I am sure Eatgod will get a kick out of this one as well

By Grant Clark

Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Yao Ming, China's most popular
athlete and a four-time NBA All-Star, said his countrymen must
stop jumping queues, speak more quietly in restaurants and
generally improve manners ahead of the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
``I suggest we work on our public courtesy,'' Yao told the
official Beijing 2008 magazine. ``Such courtesies are no small
matter. They are the sign of an internationalized host nation
with a great cultural tradition.''
Beijing Olympic and government officials have started an
etiquette campaign targeting habits such as queue-jumping and
spitting in the buildup to the 17-day sports event starting Aug.
8, 2008. The Chinese Olympic Committee president this year said
good manners should be ``at the top of our agenda.''
The 7-foot-5 Yao, whose comments will be published in the
next edition of Beijing 2008, urged China to move into line with
international standards of behavior.
``For example, Westerners lower their voices in restaurants
so as not to bother other people,'' Yao said. ``Jumping ahead in
queues is a definite no-no. Motorists should follow traffic
rules, respect pedestrians and stop to let them pass first.''
Chinese authorities last month listed mainland tourists'
bad habits in a move to encourage better manners before the
Olympics, state news agency Xinhua reported. Those included
``taking off socks and shoes in public'' and ``bad temper and
cursing.''
The 26-year-old Yao, who plays for the Houston Rockets,
said China's service industries should be ``more internationally
minded'' during the Olympics and follow the example of the past
two Summer Games.
"In Sydney and Athens the service people were very nice,"
he said. ``They smiled and said `Hello' to you but they also
gave the athletes lots of personal space, they did not bother
them. I hope the Olympic staff in Beijing will learn from such
foreign practices.''
Beijing 2008 is a quarterly magazine published by the
Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee.