A VIDEO OF a Chinese tourist helping her child urinate on the floor in the Catherine Palace in Russia has caused a stir. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

After the video was posted online, many viewers expressed their condemnation online, which shows people are gaining a better sense about what is uncivilized behavior. That's a good move and it will help change the behavior of Chinese tourists and thus their image worldwide.

However, as the Catherine Palace staff responded that the floor is an ordinary one instead of one dating back to the times of imperial Russia, some defended the woman by saying it did not cause any major damage.

Such comments have been common after similar incidents. For example, when a child urinates on the floor in a domestic shopping mall, there are always people trying to find an excuse for the parents. "They do not know it is forbidden" is an often-quoted excuse.

That excuse does not stand because it should be common sense not to urinate on the floor.

In particular, some people criticize such uncivilized behavior when it happens overseas but defend it when it happens here, because the former, in their minds, "taints the image of Chinese tourists".

Worse, the domestic authorities seldom punish people for uncivilized behavior, such as allowing children to urinate on the floor, which means they don't pay for their misdeeds. Lack of law enforcement is also a key factor in people behaving in uncivilized way both at home and overseas.

It is time for all sides to take action. Tourists need to display more common sense, while the authorities need to more strictly enforce the laws so that people pay for any uncivilized behavior.