Whose manners need correcting?

By ZI YUE
Published: March 11, 2008

BEIJING, China, In Beijing, the 11th day of every month is to be "queuing-up day," dedicated to teaching the citizenry how to stand in orderly lines, while the 22nd is to be "yield one's seat day," encouraging courtesy toward the weak or elderly on trains and buses.

This sudden fancy, announced recently by the authorities, is designed to teach manners to those who humbly use Beijing's public transport system each day, while local officials travel snugly in luxury cars.

One who eats and drinks well, enjoying a luxurious and dissolute lifestyle while requesting others to live humbly and simply, is generally considered a shameless hypocrite. Unfortunately, that is the role Beijing officials appear to be playing in this context.

Today's officials are not qualified to preach about morality and norms, in fact. If the leaders of the 1950s were to return -- former Premier Zhou Enlai to touch shoulders with the people on a crowded bus, or former Vice Chairman Zhu De to take a causal walk in a park among the common people -- they would be qualified to serve as moral examples to the people.

Now, however, there is a huge gap between rich and poor and conflict between officials and citizens. It makes no sense for officials, who ride comfortably in their official Benz and Audi luxury cars, to create these "whatever days" to instruct the ordinary people.

If such acts cannot be described as sanctimonious and ridiculous administration and governance, then how could they be described?

Indeed, the officials clearly know that the moral standards of the Chinese people have dropped to the lowest point. Authorities have even issued a directive asking citizens to build solid burglar-proof doors and windows, not to speak to strangers, not to give a warm hand to beggars, and not even to help a fallen senior citizen to stand up.*

On the other hand, the authorities wish to maintain the superficial appearance of a "harmonious society" in which citizens display good manners and proper behavior. Are these measures not contradictory, shameless, fake and only for show?

Concerning lining up and yielding seats on specific dates, the people know these are basic norms. There is no need for a propaganda campaign or setting aside specific days for these purposes. The citizens would like to see city officials coming up with something more meaningful and substantially constructive to improve people's lives.

The whole campaign promoting the two special days is big, but not bigger than the stomachs of the officials who came up with such a silly idea. And not bigger than the lies behind China's distorted "harmonious" society.

--

*Editor's note: A recent trial in China punished a young man for helping an elderly woman who had fallen, accusing him of pushing her down. The public tended to believe the youth was innocent and misjudged, the elderly woman was misled and the judge was stupid.

--

(Zi Yue is the pen name of a Beijing-based freelance writer, critic on current affairs and medical doctor. This article is edited and translated from the Chinese by UPI Asia Online; the original can be found at www.ncn.org and www.chinaeweekly.com . ©Copyright Zi Yue.)

http://www.upiasiaonline.com/Society_Culture/2008/03/11/whose_manners_need_correcting/6736/