Sorry, comrade - it's 'sir' and 'madam' now
By Huang Yan |
June 1, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BUS drivers and ticket sellers in Beijing have been urged to call passengers "sir" or "madam" instead of "comrade," according to a new training manual.
Older Beijingers, a few of whom still wear "Mao suits" that were once a virtual uniform for China's hundreds of millions of citizens, will be exempt from the new ruling.
"Old comrade" is listed as the final possible choice of address for elderly travelers, but it comes after "elder master" and "elder sir", the Beijing Youth Daily reported yesterday.
A newly released manual for Beijing bus staff suggests forms of address ranging from "student" to the plain "passenger" for younger travelers, for whom comrade has a different gloss, as a slang term for gay.
"Using 'comrade' as a form of address is not suited to an appropriately targeted service standard," the paper quoted an official from the Beijing Public Transport Co as saying.
Many Chinese people picked up the habit of calling each other comrade from the Soviet Union, as it was considered at that time a more egalitarian, friendly form of address than traditional titles.
At one point, it was virtually obligatory, and officials still use the word frequently in speeches and letters.
Older Beijingers, a few of whom still wear "Mao suits" that were once a virtual uniform for China's hundreds of millions of citizens, will be exempt from the new ruling.
"Old comrade" is listed as the final possible choice of address for elderly travelers, but it comes after "elder master" and "elder sir", the Beijing Youth Daily reported yesterday.
A newly released manual for Beijing bus staff suggests forms of address ranging from "student" to the plain "passenger" for younger travelers, for whom comrade has a different gloss, as a slang term for gay.
"Using 'comrade' as a form of address is not suited to an appropriately targeted service standard," the paper quoted an official from the Beijing Public Transport Co as saying.
Many Chinese people picked up the habit of calling each other comrade from the Soviet Union, as it was considered at that time a more egalitarian, friendly form of address than traditional titles.
At one point, it was virtually obligatory, and officials still use the word frequently in speeches and letters.
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