CityNews – A local restaurant which had a sign up saying that they would not serve Chinese and foreign clients, has been asked by police to urgently remove the sign in fear of negative reaction.
2nd February 2020, social media erupted when a photo went viral featuring a restaurant in Mae Khampong which had a sign up, in Thai, Chinese and English, that Chinese and foreigners were not welcome because of fear of the coronavirus.
Authorities visited the restaurant in question to find Warapas Tapieng, 33, the manager of the restaurant who explained that she had a group of Thai clients dining recently and they all quickly left after some Chinese tourists sat down.
After negotiating with the authorities who explained that this kind of sign could have a negative impact on the image of Chiang Mai, it was agreed that a new sign saying, ‘Food ran out’ would be put up instead.
The manager explained that she didn’t speak Chinese, was afraid of the coronavirus, and was fearful that she couldn’t communicate properly. She apologised for upsetting anyone.