Chinese tourists have come under fire for “uncivilized conduct” after a report about swimmers taking to a beach in Kenting (墾丁), Pingtung County, in their underwear.
On Monday, a Taiwanese surnamed Chen (陳) posted a photograph online which showed three middle-aged Chinese tourists swimming in their underwear at a Kenting beach on Saturday.
Chen said he planned the trip over the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday weekend for a beach vacation. He said the atmosphere was ruined when two buses spewed out about 50 Chinese tourists.
Photo: from the Internet
“It was a typical beach-side atmosphere, with bikini-clad girls walking around and good weather, but the uncivilized conduct of the Chinese tourists placed a complete damper on my mood,” Chen said.
Chen said he feared the large number of Chinese tourists would drive away local and foreign tourists from scenic sites.
The photographs received more than 15,000 views over two days.
“They [Chinese] create their own market — they fly their own airlines, they hire their own buses, eat and live at their own hotels — but they are using our land and our scenery, to make money. Our scenic hotspots such as Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) and Kenting are now filled with Chinese. We are left with their trash. Allowing Chinese tourists into the country costs more than we gain,” wrote a netizen using the pseudonym Bohmann Von Formosa.
A senior tour guide in Pingtung nicknamed Xiao Dong (小東) said that there have been numerous reports of Chinese tourists walking on the beach in their underwear, smoking and urinating on sidewalks in recent years.
Meanwhile, Kenting National Park Administration Office director-general Chen Chen-jung (陳貞蓉) said lifeguards usually ask tourists not to swim in clothing that soaks up water.
However, it is not against the law to swim in underwear, Chen added.
“We can only hope that Chinese tourists can keep their nation’s dignity in mind,” Chen said, adding that tour guides also have an obligation to remind tourists in their groups to wear acceptable clothing to the beach.
The office added it would ask the Tourism Bureau to send notices to tour agencies to remind them to inform clients of proper conduct on the nation’s beaches to prevent future incidents.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all