Public etiquette in China is in the spotlight again after a photo on Weibo showing two girls waiting for trains while squatting at a Shanghai Metro station sparked heated discussions online.
In the original post, which has since been deleted, user @我叫三颗牙 ("My Name is Three Teeth") lashed out at the two, saying that squatting in public was "ignorant of proper breeding."
Netizens responded, some echoing the criticism and others defending the behavior:
公共场合蹲着很难看，特别是小姑娘，一蹲气质全无!
It is inelegant to squat in public, especially for young girls. The squatting ruins the whole style.
实在累了呗，警察都没说什么。
They are indeed too tired. Even the police said nothing about it.
陕西人自古以来就蹲着吃饭，也管得着吗？蹲着怎么就伤风化了？不知道这些人看见别人蹲着又胡思乱想什么了？
People from Shanxi in northwest China eat food in the squatting position since ancient times, and who minds it? How come squatting offends public moral? I do not know what are on those people's mind when they see others squatting?
In an interview with The Paper, Hu Shensheng, professor at Shanghai University and expert on Chinese etiquette, said that while the girls' behavior was perhaps too causal, "the post puts an isolated incident under the microscope, which is unfair to the two girls."
[Image via the Paper]
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