Nothing's same now, Comrade

Pity the poor word 'tongzhi', once the great equalizer it now has the connotation of official pomposity or a wink-wink reference to gay-friendly community

Early this week, it was reported that the Beijing Public Transport Group was introducing some changes to its rules on how its service people should address passengers.

Except for rare cases, such as senior citizens, the term "Comrade" would no longer be used. Instead men and women would be addressed as "Sir" and "Ma'am", and children would receive the less formal, gender-neutral salutation "Little Friends".