Which of the Beijing 2008 Olympics "Dos and Don'ts" Have Stuck?
This article originally appeared on our blogs section online on November 17, 2016 (Thursday).
Throwback Thursday takes a look back into Beijing's past, using our nine-year-strong blog archives as the source for a glance at the weird and wonderful of the city's past.
Released in October 2007, these rules were plastered across Beijing to give people just enough time to drastically alter their actions, some of which hadn't even begun or may have even given people a quick tip on what they should have been doing if they hadn't been doing it already. Case in point: Don't sell pirated goods? Oh shit, better make some pirated goods!
This little list gives insight to the fact that the authorities aren't stupid when it comes to what is and isn't acceptable behavior (in the eyes of the prying western media at least) but it also demonstrates that giant posters denoting change are completely meaningless if the rules aren't then enforced, even more so when the rules are so absolute in their vagueness so as to be equatable to nothing at all.
So, with that in mind, just how many of these Don'ts were enforced to the point that the conduct they are tackling are now all but extinct? And how many have given rise to other nefarious acts? Let's take a look ...
要保护奥运知识产权
DO protect Olympic intellectual property
不要买卖盗版制造假冒
DON’T buy or sell pirated goods
Well, this one was never going to hold. Although pirated goods are certainly on the wane in Beijing much thanks to the complete decimation of Yashow, there are still ladies selling fuwu kites around Houhai. But who's to know whether they're knockoffs or that there's just some poor factory in Zhejiang that didn't get the message to stop pumping out tat.
要遵守奥标保护条例
DO respect laws related to the Olympic logo
不要滥用奥运旗徽歌标
DON’T abuse anything Olympic-related
Ah yes, wonderfully vague rule #1. So at this point does throwing out my used ticket to the dressage become comparable to flag burning, or is drawing my own little Olympic logo similar to doodling Muhammad? Hmm, not going to try that last one out. Ok, maybe these are working.
要牢记交通安全法规
DO keep traffic safety in mind
不要翻越护栏闯灯猛跑
DON’T climb over guardrails or run red lights
(especially not at the same time)
This is where enforcement of rules could have really done wonders for Beijing and China at large. Instead, we remain in a place where beeping is the only form of noted perception and anyone can pretty much park anywhere without fear of being prosecuted. One thing's for sure though, they've made those guardrails a damn lot taller, and therefore much harder to climb.
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