Chinese tourists in Thailand are garnering negative attention and criticism after news reports of yet another indecent incident, this time at the famous “WhiteTemple” in Chiang Rai.
Chinese tourists were banned from the temple by its creator, Chalermchai Kositpipat, after a Chinese female tourist reportedly put used toilet paper in a water tank and refused to clean. The ban was lifted after a few hours on the condition that tour guides be held responsible for the behavior of their tourist charges.
This isn’t the first time Chinese tourists have received negative publicity in Chiang Mai. In March 2014, anti-Chinese tourist sentiments grew after a photo was taken of a person purported to be a Chinese traveler defecating in Chiang Mai’s old city canal during the day.
After these, and other, highly publicized incidents, and in anticipation of the surge of Chinese tourists for the Chinese New Year holiday, the Tourist Authority of Thailand announced the creation and distribution of Thailand etiquette manual in Mandarin.
Thailand government spokesman, Sansern Kaewkamnerd reportedly admitted that “undesirable” elements were inevitable among such a large group of tourists, but said that Thais must nonetheless maintain their spirit of hospitality.
This isn’t the first time public defecation by a Chinese person made headlines—a teenager pooped in a recycling bin at a Beijing subway station in 2013.
It would appear, though, that public defecation isn’t just limited to Asia or developing nations, as several of Obama’s EPA employees were reprimanded for pooping in the hallways in June 2014.
Yet, there may be scientific reasons for choosing a particular location to engage in this activity. For example, researchers in New Zealand discovered that dogs defecate in specific directions following their internal compasses pull toward electromagnetic fields.
Regardless, it’s highly doubtful public defecation will become the norm any time soon, though there have been cases of pooping in odd places that exceed even the most permissive cultural norms—if such a thing is possible.
Chaninat and Leed’s Thailand divorce attorneys have assisted Thais and foreigners in Thailand Family Courts since 1997.
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