A Singaporean man shared how he was berated by a Chinese tourist for not being able to understand Mandarin.
On Tuesday, 22-year-old Timothy Bon wrote in a now-viral Twitter thread how a female tourist from China asked him for directions but lashed out at him for clarifying her question.
Based on the tweet, the tourist wanted to go to 海湾舫 (hǎi wān fǎng), which means Bayfront. As Bon was not familiar with the Chinese names of MRT stations, he asked the tourist if she meant Harbourfront, Bayfront or Admiralty.
The question somehow reportedly irritated the tourist who then blasted him with, “华人不会讲话(华)语，你好意思吗? (You are Chinese but you can’t speak Mandarin, aren’t you embarrassed?)”
Irked by the tourist’s insult, Bon decided to get back at the tourist by sending her to Tuas Link, which is situated on the other end of the island. According to Bon, he achieved only C6 (50% to 54%) in the Chinese language due to dyslexia. He explained that despite his inability to understand some Mandarin, he did try his best to help the tourist.
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The tweet became widely shared as his story resonated with many netizens, with some users sharing their similar encounters with rude tourists.
His post has also made newspaper headlines and radio talk shows:
Bon then clarified that his tweet was not intended to attack Chinese tourists and was merely ranting about commuting in general.
Image via Instagram / Timothy_bon (Right), Instagram / yuichirocoffe (Left)
