tossed instant noodles in hot water at her,
prompting the pilot to turn the aircraft around and return to Bangkok. Both she
and her travel companion were removed from the flight.
RT.com reports:
In the
same month, a first-time air traveller aboard a Xiamen Air flight from Hangzhou
to Chengdu forcibly opened the emergency door before departure to “get some
fresh air.”
In yet
another incident of Chinese tourists behaving badly, 18-year-old Li Wenchun
climbed atop a statue of a Red Army soldier in Yanan and was photographed
sitting on the head of the revered memorial. Images of the scene quickly made
the rounds on Chinese social media, causing Mr. Li much grief among his
countrymen.
These four
misguided Chinese tourists are the first to be blacklisted for their
embarrassing antics, methodically outlined in China’s 64-page Guidebook for
Civilized Tourism. The program allows government officials to blacklist
individuals for unruly or illegal behavior while on vacation.
The
program, which went into effect in April, is designed to ensure that tourists
from the most populated nation in the world don’t become hooligans on holiday,
thus embarrassing the proud Asian nation of over 1 billion people.
Although
no concrete punishments have been announced, traveling troublemakers will be
reported to police, customs, border guards, transportation and credit agencies,
while vacation plans may be affected within a specified period of time.
Chinese
tourists, the numbers of which have exploded following China’s economic
resurgence, now enjoy the disposable income to travel both at home and
overseas.
However,
this newfound freedom has come at a cost as the Chinese are now the target of
international criticism regarding some of their alleged bad behaviour,
including, but not limited to, spitting, public smoking and littering.
Just this
month, tourists at Huaqing Pool in Xi'an city, a popular tourist destination,
were photographed fondling the breasts of a statue of Yang Guifei, the wife of
Tang Dynasty Emperor Xuanzong and one of the Four Beauties of Ancient China.
The images landed on social
media, where some users said the Chinese visitors acted disrespectfully.
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