The Citizens of The People's Republic of China

[Slivester]

I must stressed this, this thread is at all times, not a tool to strike against the peoples of PRC. I for one have respectable friends from PRC, and wish to remain their friend.

However, I was appalled to have read the article in Sunday Times today, of which had gave the Chinese the title of "UGLY CHINA TOURISTS".

Of such, the article gave one an insight of what these tourists are quite capable of. Staging protests, have not 60 years of communism teach them there are no freedom in Earth?

Of course, I came to a conclusion of which gave me a hard laugh: They have staged a protest onboard a Cathay Pacific flight bounding for Hong Kong from Bangkok, and will stop in Singapore before continue its journey. The extract of the article is as the following:

Because of the flight delay, the passengers could not go on the day tours that they had booked in Singapore. They staged a mass sit-in inside the plane. The row was resolved only after Cathay Pacific paid each of the passengers US$50 (S$83). By the time the passengers disembarked, it was midnight.

First in the agenda, I supposed, the problem at stake here is their money. That is of course, it is expensive for foreigners to wander around Singapore as well.

Well, after the money, we come to pride and their "dignity". Well, I am speechless here. We have, generally, 4 main groups of Chinese visitors here in Singapore I should categorises; the General Tourists, The Diplomats and the major Economy Contributor, those who digs our money away, and those who migrates here. You should know my point by now.

Third in agenda, they left the plane at midnight with S$83 more to spare, and knowing that they have triumph over one of the world's largest airliner in an airport which is for long considered one of the world's best, in a country where everything is expensive, partially due to her high GDP per capita and her reputation as the many of the world's best.

They will henceforth, return to their villages as heroes.

 

[espn]

Can't stand 'em. They don't behave with dignity. Personal experience:

1) They have no respect for others belongings, we occupied part of the overhead cabins on the plane, they had the audicity to take our belongings out, see if they can put theirs in and squeeze, if can't they just threw our belongings back.

2) Lunch time, pleasing especially when on the plane, they refuse to sit up and reset the chair accordingly, so HTH are people going to eat with their stupid chairs leaned back so much? Now imagine me doing that to them if I'm sitting in front.

3) Queueing up to purchase some stuff, they take the food items (sweets, chocolates etc) from the shelf near the counter and just throw it on the table as if they've already paid for it. Then deciding they don't want, they just throw it back to the shelf.

Dignity my foot.

 

[Slivester]

Update

Found the site for the article:
http://www.asiaone.com.sg/st/st_20050731_331775.html

 

[jeff49er]

ESPN I can understand how u feel.

I had a bad incident with a woman from China. I went to my condo gym much earlier than her.

When she got in. first thing she did was to switch off the aircon without asking me. Hey I dont mind adjusting the aircon if she had asked but she just off them and open the windows. What nerve. When I asked why she opened the windows and off the aircon she explained that aircon is bad for health. The best part that she was not a resident but just a visitor or tenant.

Well I wont wonna say what pleasantries ensued.

However this incident is isolated as I have colleagures from China and they carry themselves very well.

In China where the population is immense there will be all sorts of people from the elegant ones to the uncouth.

 

[Benign]

I used to serve tours from Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan in Melbourne. What reminded me the most was the tours from Taiwan.

They seemed alot more bossy and arrogant.....Still I met some very nice Taiwanese too.

I dun really care much about their attitudes....as always I told myself.

"Customers are alway right." By %

Right or wrong, it is in the hearts of those who appreciate my service.



Even though most of these tourists are one off customers. But I believe reputation is priceless.

 

[dRebelXT]

You guys never met the very nicest mainland Chinese until you see me.LOL

If you go visit China and mess arround with average citizens in offices and research
centers, you will see that the 2nd/3rd generations are quite nice actually.

 

[TMC]

Have met a lot of PRCs around here but, can be nice to talk to except when topics come down to ethnics differences or politics. The national pride in them can get so strong sometimes that it makes blockheads out of them. Reasoning will not work and you can get scolded as a pro west or a traitor to the race in bad cases.

Sigh.....

 

[jsbn]

I must stressed this, this thread is at all times, not a tool to strike against the peoples of PRC. I for one have respectable friends from PRC, and wish to remain their friend.

However, I was appalled to have read the article in Sunday Times today, of which had gave the Chinese the title of "UGLY CHINA TOURISTS".

Of such, the article gave one an insight of what these tourists are quite capable of. Staging protests, have not 60 years of communism teach them there are no freedom in Earth?

Of course, I came to a conclusion of which gave me a hard laugh: They have staged a protest onboard a Cathay Pacific flight bounding for Hong Kong from Bangkok, and will stop in Singapore before continue its journey. The extract of the article is as the following:

First in the agenda, I supposed, the problem at stake here is their money. That is of course, it is expensive for foreigners to wander around Singapore as well.

Well, after the money, we come to pride and their "dignity". Well, I am speechless here. We have, generally, 4 main groups of Chinese visitors here in Singapore I should categorises; the General Tourists, The Diplomats and the major Economy Contributor, those who digs our money away, and those who migrates here. You should know my point by now.

Third in agenda, they left the plane at midnight with S$83 more to spare, and knowing that they have triumph over one of the world's largest airliner in an airport which is for long considered one of the world's best, in a country where everything is expensive, partially due to her high GDP per capita and her reputation as the many of the world's best.

They will henceforth, return to their villages as heroes.

Well, perhaps the logic of 'you are tourists, you are in ppl's territory, play by their rules' do not seem to appeal to them.

Just because:
1) Your country has over 1 billion in population.
2) Your country's army is the 2nd largest in the world after North Korea
3) You come from a remote village where u are probably the Chief Honcho

Doesn't mean ppl will have to kowtow to u.

We all know that if every single China fella takes a spit at us, we would be drowned. So says them. Unfortunately since they are in the host country, I'd pretty much say that it would be the locals who would be doing the spitting and not their countrymen since they are 10,000km away from home. Unless spit travels THAT far for that matter.

 

[Slivester]

Have met a lot of PRCs around here but, can be nice to talk to except when topics come down to ethnics differences or politics. The national pride in them can get so strong sometimes that it makes blockheads out of them. Reasoning will not work and you can get scolded as a pro west or a traitor to the race in bad cases.

Sigh.....

Oh yes, that kind of encounters. Just a month ago, I was dining with a close friend of mine in a hawker centre, when this PRC gentleman joined us on same table (Gentleman as in formal dressing, like a businessman, unlike those boor workers). Well as usual, my friend and I will go into deep discussions and just as surprise as my friend was, the man intruded and commented on our point of view; being childish, politics like childplay in his crudest and worst-off English. I was utterly disgusted by that, and just to mention, that close friend of mine was a PRC immigrant who graudated from a reputable secondary school and now studying in a Junior College.

Of course, that arguement did not pursue. He left just as soon as he intruded.

 

[Hommie]

Well, hahaha I must say we ourselves didn't fare that much better! :bsmilie:

Slivester, you have fail include in the same article saying that Singaporeans are guilty of same thing when we are oversea. I think most Chinese are misunderstood. They are being holed up in their country for so long that the world have changed many times over. They are just not as worldwise or diplomatic.

From the Taiwanese news report(they have no love for them, thus not biased), the incident involving Cathay Pacific and those who refused to leave the plane was because of the way Cathay's representative have not bother to explain the delay nor provide meal arrangement or even how long the delay would be causes emotions to run high after they repeatedly ignored the passenger's inquiries. The hours was much longer than the mentioned 5 hours on ST.

 

[Gymrat76]

Here is the article:

By Chua Kong Ho


The Straits Times
July 31, 2005

IT WAS something which Cathay Pacific had never encountered before: a planeload of passengers who refused to disembark.

The Chinese nationals, numbering about 200, were upset because their flight had been delayed. They demanded compensation and to press home their claim, refused to get off the plane.

It all happened two Fridays ago. The flight from Bangkok, CX713, was scheduled to arrive in Singapore at 3.35pm on its way to Hong Kong. But the plane was delayed in the Thai capital for about five hours because of a technical glitch.

Because of the flight delay, the passengers could not go on the day tours that they had booked in Singapore. They staged a mass sit-in inside the plane. The row was resolved only after Cathay Pacific paid each of the passengers US$50 (S$83). By the time the passengers disembarked, it was midnight.

Confirming the incident, Cathay Pacific spokesman Sally Tan said: 'It's the first time something like that has happened. We're reviewing our policies to see how we can better handle such situations if they happen again.'

Call it chutzpah or boorish behaviour, but China tourists are gaining a reputation for being loud, pushy and downright aggressive when they are aggrieved.

Just last week, 344 China tourists staged a six-hour sit-in at the First World Hotel in Genting Highlands. They were protesting against the pig drawings that staff had sketched on their room key dockets. A scuffle broke out, the police were called in and three people were arrested.

The hotel claimed the pig drawings were made to distinguish non-halal diners from halal ones. But it apologised anyway and compensated the guests with cash of between RM50 (S$22) and RM100.

Singapore retailer Kenny Koo has seen up close how formidable Chinese nationals can be when they are pressing for their 'rights'.

The branch manager at jewellery shop Forever Jewels in OG People's Park recounted an ugly incident when a group of China tourists changed their minds after buying a diamond pendant from him.

They wanted their money back but the shop does not give cash refunds. He said that the tourists shouted and kicked up a big row in the hope that he would cave in. But he stood his ground. The customers were finally appeased when he let them choose other items in exchange.

Nearly 900,000 China tourists visited Singapore last year - twice the number five years ago. China tourists are now the second largest market for the Republic after Indonesia. The increased presence inevitably means retailers like Mr Koo will have more anecdotes of bad behaviour to tell.

Hotel staff talk about having to shampoo the carpets in their rooms because China tourists spit on them. The guests also smoke in bed and burn holes in the blankets.

At the Louis Vuitton boutique in DFS Galleria Singapore, service staff would politely offer to help China customers to stop them from reaching out to touch the French trunk-maker's expensive leather handbags.

Sales staff member Serene Tan, 44, said: 'They just throw the goods back on the shelf and sometimes onto the spotlights, which damages the goods. Now we don't allow any customers to go behind the counter area.'

For tour guide Sam Ling, 44, putting up with complaints from China tourists is an everyday affair. The worst are the tourists from small towns or rural villages, he said.

'They like to show who's boss. Good luck if you get some village chief from Guangdong, because he'd expect you to kowtow to him like he was back home.'

But why single out China tourists? Surely tourists from other countries misbehave too?

While the service staff interviewed by The Sunday Times conceded this point, they pointed out that the China tourists, being 'new arrivals', stand out from the crowd.

China tourists are among the top five holiday spenders in the world and it is a matter of time before they overtake other nationalities in being the top-spending tourists in Singapore, said Mr Rolf Freitag, chief executive of Munich-based tourism consulting group IPK International.

Singapore Tourism Board figures show that in 2003, the average China visitor spent $475 while the overall average spending of visitors was $705.

He said it is a 'normal reaction' for some in the destination countries to be unhappy with the new tourists.

There were similar reactions when British, American, German, Italian and Japanese tourists first travelled abroad in large numbers.

Most of the 20 China tourists The Sunday Times spoke to said there is some validity in people's perceptions of the 'ugly' China tourist.

Ms Sun Xiaoqing, 30, a transport clerk from Yunnan, said: 'It's true, especially those from the backward areas. They are rude, loud and don't queue. Even I can't stand them sometimes.'

But Ms Yang Jian, 30, a clerk from Shanghai who is on a two-day stopover here, has an interesting take on her countrymen's behaviour. She said China tourists may come across as aggressive because they feel that they are being snubbed.

'If anything, it's the Singapore sales staff who think they're too good to serve us. It's exactly how Shanghainese sales staff would treat those from the poorer provinces upon hearing their accents.'

Singapore can ill-afford such misguided thinking, warned National Association of Travel Agents Singapore chief executive Robert Khoo. With China easing travel restrictions to 26 new European destinations last September, the Republic faces stiff competition in wooing the China tourism dollar.

Perhaps Singaporeans should look in the mirror before picking on other people, advised Associate Professor Lee Guan Kin, director of Nanyang Technological University's Centre of Chinese Language and Culture.

After all, it was not too long ago when Singaporeans abroad too were labelled 'ugly', she said.

She added: 'It really depends on what strata of society they come from. As more Chinese get richer and become more exposed to other cultures, their social habits will improve just like Singaporeans did.'

 

[Slivester]

Of course we are quite sure what our people can do, but certainly, and much from ourselves, are we really fareing just as much as the PRCs?

I for one, know not of anyone who I knew, will go as far as staging a mass-protest, because the airline has severe problem in communications. Of course, we will all then says that Singaporeans are simply "humble", or lets just admit it, we are afraid of embrassment or even any troubles.

But the real problem here is that China is rising, the sleeping dragon is awaking after some Bolsheviks injected some sort of anaesthetic into the dragon. When the dragon awakes, people will want to look at the people coming out of the dragon.

I have friends who are so impressed with Stalinism that they are accusing America of moral corrupt and evil capitalistic policies, yet here in Asia, we have one with the largest population in the world, and of which peoples are coming here to rob our innocent yet naïve Lotharios, just that in this case, the women are seducing the men into giving them the money.

Perhaps I am stereotyping these priced people from East Asia, but frankly, after experiencing such just so close to me; my uncle was a bachelor untill last year, when a PRC woman married him. God knows she will then tell him that she wished to be seperated and half of the his flat was given to her, and quite a sum of money.

 

[Slivester]

Well, hahaha I must say we ourselves didn't fare that much better! :bsmilie:

Slivester, you have fail include in the same article saying that Singaporeans are guilty of same thing when we are oversea. I think most Chinese are misunderstood. They are being holed up in their country for so long that the world have changed many times over. They are just not as worldwise or diplomatic.

From the Taiwanese news report(they have no love for them, thus not biased), the incident involving Cathay Pacific and those who refused to leave the plane was because of the way Cathay's representative have not bother to explain the delay nor provide meal arrangement or even how long the delay would be causes emotions to run high after they repeatedly ignored the passenger's inquiries. The hours was much longer than the mentioned 5 hours on ST.

Couldn't agree more, quite right.

In Bali, I have at least once encountered a local who refuses to sell to me at a bargained price. She reasoned that tourists are rich yet they will do anything to buy a cheaper price, such as agitating the situation when there are lots of competitors; tourists will get these competitors to shout out the prices they are willing to offer, and in turn creates an internal quarrel among the locals, and walking off with a big smile, without buying anything. That is disgusting, these people are poor enough to suffer from the aftermath of the bombings, yet those sons of our prosperity are taking their sufferings for pleasure.

But that is one thing to note, none of the peoples of any culture, of any country are prefect. What really ignites my rage is the way these PRCs are treating people aboard.

Singaporeans trying to create a turmoil oversea is seen as a clever trick to reduce the price, (which I might include, these locals are actually charging really high) but shouting their lungs off for merely S$22 while being titled "pigs" and given a full detailed media coverage, thats just how far we are from them.

 

[LazerLordz]

Though I have personally seen some polite and cultured ones, the sheer majority need a lesson in humility fast and HARD.:nono:

 

[Prismatic]

It's really a matter of social maturity, they can't really be blamed in that respect. Their economy have only really opened up in the past decade or so. With the more open society,
they suddenly find themselves with so much freedom to do whatever they want. And with this freedom, I'm sure there will be a few who carry themselves a bit too far. It's just pointless trying to censure them, we can only hope that with time, their society will mature and become more gracious.

In that respect, I think Singapore still have some distance to go too. Our people won't go so much as to sit-in and protest and the ugly Singaporean tourists is less frequently seen now but I still see a lot of people who refuse to give way on the MRT or just stand in the middle of an escalator.

 

[tokrot]

2) Your country's army is the 2nd largest in the world after North Korea

Talking about Military, I think you got this point wrong.. :bsmilie:

 

[Sjourn]

From a neutral point of view, I've been in China for a long time, there are good ppl and there are bad ppl....

About the case of the tourist, were;nt we just like them back in the 70s and 80s? It takes time for social education to reach international levels since they opened up to the world in such a short time. All I can say that this country will be progressing, not only in material wealth but also how they would carry themselves in future. Let's not forget that they know they are looked down from neighbouring countries, but being Chinese, it's thier strong sense of pride and dignity that will thrive them on to greater heights.

One eg..last week i took a taxi, the driver was from Anhui , one of the poorer remote areas in China and started chatting with him. The cab fare was 9RMB, I gave 10RM and told him to keep the change. You know what? That one dollar extra is important to him, but he insisted on not accepting the tip and insisted to return the change and said,"no need to be so courteous". Can anyone tell me this can happen in SG?

What you see now is thier way of life in China, talking loudly, not queing, not considerate, etc...but that will change, I've seen it changed and improving for the last 10 years.

 

[Benign]

Now I remember joining an Sg tour to Cambodia back in Jul 95. When the country just openned up after the UN withdrawal.

We were near a temple gate where a lot of paupers and kids begged for money. One of the Singaporeans suddenly threw a bundles of the Cambodian currency into the air. Thus causing the people begging to fight for the money. It was utter chaos.....

The man laughed and took photos..........but his action was disapproved by many members of the tour.

What I am trying to say is, there are black sheeps in all walks of life.




The Good, The bad and the ugly.

 

[evq]

but that will change, I've seen it changed and improving for the last 10 years.

I agreed with Sjourn. They are what we were 20-30 years ago.
I still notice our older generations spit. Thus, give them time. They will change.

 

[jopel]

BTW the press just want to highlight this news to spur hatred or negative feeling - well perphap another sensational peanuts news. :think:

maybe you should take note of how some fellow singaporeans behaved as tourists. Experienced once while on a a local tour in LA - a bunch of young Singaporean chaps (studying in US), they slang like the ang mo, and thought it was cool to use all the F... langague and also arrogant.