Civility in holidays
Liang HongfuChina Daily  Updated: 2006-01-17 05:46

Christmas in Hong Kong is never dull. But there was something special about this one. I could feel it when I was there during the Christmas week. My journalist friends at the Foreign Correspondents' Club were talking about it, wondering aloud what had happened.

People looked happy lots of smiling faces in subways and shopping malls. But then, it's nothing new. People are happier during Christmas time largely because of the year-end bonus and the two-day holiday.

The department stores and the specialty boutiques are packed with shoppers. But it's like that every Christmas when nearly every shop is offering huge discounts to clear its stock.

The Christmas lighting that adorns many tall office buildings along both sides of the harbour looked spectacular. But it didn't look any more dazzling than last year or the year before that.

And yes, there was a fireworks display that attracted tens of thousands of people to Tsimshatsui, the prime commercial and tourist district on Kowloon side, in the evening of Christmas Eve. The streets were so crowded with people that it took me more than an hour to walk the half mile or so from my hotel to the Star Ferry for a dinner appointment in Central across the harbour that evening. I was not impressed by the fireworks or the crowd, to say the least.

So what impressed me and my journalist friends so much about this Christmas in Hong Kong? In one word, civility.

You may wonder if I had too much to drink with those wonderful people at the club. Hong Kong people have been known to be inconsiderate, and sometimes rude. In fact, I used to harbour the same less-than-flattering opinion about my fellow Hongkongers.

Not any more. There was no scrambling at the busy subway platforms, a sure sign of civility in any city. I saw commuters stood in line voluntarily and allowed passengers to alight first before boarding the train with little pushing and shoving.

The key word here is "voluntarily." I saw no attendants at the platform enforcing civility and I heard no public announcements reminding commuters to be considerate.

I travelled mainly on the subway when I was in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway was as clean and efficient as it has ever been. Now, with the added bonus of a well-behaved commuting public, it's almost a pleasure to take a ride on it.

On one trip, I boarded the subway train at the busy Kowloon Tong interchange and overheard a couple reminding their young son about proper behaviour in a public place. This was a pleasant change from the past when all I heard was parents scolding their children for being too timid to push through the crowd to get on the train.

On the escalators leading to the platforms, I observed that people have learned to automatically stand on one side (the right-hand side) leaving a clear passage for those who were in a hurry.

To be sure, there are the die-hard anti-social types who were either too stubborn or stupid to change. But the public's tolerance of rude behaviour seemed to have gotten much lower than before. I saw two young women at a shop turning around and telling an older woman in her face to stop pushing them from behind in the queue for the pay counter.

I used to consider shopping in Hong Kong a chore because of the poor service at most retail outlets. The sales ladies at some high-end boutiques were downright rude to anyone who happened to stray into one without wearing an Armani suit, a Rolex watch, or other items of equivalent value.

In doing some last-minute Christmas shopping this time in Hong Kong, I found the sales people at every shop I went most courteous and helpful. I didn't know that shopping could be fun too especially when I was encouraged by friendly shop attendants to try on many different styles of clothing or play with some of the latest gadgets, which I had no intention of buying. Needless to say, I ended up buying a host of things I probably would never wear or use.

Up till now, me and my friends still couldn't figure out what lay behind this sea change in the city's psyche. Perhaps this phenomenon can be attributed to a combination of factors, including the turnaround of the economy that began in late 2003, a greater sense of belonging that has been building up slowly since the return of sovereignty in 1997, and the benefit of the government nine-year compulsory free education policy.

Ah, never mind. Life is good and happy New Year to all.

Email: jamesleung@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 01/17/2006 page4)