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Carol Yang

Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport has apologised for “inappropriate behaviour” following backlash over an employee making a slant-eyed gesture towards reportedly disruptive Chinese nationals.
The apology came soon after Thai authorities insisted that individual clashes would not harm bilateral relations.
In a statement on Tuesday night, airport management expressed regret over the “inappropriate behaviour and expressions of the personnel concerned”, noting that disciplinary action had been taken against the guard involved.


The incident happened around 11pm last Wednesday when fans of a Chinese celebrity taking a Beijing-bound flight reportedly breached boarding area procedures and refused to cooperate with ticket and document checks, the airport said.
According to the airport, the fans caused continuous disruptions, prompting officials to deny them boarding.
Ten fans later refused to offload their luggage and engaged in “provocative behaviour towards the staff during the operation, which led to the incident that occurred during situation control”.
The statement did not describe the “provocative behaviour” or the “incident”.

While the airport did not specify the nationality of the passenger group, local Thai media identified them as Chinese fans.
Video clips posted online showed an airport security officer making the racially offensive eye-corner-pulling gesture in their direction.
On Chinese social media, discussions about the airport incident drew widespread criticism of fans disturbing public order, while many voiced opposition to the gesture.
The controversy at Thailand’s biggest and busiest airport came just days after a similar altercation involving a Chinese visitor.
Following an event in Bangkok organised by Thai entertainment company GMMTV on July 25, footage surfaced showing security personnel manhandling a female Chinese fan.
The video showed that while the Chinese fan was recording on her phone, a female staff member in black grabbed her by the shoulder and neck to snatch the device, before throwing her to the ground as other staff surrounded them.
Following public outcry, GMMTV said on July 26 that its outsourced security personnel had used “excessive force”.

The clash involving the female fan sparked outrage on Chinese social media. Many called for GMMTV to exit the Chinese market, arguing that its statement fell short of a genuine apology and was merely aimed at protecting its profits from Chinese fans.
The Chinese embassy in Thailand weighed in the next day, confirming it had received a report from the citizen and urging Thai authorities to promptly establish the facts.
Local media reports said the fan had jumped the queue, but in a statement posted on social media she denied doing so.
The fan said she had reserved her spot using an umbrella and tried to show photo evidence to staff but said the message was lost, citing language barriers. She called for the release of the venue’s full CCTV footage.
Addressing the issue on July 28, Thai Tourism and Sport Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul rejected claims of discrimination against Chinese nationals, media outlet Thairath reported.
“The money spent by tourists can buy goods and services, but it certainly cannot buy special privileges over the Thai people,” he said.
Surasak maintained that the individual disputes would not derail broader tourism between the two countries, framing the Chinese embassy’s involvement as standard procedure.
“We hope this matter concludes with facts, accountability and improvement – not through generalisation or creating conflict between the people of the two countries,” he said.


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News

China

Diplomacy

Employee’s ‘inappropriate behaviour’ cited following incident in which celebrity’s fans were denied boarding over security concerns


Employee’s ‘inappropriate behaviour’ cited following incident in which celebrity’s fans were denied boarding over security concerns.


Bangkok

Chinese embassy

Bangkok airport apologises after clash with Chinese tourists at boarding gate

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Employee’s ‘inappropriate behaviour’ cited following incident in which celebrity’s fans were denied boarding over security concerns

Employee’s ‘inappropriate behaviour’ cited following incident in which celebrity’s fans were denied boarding over security concerns