National artist Chalermchai Kositpipat, creator of the renowned White Temple, has urged Thais not to hate the Chinese but instead help them “learn manners.”
Chalermchai, who briefly banned all Chinese tourists from this temple last year after one Chinese woman made his golden toilet dirty, has obviously changed his opinions about Thailand’s biggest customers as he released a video urging Thais not to hate the Chinese yesterday.
“I used to dislike the Chinese very much. I didn’t like the way they did bad things to my temple, damaged it, shit on it and all. I was among the first people to say the Chinese are bad!” Chalermchai ranted.
“But now the Chinese government is really trying to educate their citizens what to do when traveling abroad. I, tour guides, our customs, Chinese customs, we all have helped each other to teach the Chinese tourists. Now the Chinese are so nice, and they visit my temple with respect.”
This was quite a big statement from Chalermchai, who had seriously considered building a racist “Chinese-only” toilet because he felt their toilet behavior should not be suffered by anyone else.
But Chalermchai now said he doesn’t mind Chinese tourists in his toilets.
“If they shit on it, I’ll clean it. If they break something, I’ll fix it.”
After all, he thinks the Chinese are fixing our economy in return.
“The Chinese are our guests who visit us when our economy is such a disaster. They bring money. Locals have enough to eat because of them.”
“Don’t hate them. Whatever they do, we’ll help them change for the sake of our economy. What if the Chinese don’t come to Thailand, what will we eat?”
Last year Thailand welcomed 8.3 million Chinese tourists, which accounted for 36 percent of total arrivals, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
Related:
White Temple artist upset by pose of Chinese model
Potty Crisis: White Temple to build Chinese-only toilets
White Temple temporarily bans Chinese tourists for potty misconduct
