Image via YouTube
Chinese tourists received a bit of an admonishment from officials this week as the government has promised to keep a watchful eye on those leaving the country, hoping that they are on their best behavior as they traipse across the world.
The Associated Press cited a statement from the China National Tourism Administration on a new policy that is aimed to curb some unruly behavior by its citizens.
China People's Daily (h/t The Daily Mail) explained in a post Monday: "According to the China National Tourism Administration, such behavior includes violating order on public transportation - including flights - damaging public facilities or historical relics, ignoring social customs at tourism destinations, and becoming involved with gambling or prostitution."
And officials are presumably watching and listening, taking into account reports from authorities who take umbrage with what they might consider bad behavior or acts detrimental to local cultural heritage.
The report said that records will be maintained for two years, though there will be some appeal process for noted transgressions.
Channel 4 News recounted a recent moment of alleged bad behavior in Thailand:
"China People's Daily" chronicled some of the above including: "During the three-day Tomb Sweeping holiday, three Chinese tourists were arrested in Japan for alleged sexual harassment. Under local law, one of them who allegedly used a mobile phone to take upskirt photos could face one year in prison or a fine of 1 million yen ($8,300)."
The Seattle Times points to this YouTube video that shows pushing and shoving by purported Chinese tourists:
And as the Channel 4 report is so careful to point out, however, this problem does extend beyond Chinese tourists, because landmarks around the world have been sullied from travelers from all walks of life who grew up in myriad cultures.
However, in this regard, an emphasis on respect and decorum will hopefully be instilled with a stern talk and an official stance from national administration.
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