When I returned from an overseas trip at the end of last month, a piece of news struck me as coming just in time: the central authorities urged Chinese tourists to mend their ways when travelling abroad.

On September 22, the Central Office for Civilization Promotion and the National Tourism Administration published the most typical "uncivilized behaviours" of Chinese tourists and called for a nationwide correction campaign.

Around that time, I happened to be in San Francisco and frequented the city's Chinatown. Frankly, I had the feeling that I was back in China, not only because of the Asian faces in the bustling streets and the Chinese words on the doors of shops but also, and mainly, because of the familiar behaviours: littering, talking loudly in restaurants, pushing and shoving in streets, etc.

In one case, I felt greatly embarrassed. At a bus stop, an electric trolley had hardly come to a halt when a group of Chinese swarmed around both the entry and exit doors, exactly like what is usually seen in a Chinese city. I blushed, because several Americans who had queued at the spot for the front door were frowning at the Chinese tourists (which I assumed they were, going by the shopping bags they were carrying).

It was not the first time the media revealed the uncivilized behaviours of Chinese tourists. I also commented on them in a column last year. But it is the first time the central authorities have officially drafted measures to address the problem. The Central Office for Civilization Promotion and the National Tourism Administration promulgated the "Guidelines for Civilized Behaviours of Chinese Tourists Abroad" on October 2.

Though the Guidelines can function to some extent to remind and educate tourists, it is obvious that the final solution to the problem lies in an all-round improvement of the quality of our nationals.

Some of the unwelcome behaviours have become subconscious habits. For instance, in the waiting areas of any airport I went to during my stay in the United States last month, I noticed that all Chinese passengers put their luggage on the chairs, while nearly all Caucasian-looking passengers put theirs on the floor.

I believe that these compatriots of mine did not do so deliberately. However, it is exactly such subconscious behaviours that merit our special attention, for they reflect our ignorance of the importance of respecting other members of society.

Actually, we Chinese follow social order in most cases. We queue where we are accustomed to queue, for example, at a cinema booking office or at the cashier's counter in a supermarket. In many places where we are not accustomed to queue, however, we do not queue - for example, in front of an elevator or subway door.

A careful study of the cases will lead to the finding that we queue for services that are done on a one-for-one basis where queuing is compulsory, as in the case of buying a ticket, and do not queue when the "entry" is widely open, as for an elevator. In other words, we lack self-restraint and respect for others.

These bad, subconscious habits are mostly developed during childhood. When a mother encouraged her son to squeeze his way into a bus ahead of others to "occupy a seat," or when a father let his daughter lie on the seat in a subway carriage with shoes on, how can we expect the kids to learn to respect other people when they grow up?

Regrettably, we see too many Chinese parents accompanying their kids to attend various classes of skills training but too few teaching them to give way to a senior citizen when entering an elevator.

The hope of improving the quality of our nation lies in the education of children.

Email: liushinan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 10/11/2006 page4)