Vietnam trip leaves sour taste

Thanks to their deepening pockets, Chinese tourists are welcome across the world. Quite a few countries have made their visa procedures easier to lure this ever-growing group that spent $200 billion overseas last year.

It is not all smooth sailing, though.

Media reports say early this week a group of Chinese tourists in Nha Trang, central Vietnam, were harassed, some even assaulted, at the airport when they refused to pay a "routine" 10-yuan ($1.55) "tip" to Vietnamese officers before boarding. According to the Chinese tourists, the Vietnamese officers tried to "confiscate" their passports and threatened them with Tasers when they refused to pay them.