Zhao Genda, a 63-year-old pensioner from Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, gained instant notoriety after Taiwan TV reported that he carved his name and that of his hometown on the rock face at Taipei Yeliu Geopark on Friday.

Zhao’s story quickly spread to the mainland, where a report carried by the popular www.163.com has drawn more than 5,000 comments, with most respondents calling his behavior “despicable” and “shameful”.

Zhao said he was unaware of the controversy he had caused until Sunday when he returned home and his daughter informed him.

“My wife and daughter severely criticized me for the misconduct,” he said. “I’m very regretful about that and hope to apologize to the public through the media.”

- Xinhua

Last week, in response to aspersions cast on Zhao Genda, many mainland travelers have banded together and defended their actions while on Taiwanese soil.

Among the hundreds of Zhao supporters who spoke out on China’s popular internet forum Tianya, newlyweds Zhang Kewen and Guo Liuyan admitted to carving “Kewen + Liuyan forever” circumscribed with a heart on a hundred-year-old cypress at Alishan National Scenic Area in central Taiwan.  Beneath their heart the couple also whittled their address, e-mail, birthday, cell phone, QQ number, and two notches on the tree apparently indicating their height.  “Oh yes, we plan to go back,” the couple said.  “Every year.”

Parks are not the only places where tourists have left indelible marks. The National Palace Museum, the eminent art museum in Taipei, was another popular target. Museum Director Chou Kung-shin said yesterday, “We noticed structural integrity problems in the West Wing last Thursday.  It turned out visitors were chiseling away bits of the foundation of the building and smuggling it away in their pockets.  I guess they thought it was the Great Wall or something.”

On CCTV1, an enthusiastic Beijing resident cited the Chinese government’s easing of tourism restrictions in March as a hopeful step toward reunification.  “One day, we hope that our children will be able to travel freely to Taiwan and carve their names on all sorts of things without having to apply for a visa,” she said with water in her eyes.  “I hope I live to see that day.”

But this recent spate of faux pas could prove to be a setback for Sino-Taiwanese relations.  Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, sometimes criticized for his ambivalent stance on Taiwanese independence, said sternly in a press conference, “We have the deepest respect for our brothers from the mainland, but please, when you’re visiting our country—I mean, your country—no, I mean, both of our countries.  Wait, what I’m trying to say is… we’re both countries… and, you know, I just want to say, ah… gosh.  I love you.”

Contrary to the President’s high-minded rhetoric, a member of the Taipei City Police Department, who did not wish to be named, maintained a more pragmatic outlook.  He said that since mainland sightseers were allowed on the island, there have been 14 sightings of infants defecating or urinating in the streets; 6,429 incidents of taking pictures in front of placards clearly prohibiting photography; 43,507 reports of queue-hopping; and 127,894 instances of spitting in the street.  “We’re overwhelmed,” the officer said.  “Many of us are working 18- or 20-hour shifts just to keep the streets clean.  It’s tough.  The second you turn your back, someone’s cutting in line or taking a dump on a tree.”

A man at the local police office, detained for multiple counts of spitting in the street, was unrepentant.  “Last time I checked, Taiwan was still a part of China.  And in China, I can hock a loogie wherever the fuck I want.” When told that in fact the mainland also has laws against spitting on the street, he responded, “Just because they enforce the law here, doesn’t make them any better than us.”

There is no sign that the perceived improper behavior is abating.  Saturday evening, three mainland visitors were taken into custody after wandering out of their hotel room, buying some cheap baijiu from a local convenience store and sitting outside Taipei 101 on stools, eating lamb kebabs and throwing the empty sticks in the street.