Many people at tourist sites complain about Chinese tourists pushing in and not queuing up, dropping litter etc. However these minor indiscretions pale into significance when we look at some rather more serious bad behaviour, like the idiot who wrote his name on a 3500 year old Egyptian relic. The good news is that it was other Chinese tourists that took action, they took photos of the graffiti and uploaded it on the web. There soon followed widespread fury and indignation and a hunt began to find the culprit. He was identified as a 15 year old schoolboy from Nanjing.

One tourist said that when he saw the graffiti he was ashamed and that it was the worst moment of his trip. He and others tried to erase the marks but failed. He also said that there were 14 people in his party and they were all struck silent due to shame. It is fair to say that Chinese people were united in their disgust and the boy's family were forced to issue a grovelling apology. In fact the Chinese government are so keen to make sure that Chinese tourists do not disgrace China's reputation abroad, that in April a new law was passed warning tourists against uncivilised behaviour. Mr. Wang Yang, a vice Prime Minister recently said that the behaviour of some Chinese tourists abroad is uncivilised, leading to criticism which is resulting in China's image abroad being harmed. Amongst the bad behaviour he listed was spitting (yes that has been exported) and dropping litter. Here is a direct quote from the People's Daily, Mr Wang said: 'Improving the civilised quality of the citizens and building a good image of Chinese tourists are the obligations of governments at all levels and relevant agencies and companies.' He said Chinese authorities should 'guide tourists to conscientiously abide by public order and social ethics, respect local religious beliefs and customs, mind their speech and behaviour... and protect the environment'.

The interesting thing is that Chinese people were unanimous in their condemnation of the boy's parents, they said he had not been educated properly so in effect it was the fault of his parents. Whilst his parents issued a grovelling apology by writing in the Modern Express newspaper 'We apologize to Egyptian authorities and Chinese people who are upset by this incident. He has realized he made a mistake, and we beg your pardon, please give him a chance to correct his act'. OK, but it is hard to see quite how he will correct his act. As this kid's parents are wealthy enough to be able to send him off travelling abroad at such a young age, no doubt he has been thoroughly spoiled with everything he wanted given to him. Whilst many will no doubt think this is just teenage anti-social behaviour, there is nevertheless a growing problem here with children being overindulged. In the future the consequences of spoiling these children will come back with a vengeance. What I don't understand is that almost everyone I know confirms that they spoil their children and that they know they will regret it, but they say they can't change and everyone else spoils their children too.

When I tell people how my parents believed in tough love and that there were always consequences for bad behaviour in the form of severe physical punishment, they visibly shudder at the thought. Most Chinese parents would not contemplate beating their child or even punishing them. The idea of saying no to them is just not part of their ethos. Like me you have probably seen appalling behaviour that goes unchecked or seemingly unnoticed by parents and grandparents alike.

One lady told me that when she chastises her child, her own parents or parents-in-law criticise her. These children do not know the meaning of restraint and self-control, they have been led to believe that the universe revolves around them and woe-be-tide anyone who begs to differ. When teaching English I have had teenage kids burst into tears because I suggested that they didn't copy from other people and instead did their own work.

A little light at the end of the tunnel is that it was Chinese people who highlighted the desecrated Egyptian relic after all, and it was them who launched a campaign to find the culprit. Imagine in a country of this size with so many people having similar names they still painstakingly tracked the boy down.

In England at a very expensive private school, an 18 year old Chinese student, Mingheng He, reacted with fury when he asked another student to loan him a bottle of soy sauce and the other student refused. After seething for two hours Mingheng went to find the second student and stabbed him twice, causing severe injuries. He was jailed for four years. The reporters referred to him as a thug, and many readers commented that this is a result of the one child policy and people treating their children like little emperors. Foreigners living in China also commented and said that Chinese children are not able to tolerate being refused anything, they are not used to it. Usually I would be in agreement with the punishment that this boy received, but I started delving a little deeper and have changed my attitude a little.

Other students at the school said that there are lots of rich kids from Hong Kong and they bullied Mingheng and isolated him from the minute he arrived. He was only one of two Mandarin speakers and when the other one left he was completely alone. Adding to his distress, when he came back to China for a holiday he found out his mother had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Other non-Chinese students said he was kind and generous and a great roommate. They were adamant that the Hong Kong students were prejudiced against him. The Judge at the trial was told that he had no family support in England. So this kid was sent away from home and family to a country where he had no friends, and then when he arrived his life was made a misery by the very people with whom he should have bonded. No doubt his family did not take into consideration the fact that he may not have wanted to go in the first place, and that it was probably his parents' dream for him to be educated abroad. Maybe some of the blame for this tragedy needs to be laid at his parents' door.

Chinese parents love their children too much, they help them too much, they give them too much. Children need training and boundaries almost as much as they need love. If their parents continue to treat them like emperors, those children will go on to have extremely difficult lives. The world is a cold and hard place and once they find out that it is not the same as their home, where the word no does not exist and that they are expected to be responsible for their actions, they will find that trouble follows them, no doubt they will not thank their parents then but rather blame them.