Chinese draw Sweden parallels after police claim they helped foreign tourists
Social media users quick to make nationalist comparisons after police in Henan post account of how they dealt with backpackers
Chinese internet users have been making comparisons between a police force’s account of how they treated a group of foreign tourists in central China and the recent eviction of a Chinese family from a hotel in Sweden.
Police in Henan province posted a since-deleted account on social media saying officers had come to the aid of a group of foreigners who were “not willing to leave” a hotel lobby on Thursday, before “escorting” them to another hotel.
Police in Luoyang city, a popular jumping off point for tourist attractions like the Longmen Caves and Shaolin Monastery, said they had received a call from a hotel employee yesterday morning reporting that a group of foreign tourists were still in the lobby after being told they could not check in.
The hotel was unable to accommodate the large group of foreigners due to over capacity, according to the police statement, but did not say whether they had a reservation.
The force said it had called in a translator and helped to take the group to another hotel.
Once they were settled in their new hotel, the tourists, who appear to be young backpackers, “took a group photo to mark the occasion” with police.
The police later posted the photos on their official Weibo account along with a statement giving officers’ account of events.