As we’ve seen while living here, doing anything in China can be fraught with risks that would never occur to one’s mind previous to experiencing them in China.  For example, what would you do if, as a foreigner, you paid for a nice luxury tour of China by bus, only to find yourself locked inside the bus, in the heat, with the air conditioning turned off, and no water or bathroom?  And this as punishment for not buying anything in the shop the tour guide took you to?

Bizarre doesn’t quite cover it.  This happened to a group of Taiwanese tourists visiting the town of Suzhou where we live.  The old original part of the town inside the moat is a popular tourist destination in China because its canals and old buildings are thought to be Venice-like. Many travel agencies operate, and you can see bus-loads of tourists any given day by going down to the Silk Factory or one of the many old-town gardens. This bus stopped at a shop that, clearly, had some kickback thing going on with the tour guide.  He told all the tourists, retired schoolteachers from Taiwan, to buy things in that shop, and when some didn’t he told them they couldn’t leave until they did, making his threat credible with heat, thirst, and bladder pressure.

You notice that he did this to Taiwanese old folks, who are, like Chinese old folks, relatively timid and deferential to authority (even fake authority).  Would he have even tried that with a bunch of American tourists?  No possible way.  I probably could have freed them single handed myself if I’d have been there, simply by being loud, taller than him, and irate.  Tom and I have learned how to deal with the many people who try to cheat us here by being both alert to cheaters and cheating and by being bold and confrontational when need arises.  New experiences teach new skills.

Here’s the whole article, posted on a Taiwanese new site:

China’s travel agency apologizes to Taiwan tourists for forced shopping

While Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin promised that there would be a harmonious and pleasant trip for Taiwanese people to travel in China, a Chinese tour guide had bullied Taiwanese tourists for unwanted shopping. Sun Jianping, president of the Suzhou Travel Agency that organized the trip, publicly apologized to the tourists and vowed to discipline the abominable tour guide.

In his four-point statement, Sun offered apology to Taiwan tourists being rudely treated. The travel agency had disciplined the guide and suggested to governing authorities that his license be evoked. The agency would enhance education to all employees and be willing to compensate Taiwan tourists for their losses, said Sun.

Sun also said that the travel agency would go through a thorough review of the incident, striving to improve their service quality.

Recently, a group of retired teachers traveling in Suzhou had been forced by the tour guide to buy some products in a specific shop. When they refused to do so, the guide locked everyone in the tour bus, turned off the air conditioner and forbade them from going to the restroom. After the exposure of his bullying act, Suzhou City government began the investigation and the travel agency president apologized for the unfortunate incident.