It looks like this how the ROK government has decided to show its citizens that is doing something about the amount of crime committed by Chinese tourists on Jeju island:
Captured image from Beijing News website
According to the Beijing News and other local Chinese newspapers on Sunday, over 100 Chinese tourists were refused entrance to Jeju Island by Korean immigration authorities over China’s week-long national holiday last week, and the tourists were reportedly detained at the Jeju International Airport for hours, some even days, before returning to China.
“A number of tourists were refused entry for various reasons, and detained [at the airport],” the Beijing News reported on Sunday. “The room contained simple facilities, like electric outlets, and had no bed or blankets.”
The Chinese paper reported that a Chinese citizen surnamed Zhang and his wife were detained at the airport because they could not provide papers for their accommodation reservations at the island.
The paper added that over 100 Chinese tourists were detained at Jeju International Airport during the national holidays, staying at most five days. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
The gloves may finally be coming off after the sinking of a ROK Coast Guard speed boat by the illegal Chinese fishing boats this past week:
China’s foreign ministry on Wednesday asked South Korea to stay calm in dealing with Chinese boats illegally fishing in the neighboring country’s waters a day after Seoul said it will be more firm with lawbreakers.
South Korea’s decision to strengthen law enforcement, even authorizing the use of firearms, is not a fundamental solution to the problem and will only cause more trouble, said Chinese ministry spokesman Geng Shuang during a regular press briefing.
The remark was made a day after South Korea’s Coast Guard said it plans to actively use force, including crew-served weapons, against boats and fishermen that violently interfere with the authorities’ execution of their duties.
The announcement by the Seoul government came a few days after a 4.5-ton Coast Guard speedboat was sunk Friday during an operation against illegal fishing in the Yellow Sea when a 100-ton Chinese boat intentionally rear-ended it.
The Chinese ministry, however, said the Chinese boat was legitimately operating in a zone where fishing was allowed.
South Korea should refrain from using excessive force that could harm the safety of Chinese nationals, the spokesman added. [Yonhap]
What would the Chinese government do if the ROK had fishing boats parked right off the coast of Hainan or the Paracel Islands in southern China and their coast guard personnel were attacked? I am willing to bet they would not show the restraint the ROK Coast Guard has so far shown.
You just have to love the hypocrites in the Russian and Chinese military who come out against THAAD deployment to South Korea with comments like this:
Washington was using the North’s actions as a pretext to gain military superiority over China, Chinese general Cai Jun told defence officials at a briefing on the forum’s sidelines.
Deploying the system in South Korea, he said, was “not conducive to the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula”, he said, adding “it has increased the risk of military conflict in the region”. [AFP]
You know what is not conducive to “peace and stability” North Korea continuous provocations, missile firings and nuclear tests.
Beijing fears that THAAD could be used against its own missiles, effectively undermining its nuclear deterrence capabilities against the US.
From a global perspective, Cai said, the US’s insistence on developing its missile defence programme could trigger “an arms race at a high level, even to outer space.”
It is pretty ironic that the Chinese are worried about an arms race when their unilateral territorial grabs in the South China Sea and the East China Sea is causing an arms race with neighboring countries in the reasons.
Speaking on a panel during the forum, Russian deputy defence minister Anatoly Antonov also slammed the agreement.
“We are concerned about the attempts of certain nations to exploit the complex situation in the Korean peninsula,” he said, “pumping this sub-region with clearly excessive defence capabilities.”
The decision has “aggravated regional tension” and “adds problems to solving the situation.”
You can read more at the link, but if the Russians are so concerned about aggravating regional tensions and adding problems then why don’t they do something to stop North Korea nuclear and missile programs that are the main cause of all the regional tensions and problems?
The ROK government is under increasing pressure to do something about the increasing number of illegal Chinese fishing boats that continue to violate South Korea’s sovereign waters:
The government is under pressure to come up with stronger measures to stop Chinese fishermen from operating in Korean waters illegally.
The calls come three days after a Coast Guard speed boat sank after being rammed by a Chinese fishing vessel.
The 4.5-ton boat was one of two Korean vessels dispatched to waters near Socheong Island where 40 Chinese boats were fishing illegally. The Chinese boat weighed about 400 tons.
Rep. Chung Jin-suk, the floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party, demanded stern action from the administration. “The government should find the Chinese vessels that escaped and bring them to justice,” he said.
Noting it is about maritime sovereignty, Chung said, “It is not news that Chinese fishermen use steel pipes and knives against coastguards during crackdowns. I wonder if the Korean authorities have become powerless.”
He said his party would consider stationing more Coast Guard officers in the West Sea.
Rep. Woo Sang-ho, the floor leader of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, echoed Chung. “The violent, illegal activities by Chinese fishing boats are beyond a tolerable level. I would say they are not fishermen but pirates.” [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but maybe the ROK Coast Guard should treat them as pirates and sink them on the spot if they don’t comply with demands?
The police on Jeju have launched a crackdown on Chinese tourists due to them committing 95% of petty crime by foreigners on Jeju island:
A female owner of a restaurant in Yeon-dong, Jeju, lies face-up on the ground (indicated by red circle) on Sept. 9 after she was assaulted by eight Chinese tourists, who refused to pay for their food after the owner told them not to bring in alcohol from outside the restaurant. [JEJU WESTERN DISTRICT POLICE PRECINCT]In downtown Jeju on Sunday night, booming sounds echoed down the streets as three drunken Chinese men pounded on a video arcade in front of a game room. A few passing women were so startled they let out shouts of surprise, but the men only kept on whooping loudly.
“After a Korean woman was murdered in a cathedral in Jeju,” said Park Soo-jung, a 32-year-old resident of Jeju, “seeing big Chinese men scares me.”
On Sept. 22 in Yeon-dong of Jeju, an area often crowded with Chinese visitors, police officers tried to prevent two Chinese tourists from jaywalking.
“Do not jaywalk!” the officers called out to them in Mandarin Chinese.
One of them, a 42-year-old Chinese man surnamed Ma, reportedly answered, “Why are you picking on us when everyone else is jaywalking?”
Ma was charged 20,000 won ($18.26) for breaking the law. He was just one of about 40 found jaywalking within two hours in downtown Jeju.
“After the cathedral incident, we’ve heightened the crackdown against crimes committed by Chinese tourists,” said Kim Chang-hyun, head of a local police team in Jeju. “Once the sun sets, I start worrying what kind of crimes committed by Chinese tourists I’ll be seeing that night.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]
If the Japanese made such a film that gloats about marching into Seoul I am willing to bet the reaction from South Korea would be much different. However, since it is China making a film gloating about marching into Seoul I bet there will hardly be any notice:
A teaser for a patriotic film that features Chinese veterans of the Korean war has ignited controversy in China and revived debate over the country’s controversial role in the deadly conflict six decades ago. It has also triggered calls on Chinese social media to boycott My War, by Hong Kong director Oxide Pang and due to premiere on Thursday, as some internet users said the film treated poorly historical facts of the war that killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers from China and more from the two Koreas, which remain divided and hostile to each other.
The two-minute teaser shows a group of elderly Chinese tourists on a bus in Seoul as a young Korean tour guide welcomes them on their first trip to South Korea’s capital city.
An old lady interrupts, telling the guide they had visited before in the past.
“Lady, we came here before, about 60 years ago,” an old man says.
“We held the Chinese flag and came here,” another man explains.
The tour guide, wearing traditional Korean dress, looks puzzled, asking how they would hold the Chinese flag in Seoul.
The tourists tell the guide she will realise how they did so after she sees My War.
“Resist US aggression and aid Korea, protect our home and defend our country,” the tourists chant at the end of the teaser.
The slogan is widely used in Communist propaganda to describe China’s role in coming to North Korea’s aid in 1950, resulting in the deaths of between 149,000 and 400,000 Chinese soldiers. [South China Morning Post via a reader tip]
You can read the rest at the link, but if someone made that such comments to me I would have responded if they brought their Chinese flag back with him when they ran with their tails between their legs out of the city from the United Nations forces?
Anyway here is a Youtube clip of the movie’s controversial promotion video:
I wonder if this would be like the joint patrols the US military and the ROK police conduct near US military bases?:
South Korea and China will discuss the possibility of stationing Chinese police officials on its southern island of Jeju if the relevant authorities here consider it necessary, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Thursday.
The idea was raised by a South Korean opposition lawmaker earlier this week amid an increase in crimes by Chinese tourists on the popular resort island.
“The issue of stationing Chinese police (on Jeju) will be actively discussed with China after talks with our relevant departments, including the police, and if they so wish,” the ministry said. “Even if the Chinese police are stationed here, they would not be involved in our public safety activities, but only work with us in terms of sharing information on criminals and cooperating on safety issues.” [Yonhap]
Maybe the ROK is taking the approach President Duerte takes for drug dealers and applying it to Chinese fishermen who continue to plague the country’s waters:
Three Chinese fishermen were killed on Thursday in a fire that broke out on their boat when South Korean coastguard men trying to apprehend them for illegal fishing threw flash grenades into a room they were hiding in, a South Korean official said.
Disputes over illegal fishing are an irritant in relations between China and U.S. ally South Korea, even as their economic relations grow close. They also share concern about North Korea’s nuclear weapon and missile programs.
The three men were believed to have suffocated, a coastguard official in the South Korean port city of Mokpo said, adding that the incident was being investigated.
The fire broke out in the boat’s steering room, the official, who is not authorized to speak with media and declined to be identified, told Reuters by telephone.
South Korean authorities were questioning the 14 surviving crew and coastguard members involved in the operation, the official added.
China’s Foreign Ministry said it had lodged a protest with Seoul about the incident.
Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing Beijing was also urging South Korea to hold a “comprehensive and objective” investigation into the incident, along with China. [Reuters via reader tip]
You can read more at the link, but definitely compared to the past where these fishermen having actually murdered Korean Coast Guard personnel it is clear ROK authorities have taken a more aggressive stance to stop them.
![A female owner of a restaurant in Yeon-dong, Jeju, lies face-up on the ground (indicated by red circle) on Sept. 9 after she was assaulted by eight Chinese tourists, who refused to pay for their food after the owner told them not to bring in alcohol from outside the restaurant. [JEJU WESTERN DISTRICT POLICE PRECINCT]](https://i0.wp.com/pds.joins.com/jmnet/koreajoongangdaily/_data/photo/2016/10/04202501.jpg?resize=610%2C379)
