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Reuters

Mandy Zuo

Police in Germany have arrested two Chinese tourists for making illegal “Heil Hitler” salutes in front of the historic Reichstag building that houses the German parliament.
Berlin police officers said they detained two men, aged 36 and 49, after they were seen striking the Nazi-era pose and photographing each other with their mobile phones.
42 times tourists were caught behaving badly
They face charges for “using symbols of illegal organisations”, the police said in a statement, and were released after posting bail of 500 euros (US$590) each.
Germany has strict laws on hate speech and symbols linked to Hitler and the Nazis, who ruled between 1933 and 1945.
The Reichstag is a powerful symbol in Germany. It was destroyed by fire in 1933 by an arsonist thought to have been paid by the Nazis, who then blamed the blaze on the Communists and used it as an excuse to severely restrict civil liberties.
Chinese tourists are everywhere, but why are foreign visitors shunning China?
News of the arrests soon began to circulate through China’s online community, where a large majority of people said the men deserved their punishments.
“It’s like holding a [wartime] flag of the Japanese army in front of Tiananmen Square. Go to jail,” a person wrote on the Sina news portal, making reference to Japan’s invasion of China during the second world war.
In a similar vein, some people said they were impressed by the reaction of the German police as it showed that modern Germany did not want to be associated with its Nazi past. In contrast, Japan has never apologised for its wartime atrocities, some people wrote.
Chinese tourist destroys with three swift kicks what nature took 3,000 years to build
Other commentators said they were not offended by the men’s salutes as they were unaware of the links to Hitler or the Nazis.
Several others took a more ­resigned view, saying the incident was just an example of ­Chinese tourists behaving badly overseas. “The fact that most Chinese citizens are poorly behaved has made the Chinese unwelcome in some parts of the world,” a user surnamed Zhang said on Weibo.
Who are the world’s worst tourists? Six nations that stand out - you may be surprised
About 122 million Chinese people travelled abroad last year, making them the world’s biggest spenders on overseas travel.
Additional reporting by Mandy Zuo


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Chinese tourists

Two Chinese tourists arrested after making Nazi salutes in Germany

German police officers saw the two men, aged 36 and 49, taking photos of each other making “Heil Hitler” gestures in front of the Reichstag. Photo: EPA

42 times tourists were caught behaving badly

Your guide to tourists caught causing trouble in airports and attractions around the world

(Clockwise from top left) People shovelling food at buffets, climbing into panda enclosures, squabbling at airports and feeding money to fish - all things that have happened.

Visitors to the Qinling Wildlife Park in Xian in Shaanxi province save 40 yuan (US$5.80) in entrance fees by paying local residents for access to a ladder to climb over a wall into the wildlife park. Chinese tourists in northern China are still scaling walls to enter a wildlife attraction even after a man was mauled to death by a tiger earlier this year after climbing into another zoo. - HANDOUT

The tourists piled their plates high with seafood. Photo: Facebook

Five brawling passengers were removed from a Hainan Airlines flight at Beijing airport. Photo: Weibo

Shanghai airport police try to escort Lu Yong off a United Airlines flight. Photo: SCMP Pictures

The dispute between angry Chinese passengers and a woman employee of Capital Airlines was captured on security cameras at the Beijing airport. Photo: China Youth Daily

A passenger yells at staff; an air hostess is reduced to tears.

A woman is out of her seat with her hair flailing during the brawl.

The tourists were caught fishing in protected waters in the Similan Islands off the coast of Phuket, according to the report. Photo: SCMP Pictures

The Chinese woman stages a protest on the airport runway under the aircraft after arriving too late for boarding. Photo: SCMP Pictures

A still from a video showing a Chinese couple shouting abuse at a tour guide while visiting Hainan Island. Photo: SCMP Pictures

A man climbed into the giant panda enclosure at Nanchung Zoo. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Shutterstock 105697007. Captions: the Reed Flute cave in Gui, China, is lit up to show off its stalactites

A woman, with her shoes off, sits on the lawn in Disney Town, Shanghai. Photo: SCMP Pictures

A video appeared online that purportedly shows the man aboard Orient Thai Airlines Flight 8223. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Two monks point to the spot where they rescued the lost tourists. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Signs posted among the flowers urged people to look but not touch. Photo: Haiwainet.cn

A mainland tourist poses for a selfie after a grabbing a red-billed gull at Kunming’s Cuihu Park. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Footage from a video showing a man throwing away the shoes of a barefoot traveller, who slept while taking up three seats in an airport waiting area. Photos: SCMP Pictures

This image, reported by the SCMP on 16 December, 2014, shows an airline passenger on board an internal flight in China who sparked a safety scare by yanking open an emergency exit just before a plane was due to take off to "get some fresh air", according to reports. The passenger, on board the Xiamen Air flight from Hangzhou to Chengdu, caused amazed fellow travellers to take a series of snaps on their mobile phones, which were later posted on social media.

Chinese visitors to a park in Shandong province have been feeding real money to fish in the hope it brings them good luck. Photo: 163.com

Tourists cleaning their feet on the islands of Phi Phi. Photo: Phuketwan.com

The 42-metre high Buddhist pagoda in China’s Shandong province has been covered with graffiti inside since it was refurbished and reopened to the public in 2007. Photo: SCMP Pictures

The woman leapt onto the check-in counter to complain about flight delays due to snow at Dalian airport. Photo: Sina Weibo

Dozens of mainland tourists, angered by news of a 10-hour flight delay, refused to leave the departure hall at Bangkok's Don Mueang Airport. Photo: Video still

Basketball player Bobby Brown provoked outrage on social media after posting a picture in which he tagged the Great Wall. Photo: SCMP Pictures

this couple are two of the Chinese tourists on the Cruise Ship Costa Serena refuse to step into the South Korea territory. SCMP Pictures (UNDATED HANDOUT)

The mother of the child said the toilets were too small for her, while a flight attendant found the child at the back of the cabin before the plane took off. Photo: SCMP Pictures

A Chinese woman spent about five minutes sitting on the Ming dynasty statue in Nanjing while posing for photographs. Photo: SCMP Pictures

A man seen kicking a tree to ensure plenty of fallen blossoms for a picture. Photo: Sina.com

Some of the confiscated fake military booklets containing the certificates, which were used by people to gain free entry to the Terracotta Army Museum in Xian. Photo: SCMP Pictures

The China Southern Airlines flight 380 from Shanghai Pudong Airport to Guangzhou was delayed after an elderly woman passenger was suspected of throwing coins in the plane’s engine. PHOTO : HANDOUT

The boxed up toilet seat returned to the hotel in Nagoya. Photo: Cnnb.com

Visitors to Xiaowutai Mountain clear grasslands to set up camp. Photo: SCMP Pictures

One of the peacocks at Yunnan Zoo died of shock on February 12 as a result of being held forcefully by Chinese tourists while they posed for photographs, the zoo said. Photo: Tencent

Hundreds of visitors to Zhenghou zoo jumped into the freshly drained pond when large, fresh mussels were spotted. Photo: Dahe.com

Visitors take photos while standing on the blocks of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin. Photo: EPA

The bus was left with a broken window. Photo: SCMP Pictures

ATN picture of Husband and wife fought on runway before boarding a plane in Kunming. Photo: Handout

A visitor walks around the edge of China's litter-strewn Qinghai Lake. Photo: Chinanews.com

Some of the tour group posing for pictures in New York. Photo: Sina.com

The Komodo dragon is the world's largest lizard.

Elderly flight passenger throws coins into engine for ‘luck’, delays take-off for hours

Ground crew inspect the engine of China Southern Airlines Flight 380 at Shanghai airport. Photo: Handout

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Men to face criminal probe for using symbols linked to organisations that are in breach of Germany’s constitution
