The tourists were passengers of the inaugural Shanghai-Saipan charter flight.
“I am very disappointed. This is like you coming into my bedroom without prior invitation,” the governor said during a press conference yesterday. “We have K-9s [to do the drug search]. Those dogs don’t touch private parts…. I suspect there’s conspiracy and we’re looking into it,”
He added, “This is deliberate [maybe because of the administration’s lawsuit against the federalization law]. This is so extraordinary.”
The governor said his legal team will analyze the situation and will make the necessary action, including filing a protest, if necessary.
Some fear that China may ban all Saipan-bound flights over the incident.
Several newspapers in China carried the story about the 147 Chinese tourists, which included Shanghai officials, who were subjected to a body search on Saipan by Drug Enforcement Administration agents.
Tom Liu, general manager of Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino, said losing Saipan-bound flights from China is the last thing the CNMI needs.
“It was a rude welcome,” he said. “But hopefully this thing will not be blown out of proportion. We don’t want them to stop flying on this route.”
Henry Pun, general manager of Century Tours, said Chinese tourists complained about the way they were treated, describing it as “humiliating.”
“Those tourists were very upset,” he said. “This might become a big issue. Some of them have already complained to the Shanghai’s Municipal Foreign Affairs Office.”
One of the 147 passengers said DEA agents inspected them one by one in a small room where they were asked to unload all their belongings.
“He checked my baggage again and asked me to put everything from my pockets onto the table. Then he isolated me in a small room and asked me to face the wall and put my hands up on the wall. He then proceeded to frisk me up and down my body. I was so shocked. He touched my private parts three times,” the passenger said and added that even their undergarments were searched.
“We are just tourists but we were treated like criminals. Some were insulted and are going to consult an attorney to seek a complaint regarding racial discrimination and violations of their human rights. This search and treatment by the agents was only carried out on Chinese tourists,” the passenger added.
The Chinese tourists said they are also upset with their tour operators and vowed never to visit Saipan again.
