China Pushes Public To Mind Its Manners

"The honor and shame of an individual is related with that of the nation," Sha said. "This goes back to the time of Confucius, when Chinese were taught to protect the honor of the nation. Society is a complicated network, and we play our roles as members of a collective unit, so this is natural for us."

During the May national holiday, teams of government employees from Beijing's Spiritual Civilization Office, which promotes civility and culture, fanned out across the city in an effort to instill a sense of civic pride.

They lectured people for littering. They handed out fines of up to $7 for spitting in Tiananmen Square and at a railway station. Over seven days, the teams said, they gave out 100,000 paper bags for people to spit into, although few Chinese appear to be actually using them.

The Beijing Public Security Bureau has also stepped up to help. Its new training manual indicates phrases that are now banned: "No means no, it doesn't need an explanation," and "We cannot help you with this matter. Go ask whomever you like about it."

On the 11th day of each month, uniformed city employees wave flags, hurry people into orderly lines or scold them for cutting in line.

"In March, we focused on bus and subway stations. In April, we focused on hospitals," said Zheng Mojie, deputy director general of the Spiritual Civilization Office. "We gave flowers to patients standing in line to show our appreciation for their good behavior."

Zheng's office has handed out more than 4 million etiquette books showing people how to dress, how to answer the phone and, in a seemingly out-of-touch move, how to use a knife and fork when dining with foreign guests.

"Don't honk all the time and don't honk violently," the 109-page book states. "On the phone, greet listeners and tell them who you are with a soft tone and a smile. Don't pick up too slowly, waiting until the phone rings more than three times. Let the caller hang up first."

Some pundits hear a historical echo in the campaign against spitting, littering, swearing and cutting in line. They have labeled the rules the new "Four Harms," a reference to Chairman Mao Zedong's disastrous campaign against rats, flies, mosquitoes and sparrows during the Great Leap Forward in the late 1950s; the economic program wreaked havoc on agriculture and spread famine.

As with other government campaigns over the years, many Chinese are cynical about the forced etiquette lessons.

An online survey in February by national television network CCTV and a popular Web site showed that "Queuing Days" were not having much of an impact. More than 72 percent of respondents said the measure was ineffective; only 19 percent said it would do any good.

"It's mainly for the Westerners, this campaign," said Liu Xiaobo, a freelance writer and political commentator. "Good manners are cultivated through daily life by the people themselves, not by this kind of large-scale movement. I think government wants to leave a good impression to the world. It's about the face of the government."

Some note that there are reasons behind some of the bad habits here. Many Chinese spit, for example, because they need to clear phlegm in their throats caused partly by horrendous air pollution.

In the end, even the Spiritual Civilization Office acknowledges these things take time.

"Developing the habit of standing in line takes years," Zheng said. "The Olympics is just an opportunity to teach this, but this is not just for the Olympics. We are trying to get the public to be more civilized in the long run. Actually for the Olympics, you don't have to worry. Because Beijingers care so much about face, they will not embarrass the authorities -- they will behave very well."

Researcher Li Jie contributed to this report.