BEIJING, Sept. 8 -- From numerous exhibitions to the
FIFA Women's World Cup next week, Beijing Olympics next year and Shanghai World
Expo in 2010, China is hosting more international events than ever before.
Many fascinating structures, such as the "bird's
nest" Beijing National Stadium and the egg-shaped National Grand Theater, have
been built. Space age pavilions will emerge along Shanghai's Huangpu River bank
ahead of the expo.
There is little doubt that these world-class
structures will impress people from all over the world.
While few people would question the country's ability
to present this superb "hardware", many are worried about problems regarding our
poor "software" - bad social manners displayed by many Chinese citizens.
A survey in Shanghai showed that most residents deem
the public behavior of locals unacceptable for an international metropolis.
China's world table tennis champion Deng Yaping and
well-known skier Ye Qianbo are among those who point to bad habits as a major
obstacle to a successful Beijing Olympics.
Spitting, littering, queue jumping, slurping, smoking
in non-smoking areas and talking loudly in crowded public places are just some
of the most cited bad habits.
In a country where people are proud of their
5,000-year history and care much about not losing face, bad manners have raised
public indignation in the past year as some airports, restaurants and toilets in
Europe and Southeast Asia post only Chinese language signs, reminding people of
proper conduct.
To address the issue, central government departments
have announced guidelines for Chinese traveling both at home and abroad,
reminding them of civility and cultural awareness.
Cities like Beijing and Shanghai have launched
massive public campaigns ahead of their 2008 Olympics and 2010 World Expo.
In Shanghai, the women's federation has launched a
drive known as "one million families learning etiquette". About 750,000 locals
attended relevant training sessions last year. Booklets about etiquette have
been handed out and public lectures have been broadcast on television.
Studies show that about 75 percent of locals polled
consider the etiquette drive as extremely necessary and would like to
participate themselves.
Although these campaigns have achieved some tangible
results in both Beijing and Shanghai, littering in Tian'anmen Square remains a
headache for cleaning workers. Jaywalking is still common at crossroads whenever
traffic police are absent.
Many people continue to push their way to get onto
Shanghai's subway trains.
Poor manners are observed in people from all walks of
life, challenging the traditional Chinese saying that people know courtesy only
when the granaries are full.
Many of the bad-mannered people in our society are
actually those who have become rich. Even after they rise in economic status,
many still behave disgustingly.
A lack of proper education has been blamed as a major
cause for the uncivilized habits.
In this regard, institutions from kindergartens to
universities should bear the primary responsibility of educating people in
social graces.
But the current school system, which cares more about
training students to become test machines, can hardly accomplish this mission,
unless more changes are introduced into the curriculum.
We all know that Confucianism is a great textbook
about etiquette, but very few of our primary and secondary schools are teaching
it.
The upcoming Beijing Olympics and Shanghai World Expo
are indeed a good time to promote proper public behavior, but educating 1.3
billion people will probably take decades or even a whole generation.
With bad social manners deep rooted in many people's
daily lives, it will be a tough battle and there will be no shortcuts.
While the Beijing Olympics and Shanghai World Expo
will be a big test and a display of public behavior, cultivating good social
manners is not just for these events, it is vital to the country's goal of
building a harmonious society, sustaining development and winning respect from
people all over the world.
Cultivating good social manners for our citizens
means a lot more than winning 100 Olympic gold medals.
(Source: China Daily)
