My Take | Patriotism and tourism don’t travel well

Chinese visitors who angered Vietnam with controversial T-shirts showing disputed South China Sea boundary provide a reminder to stay out of trouble when abroad

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A photo of Chinese tourists wearing T-shirts embossed with the 9-dash line in the disputed South China Sea has sparked online anger in Vietnam. Photo: Twitter/Nga Pham

Published: 5:13am, 17 May 2018Updated: 5:13am, 17 May 2018

Beijing’s chest-pounding policy of forcing foreign companies, especially international airlines, to adhere to its “one China” nomenclature in all their public communication may have become too successful and encouraged mainland tourists to behave a tad too nationalistic while travelling in other places.

That’s generally not a good idea – unless, of course, you want to invite trouble.

A group of mainland tourists was intercepted by security at an airport immigration desk in southern Vietnam after they were seen wearing identical T-shirts depicting the so-called nine-dash line showing the disputed boundary of the South China Sea claimed by Beijing, but contested by several neighbouring countries, including Vietnam.

They were ordered to change their shirts before being allowed to leave the airport. Photos of the group have since gone viral, inviting widespread criticism across Vietnam and even international news coverage. Some irate Vietnamese netizens have demanded the tourists be deported.

This is precisely the kind of incident China wants its people to avoid when travelling overseas. On the other hand, when you whip up so much nationalist pride, sometimes it’s hard to contain it.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China instructed 36 international carriers last month to stop listing Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan separately on their websites and mark them as part of China. Some carriers such as United Airlines and Japan Airlines have so far resisted the demand, but Korea’s Asiana Airlines has changed its website by referring to Taiwan under the heading “mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan”.