Recently, a French woman found 8 Chinese passports and called the Chinese Embassy in France for assistance in locating the owner, but her call was hung up. Subsequently, she left a one-star review on Google Maps for the Chinese Embassy, and unexpectedly managed to contact the passport owner.
According to a message reposted by the Twitter user “作業本” with 100,000 followers, in late July this year, French netizen Loreline Gerlach visited the Chinese Embassy in France on Google Maps. Gerlach wrote in the review that she found 8 Chinese passports and called the Chinese Embassy hoping to return them to their owners. However, when she explained her intentions in French over the phone, the embassy staff immediately hung up. She tried calling multiple times afterward, but no one answered.
The French woman lamented, “These Chinese tourists are really unlucky.” She also gave the Chinese Embassy in France a one-star negative review.
After Loreline Gerlach left a comment in the Chinese Embassy’s review section on Google Maps, a person who appeared to be the passport owner urgently responded, saying, “Hello, Loreline Gerlach, please read this urgent message promptly! These 8 passports likely belong to us. If you see them, please contact me on Facebook.”
It took the Chinese Embassy in France 2 weeks to respond to Gerlach’s post, asking her to provide the names of the owners or to mail the passports to the embassy. They attributed the previous hung-up calls to “telephone lines sometimes being unreachable or automatically disconnected.”
Whether the lost passports have been returned to their owners remains unknown at this time.
As of August 23rd, someone on Google Maps left a comment for the Chinese Embassy in France, asking, “Have the 8 passports been returned? Gentlemen.” But there was no response.
The above comments can still be viewed in the review section of the Chinese Embassy in France on Google Maps.
The incident sparked discussions on X platform. Some netizens said, “This incident tells us: those who treat Chinese people the worst are fellow Chinese; those who treat Chinese people with respect are foreigners.”
“If the Chinese embassies were effective, Chinese people overseas wouldn’t suffer from widespread bullying. Even Southeast Asian and African countries ask for bribes from Chinese people when going through customs because they know that behind Chinese citizens, there are a bunch of officials who do not care about them.”
Some mocked, “If you miss home abroad, you can go to the embassy and immediately feel the warmth of your homeland, extinguishing your homesickness. Google Maps reviews outshine the Chinese Embassy.”
In recent years, Chinese diplomatic missions have repeatedly been criticized for their indifferent attitude when Chinese citizens abroad seek help.
During the 2020 pandemic, with China implementing strict quarantine policies and limiting international flights, many overseas Chinese citizens and students were stranded when attempting to return home due to pre-flight testing requirements. Numerous individuals who sought assistance from the embassies reported not receiving substantial help.
In recent years, many Chinese people have been lured into telecom fraud schemes in countries such as Cambodia and Myanmar. Some victims sought help from Chinese embassies, but were only advised to report to local police and did not receive further assistance, leaving them in prolonged distress.