Chinese → English transcript

Early this morning, a woman completely freaked out on a Malaysia AirAsia flight

Causing the flight to be delayed by an hour and a half

I believe you have all already seen it online

I was one of the unlucky passengers on that very plane

By now I was supposed to be on a beach in the Maldives

But because of this incident

I “happily” got a one-day tour of Kuala Lumpur instead

I was sitting very close to her at the time

I witnessed every detail from start to finish

I actually wanted to stand up and stop it several times

But to be honest

I was really torn inside

First was shame

Seeing a fellow countrywoman, because one of our own was late

Instead completely losing it in the cabin

Even forcibly demanding that the foreign flight attendants must speak Chinese

My reaction was just wanting to crawl into a hole

Second was rationality

I knew very well that someone whose emotions are totally out of control like that

There is no way I could reason with her

If I got myself involved in the quarrel

Things would probably only get more chaotic

I might even end up not being able to take the flight myself

It could even cause the situation to blow up further

But now I have to step up and speak

Because people online have started to spin the narrative

Trying to stir up hostility between China and Malaysia

As someone who was there

I have to say something fair and objective

This is absolutely not an ethnic or national conflict

It is purely a personal behavior problem

Because the person who reminded her to turn off her phone

And to keep her voice down was a Mandarin-speaking

Malaysian Chinese lady

When she was communicating

Her tone was actually relatively gentle

But that woman used so-called toughness

To cover up the fact that she was in the wrong

She even tried to use language as an excuse, saying that

Let us all be fair here

The common language on international routes is English

When Chinese airlines fly abroad

Do we also demand that the crew must speak dozens of foreign languages

That clearly does not hold water at all

What is even more absurd is

She kept claiming she was a China Southern Airlines flight attendant

To be honest

From her shouting, threatening the crew, to interfering

With taxiing

There was not the slightest sign

Of the professional standards of a civil aviation worker

If her identity is real

Then she knowingly broke the rules

Her career in aviation is basically over

And if it is fake

Then the trouble she is about to face could be huge

First will be a massive compensation claim from the airline

The extra fuel burned because of the delay

Ground service fees

And all kinds of costs for our delayed tickets

Every cent will be charged to her

Second will be serious legal punishment

Her behavior is already suspected of violating

The Civil Aviation Security Regulations

As well as the Public Security Administration Punishment Law

She disrupted the order of civil aviation

She will very likely face administrative detention

And may even be put on the civil aviation no-fly blacklist

And third will be lawsuits over infringement of reputation rights

If she was impersonating a BlueSky Airlines employee

then BlueSky Airlines would definitely not sit by and watch its brand image be damaged.

The fourth point is also very realistic.

People like me, who lost work time because of her,

and other passengers who suffered losses with tickets, hotels, and so on,

in theory, each of us has the right to file

a civil lawsuit against her.

If all of us joined together,

then she would be facing a very large amount of detention and compensation.

There is a comment online that put it very sharply.

It said her legal awareness is weak,

but her rights-defending awareness is very strong.

You want to defend your rights, fine,

but the basis for defending your rights is following the rules.

Your friend was late,

yet you demanded that the entire plane

pay the price for your personal affairs,

and even demanded that an international airline accommodate your language.

That is not defending your rights.

That is a kind of “refusal-to-speak-English” style hegemony.

So in the end I also want to say to the people fanning the flames,

do not elevate an issue of personal character to the level of the nation.

The Malaysian flight attendants and the security staff back home

were very restrained and very professional throughout the whole process.

I want to remind everyone,

when we are abroad, each of us is like a business card.

You do not have to be perfect,

but you must abide by laws and regulations.

Defend your rights legally.

Keep your emotions under control.

Do not let your “heroism” become a source of shame in the eyes of your compatriots.