奥运让北京更文明

Beijing's Olympics have not just made the ancient capital a focus of global attention – they have also made its residents more civilised, according to Chinese officials.

Campaigns to prepare for the games by cracking down on “uncivilised” behaviour such as spitting, queue-jumping and general rudeness have clearly improved the capital's citizenry, they say – and they have the numbers to prove it.

The capital's Index of Citizens' Civilised Public Conduct – compiled from observation of streets and sports stadiums – climbed from 65.21 points in 2005 to 73.38 points last year, and is set to rise again in 2008.

“Citizens' quality and the city's level of civilisation have been raised in leaps and bounds,” says Beijing's Committee for the Construction of Spiritual Civilisation.

Such language may seem strange coming from a nation justifiably proud of its more than 3,000-year-old civilisation. But perceived shortcomings in the conduct of “low-quality” people are seen as a source of national shame. For the Olympics, officials have focused on behaviour that might embarrass Beijing in front of foreign guests.

Banners have called for “establishing new habits”. Monthly government-set “queuing days” have been announced by mass mobile phone messaging and enforced by wardens tasked with taming Beijing's notoriously sharp-elbowed commuters. State media have called on passengers to give up seats for the old or weak.

But perhaps the highest-profile pre-Olympic effort has focused on spitting – a practice indulged in with often audible enjoyment by Chinese for centuries.

Wang Tao, a former public sanitation worker who decided to help prepare for the Olympics by setting up a citizens' anti-spitting group, says the games have made a huge difference. “Previously on one street I might see 10 to 20 people spitting, but now it might be only five or six,” says Mr Wang. “That's a lot fewer.”

中国官员称，奥运会不仅使古都北京成为全球瞩目的焦点，还让北京市民变得更加文明。

官员们表示，为准备奥运会而开展的消除“不文明”举止的活动(如随地吐痰、插队及不礼貌行为等)，已明显提高了首都市民的文明程度——他们有数据证明这一点。

首都市民公共行为文明指数(Index of Citizens' Civilised Public Conduct)是基于街道和体育场馆的观测数据编制的，该指数从2005年时的65.21，攀升至去年的73.38，并且在2008年将继续上升。

北京精神文明建设委员会(Committee for the Construction of Spiritual Civilisation)表示：“公民素质和城市文明程度已经有了跳跃式的提升。”

这种话从一个有理由为其逾3000年文明感到自豪的国家口中说出，或许令人奇怪。然而，“低素质”的人在行为中展现出来的缺陷，被视为国家的一种耻辱。就奥运会而言，官员们已将重点放在那些可能使北京在外国客人面前陷于尴尬境地的举止上。

宣传横幅号召“养成新习惯”。政府每月设定“排队日”，通过公众短信服务提示手机用户，而督导员负责在这一天理顺北京拥挤不堪的公交乘客队伍。国有媒体则呼吁乘客给老年人和体弱者让座。

不过，或许“奥运前”最受瞩目的重点是随地吐痰——数百年来，一些中国人没有改掉时而大声吐痰的习惯。

王涛是一名前环卫人士，他决定建立一个市民反随地吐痰团体，以协助奥运会的筹备工作。他表示，奥运会已使局面发生了巨大改观。“以前我在一条街上可能会看到十至二十人随地吐痰，但是现在可能只有五、六个，”王涛表示：“这比以前少多了。” （实习编辑：顾萍）