I’m Bill Tsutsui with another Postcard from Asia from the Center for East Asian Studies.

Remember the Ugly American? The 1958 bestseller that gave us a phrase that denotes embarrassing American blunders abroad? Well, as China relaxes its strict rules on travel and its population becomes more middle class and mobile, the Communist Party's Spiritual Civilization Steering Committee is taking steps to prevent their tourists from becoming the Ugly Chinese. They’ve developed a set of golden rules for polite traveling. Among them: No spitting, no squatting and smoking, and no removing your shoes on an airplane. Rules of etiquette are often culture specific but at least one of the Chinese caveats cuts across cultural borders: no shouting into your cell phone. Hear that USA?

With thanks to Randi Hacker for this text, from the Center for East Asian Studies, I’m Bill Tsutsui. Wish you were here.