Angry young man throws away shoes of barefoot Chinese traveller hogging airport seats
A video that went viral on Chinese social media – showing an angry young man throwing away the shoes of a sleeping barefoot traveller who is lying across three seats in an airport waiting area – has sparked controversy, mainland media reports.
province, which was later posted on social media, news portal 163.com reported.
“What will foreigners think when they see such ill manners – they will wonder about low Chinese people’s standards are.”
The young man, who does not give his real name, later becomes emotional in the video.
“Nobody around dares to discipline him,” he says, “I think that’s why the quality of Chinese people is getting lower and lower.”
The man then walks over to the passenger, who is apparently asleep, picks up his shoes off the floor, and throws them in the nearest rubbish bin.
The 74-second video quickly went viral online, with some internet users applauding his actions and saying that he had taught rude Chinese passengers a valuable lesson.
“Well done, the image of Chinese was damaged by these people,” one Sina Weibo microblogger said.
However, some other comments criticised his actions and said what he had done was a violation of the passenger’s private property.
“Maybe you should try to remind him in a more gentle way,” another microblogger wrote.
“I don’t think what you did has helped improve the quality of Chinese people because you just threw away someone’s shoes without permission.”
Cases of bad behaviour among Chinese tourists and airline passengers, which has made international headlines for a number of years, has been a major concern for the authorities.
Officials have called on people to be more careful about the way they behave, including ensuring they wait patiently in line while queuing – rather than pushing in at the front – do not talk too loudly when they travel, or remove their shoes while in public.