Chinese barbarians at the boarding gate

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.