Not Queuing Day |
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| Not long ago, we (yes, I have taken to referring to myself as the royal ‘we’) “reported” on China’s blitz on manners ahead of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. Here’s an update on the progress. |
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- People caught spitting on the streets of Beijing will be fined up to 50 yuan ($6.50 USD) - Now, in America that won’t buy a whole lot; maybe a value meal at a fast food restaurant. Not so bad, really. But in China, that’s a pretty big fine. It’s about how much a college student makes in Beijing in a day, and it could buy 16 rides on the subway, 100 packs of tissues, or [insert witty comment about what 50 yuan will buy here and laugh at my - I mean our - marvellous sense of humor].
- The 11th day of every month will be “Queuing Day” (”Forming an Orderly Line Day” for you yanks) - “Yay! Do you know what this Sunday is?! It’s QUEUING DAY!!! On Queuing Day, instead of everybody mobbing the bus, subway, or store counter, we wait [perhaps not-so] patiently in line until it is our turn to be served! Queing Day is such a happy day! The only thing that would be better than Queuing Day would be National Spitting Amnesty Day!”
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| Since people the world over are essentially followers of what the media does and celebrities do, Beijing is trying to enlist the help of the media and famous people to help get people on board with the whole not-freaking-foreigners-out-with-disgusting-and-rude-habits thing. According to the article, there’s actually a system of “punishment and rewards” as well as “slogans for city districts”. What the rewards are, we couldn’t say. Not getting manhandled and/or fined by the police seems reward enough to us. It’s a good thing China’s court system isn’t like the one in America because if it were, there would no doubt be a flood of appeals to spitting fines. If Johnnie Cochran were still alive, we know he would already be there, offering his closing remarks before the court: “If he didn’t spit, you must acquit.” |
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