A campaign to improve the manners of Beijing’s queue-jumping residents ahead of the Olympics is showing results, although a gold-medal standard is still a long way off, state press reported on Tuesday.
Incidents of littering, spitting, flaunting traffic rules and pushing ahead in queues have all started to decline since 2005, the Xinhua news agency said, citing an extensive study by the People’s University of China.
A “civic index” — measuring compliance with health and social rules, attitudes towards strangers, etiquette in watching sports events and willingness to contribute to the Olympics — is improving, the study said.
The index stood at 69,06 last year, up 3,85 points from 2005 but still well down on the goal set of 72 to 78 for August 2008, when the world will focus on Beijing for the Olympic Games.
“The government and citizens still have a lot of things to do to improve their public behaviour,” Xinhua quoted Sha Lianxiang, a sociology professor with the university and an author of the study, as saying.
As part of government efforts to improve manners, 4,3-million households have received pamphlets outlining social misdemeanours such as spitting and littering.
The government has also this month held the first of its designated anti-queue jumping days. On the 11th day of each month, residents will now be expected to pay special attention to not pushing in line.
“Line up politely — welcome the Olympics in an orderly and civilised manner,” read a banner adorning a bus stop on February 11, the first official day of the programme.
Last year the city government also launched a “smile” campaign. — AFP