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Thread: Discrimination Against Locals or Hospitality ??

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[quote=LEMONCACTUS             ,33046]Interesting points.I do not call favouring someone because you perceive they are rich and will bring you more money courtesy or hospitality.I have been on a train and tried to upgrade to a sleeper, only to be told by the guard if I paid him 500rmb he would do this. The normal price of the sleeper is about 200 and I had already paid about 90rmb for a standing ticket. If I was a local, he told me, he would give it to me. I explained to him I had lived in the NE of China for over a year, paid taxes etc... it made no difference.Similarly I have been completely ignored in bus queues, restaurants, train stations etc as locals/Chinese happily push past me.At other times, a conductor in a train searched the length of the train to find a seat for me when she saw me sitting on my bag in the smoking area as I had no 'seat ticket'. I have experienced great courtesy and great rudeness here, as I have in my own country, as I have in other countries.I would feel incredibly uncomfortable if I was accorded 'priority' over anyone else, Westerner or local.I also find it incredible that I can be charged double the price of my Chinese friend for a seat on a bus.Doesn't charging foreigners double assume two things that may be completely untrue:1. That all foreigners are rich2. That all locals are poorI know many Chinese who earn more than I do in China.And what about foreigners working in China who are not spending converted $ or £ or other strong currencies, but rely on the lovely RMB to pay their way ?There are many issues here. Not least of which is what is a foreigner ? The difference in the West I suggest is that it would seem unscrupulous to charge a 'foreigner' double.Should the West in fact reduce its prices for 'foreigners' and charge double for its locals ? Also, in the West, it is much less obvious who is a local and who is a foreigner... therefore these industries tend to believe that every guest they have is important, regardless of nationality, and should be treated well.[/quote]

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