I am a Taiwanese-American who was born in Taiwan, and I now live in California. Back in April, my husband and I, accompanied by my brother-in-law, who is a Westerner, visited Taiwan for a vacation and we went to Alishan to see the sunrise early in the morning. We took the little pre-dawn train to the Sunrise Viewing Deck, and with a crowd of fellow tourists, we listened to the local tour guide explain the details for us using his speakerphone.
A second tour guide, also using a speakerphone, spoke rather loudly, and the irritating sound bothered my brother-in-law, who asked the tour guide, in English, to lower the volume and not yell. I also tried to explain to the tour guide, in Taiwanese, that my brother-in-law was not used to someone yelling in his ear early in the moring with a loud speakerphone.
The tour guide's reaction? He began saying out loud to everyone within hearing distance, in both Taiwanese and Mandarin, that "Westerners are troublemakers and they should get out of Taiwan." You can imagine my shock and dismay!
He didn't stop there, either. He also opined, out loud, that "foreigners don't reveal their true feelings about Taiwan until they are back in their home countries and then they badmouth Taiwan behind our backs." He added that "visitors from China, our countrymen, are much nicer to have in Taiwan than pushy foreigners who always complain."
Niether my husband nor his brother understand Taiwanese or Mandarin, so they could not understand what the tour guide was saying about them, but they told me later that they could sense his hostility. As you can imagine, this early morning sunrise experience at Alishan was unpleasant for all three of us.
If Taiwan truly wants to attract international tourists to the nation's scenic sights, something must be done about tour guides at Alishan like the one we encountered that day. I hope someone in the Tourism Bureau is reading this letter.
Sophia Deng
California
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