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Olympic volunteers are now brushing up on their etiquette and so am I. In a Beijing university classroom last week I joined 200 students who were studying the dos and don'ts of dealing with foreigners. I learnt a few lessons myself. "OK guys, what are the three 'A' principles in social communications?" asked the young instructor. There was a pause in the lecture hall. The words Acceptance, Appreciation, and Admiration were flashed up on an overhead projector. It's common sense stuff, the sort of civility my mother taught me when I was 10. But I realized these fundamental principles of being a decent human are often overshadowed by the mountain of useless information I've collected in the 30 years since. Olympic organizers want to ensure the 100,000-strong army of volunteers is sensitive to the needs of visitors and act in the nicest, possible way. So they are getting down to basics. "When you are talking with people from Western countries, what eight topics should be avoided?" the lecturer asked. I wondered myself. "Age, marital status, salary, experience, address, personal life, religious belief, politics and opinion about other people." I do believe that about covers everything. But if I avoided all these topics, I would never ever have an argument. In fact, I'd probably not bother even talking. I keep reminding my Chinese friends that the West thrives on social conflict. In my beloved field of journalism, if it bleeds, it leads. If the newspaper only had good news, nobody would buy it and I'd be out of a job. | 
