Danish Bathroom Break on a Shanghai Hwy

[Fu Lai]

6 Danes investigated for urinating in full view in Shanghai

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/mediafile/201303/26/F201303260856582371114159.jpg

 

By Ni Yinbin (Shanghai Daily)

Shanghai police said they are investigating reports of six foreign tourists drunkenly urinating on a low barrier on an elevated road in full view of traffic on Saturday afternoon.

The driver of the bus carrying them told police the men forced him to stop and nearly caused an accident.

Police started investigation after a picture of the men urinating on the North-South Elevated Road was posted online yesterday morning, causing indignation on the Internet.

"They were urinating on the road and laughing, and all of them are foreigners," said a witness surnamed Huang, who took the picture and posted it.

The driver of the tourists' rented bus, surnamed Bian, was found by police from surveillance camera footage. The driver said he was driving a group of Danish tourists back from the Audi International Circuit racetrack in suburban Jiading District to Zhaojiabang Road in Xuhui District about 4pm on Saturday when the incident happened.

Bian said they forced him to stop, so he tried pulling over along the thin median.

"They drank too much and wanted to urinate," Bian told a local TV news report yesterday. "They dragged my steering wheel and I almost hit other cars."

It was not immediately known if the men had been identified or what punishment they might face. The driver could be punished for parking on the elevated road.

"It's too dangerous, not only for the cars but for themselves," a resident told the news report yesterday.

The case remained under investigation late yesterday.

The picture soon went viral on Sina Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter. Many netizens condemned the behavior.

"These foreigners should be punished immediately," said netizen Ouyangmengzhou.

"Don't always talk about Chinese tourists not behaving in other countries. See what the foreigners do in China?" netizen zz52924 commented.

Others were more tolerant.

"Maybe it's because there are not enough public toilets?" said netizen with the screen name Shenhaigoulan.

"If they don't have a malicious or discriminating purpose, let's just take it a joke. Be tolerant, this is an open country," said netizen Yadian2008.

 

That's pretty daring even for a bunch of drunks.

[tsap seui]

OH NO!!!! Tell me it ain't so, Joe.

 

While I admit to having had our cab driver stop so I could water the lillies on the side of the road. I was completely sober and I joined up in line with several Chinese fellers who were doing the same thing. Okay, okay, I got it.....I'll don my plastic Chairman Mao halloween mask so the poh-leece won't see I'm a dad-gummed furr-iner. Ah, my bladder is safe.

 

And I swear, while my wife and the cab driver were laughing like silly, I did not crack a smile as I stood in line with my mates, who were not laughing either, by the way. It was a solemn and serious affair.

 

While I don't admit to any higher education, or to having much smarts, I live by a rule I learned long ago. When in another country, do as the locals do. Don't make yerself stand out like a swollen bladder, so to speak.

 

tsap seui

Edited March 26, 2013 by tsap seui (see edit history)

[Randy W]

The bathroom in this case was at least 20 yards away

 

[johnxiaoying]

In 1971 I was in the Navy, in Sasebo, Japan. It was normal to pee in the gutter, but not in the middle of the downtown shopping district. I'd seen plenty of Japanese business men set their brief cases down and take a whiz in broad daylight. This was really a convenient custom that young drunk sailors readily took to.

 

We went to Nam, stopped off at Hong Kong on the way back to Japan where I met a young lady. We were walking in an unlit area near her home and I excused myself and walked over to a grassy area next to a fence. I began taking a whiz and she yelled at me "what are you doing, do you want to go to jail"?

 

Not too far from Japan but far enough to have different customs.