[VIDEO] Expat's Shoeless Feet Raises Stink Among Locals

An expat became Chinese national news as well as the focus of public backlash when he made the mistake of taking off his shoes on a crowded train.

Occurring last Tuesday on the G199 high-speed train from Beijing to Jinan, the incident became known throughout the country due to an online video that showed the unidentified expat wiggling the toes of his shoeless feet.

According to a man surnamed Ma who uploaded the video, the expat immediately took his shoes off upon arriving at his seat, unleashing an odor that was "very unpleasant."

Although he objected to the crude display of behavior, never once did Ma say a word (in Chinese or otherwise) to the expat because "Chinese should treat foreigners with courtesy." However, Ma's tolerance wore out after the expat "put his feet on the dining table" (seen in photos as being on the wall next to the table, upon which is placed a backpack), a move Ma that called "wanton."

After this, Ma went to complain to the train's personnel. Shortly afterward, the expat was forced to put his shoes back on after being told by the train's conductor accompanied by a police officer.

But that wasn't the end of it. Not only did Ma upload a video that he recorded of the shoeless expat from before, but also gave an interview in which he continued his complaints.
https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=v0538jdfzr9&width=500&height=375&auto=0
"Everybody says that foreigners are more cultured, but as a Chinese person, I've never witnessed it personally," said Ma in interviews published by Chinese news outlets Global Times and Sina News. "Anyways, the cultivation of foreigners is no higher than those of people from anywhere else."

Out of his presence and showing him no courtesy, Ma did his best to shame the expat by providing his seat number on the train; all the same, in accordance with modern Chinese journalistic principles, the identity of the expat has been obscured.

Although it may have meant very little to the unidentified expat, the gesture has been interpreted as a watershed moment with far-reaching ramifications.

In an op-ed, the China Youth Daily wrote that the undignified act of one expat has irrevocably ruined the reputation of foreigners everywhere for the rest of time:

    Most (Chinese) people have a traditional notion that the majority of foreign passengers are elegant and refined to which some can even be called 'spokesmen' for culture and hygiene. However, after the poor performance of this foreign passenger on the G199 from Beijing to Jinan, the highly-held image of the foreign passenger has fallen a thousand feet off a cliff.

Online Chinese reactions were likewise outraged at the thought of China's pride being trampled under the feet of foreigners. One person wrote, "Many foreign beggars are catered to after arriving in the Celestial Kingdom (referring to China)."

Others weren't surprised, saying this incident is indicative of all expats. "There are so many foreigners with poor manners, this is not a surprise," said one person while another said, "Foreigners in China are all bluster and empty gestures, and are equally without manners."

On the other hand, some netizens did not view incivility as being about nationalism. One person said, "Manners are not defined by borders," while another simply concluded that, "There is scum everywhere."

Some Chinese commenters put the blame squarely on Chinese people themselves with one person writing: "Laowai are this way because they picked up the habit from Chinese!"

And then there are those who put the blame on Ma himself for not having the courage to speak up. One person wrote: "He (the person complaining) thinks that as a Chinese person he should be more courteous to foreigners. This is what I call being a slave to foreigners, and is not worth your sympathy." To the same end, another person asked: "I want to know: Why should Chinese be more courteous to foreigners? As a Chinese, why must we emphasize the 'When in Rome' idiom and swallow our grievances and endure humiliation in silence? To be strong, our countrymen should be more self-confident!"

The bare feet of an expat was even enough to prompt soul-searching from some Chinese commenters. One person reacted to the news by writing: "What good is there to foreigners? Many come to China because they aren't able to make it in their own countries. There was a video before in which (a foreigner) said it was easy to make money from stupid Chinese, and that Chinese girls are easy to pick up! Easy to pick up! China is now a strong country! It is not inferior to foreign countries; old Chinese imperial dynasties even received foreign tributes from abroad!"

As rude as it is, the act of taking off your shoes and sticking them up in the air has been done before in China — but without any mention of foreign involvement:

Images: Miaopai.com, Edushi.com, zijing.org, virusfree.com.tw

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