A PASSENGER who took a woman’s seat on a bullet train and refused to move has been banned from rail travel of any kind in China, according to the State Social Credit Information Center, or Credit China.

The organization, founded with the approval of the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planner, and the People’s Bank of China, has included 247 people on its latest shame list of individuals who face train travel restrictions. Another 796 passengers face restricted air travel.

The list was compiled from reports filed by the China Railways Corp., the Civil Aviation Administration of China, and the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

The passengers were blacklisted mainly for disruptive behavior, including smoking on bullet trains, fare evasion, threatening order at railway stations, carrying forbidden items on-board planes, and making up or spreading false air travel safety information.

Sun He made the list after he took a window seat on an economy train carriage from Jinan to Beijing and refused to move for the woman who had paid for it. A video of the incident, which showed him taunting the woman, triggered nationwide anger.

When a train attendant tried to mediate, Sun claimed he wasn’t able to stand and asked for a wheelchair. A railway police officer tried to persuade Sun to move but failed. The woman was given a seat in a business-class carriage and Sun was fined 200 yuan (US$29).

(China News Service)