Posted on 03/01/2006 9:56:54 AM PST by nypokerface
BEIJING - Beijing is launching a campaign to stamp out widespread public spitting in an effort to clean up its image for the 2008 Olympics.
The government has concluded that spitting is the city's "most serious bad habit," Zhang Huiguang, director of Beijing's Capital Ethics Development Office, said Wednesday.
"This year we will intensify our law enforcement efforts in this field," Zhang told a news conference. "We will require law enforcement officials to step up the frequency of fines."
The fine for public spitting is 50 yuan (US$5; euro4).
Tourists visiting Beijing often are startled at how many people spit or blow their noses onto sidewalks.
The crackdown is part of efforts to raise "ethical and cultural" standards in advance of the 2008 Summer Games, a major prestige project for the communist government.
Zhang said officials will launch an advertising campaign on radio, television, the Internet and mobile phones to "teach people the right way to spit."
"For example, you have to spit into a tissue or a bag, then place it in a dustbin to complete the process," she said.
Those without a bag handy needn't worry. Zhang said her office has organized a small army of volunteers who are already hitting Beijing's streets, handing out small "spitting bags" and wearing bright orange uniforms with the Chinese character "tan" — "mucus" — printed in yellow on the back.
She said enforcement will also be ramped up against littering — the second-worst habit her office faces — and pets fouling the streets, the No. 3 scourge.
Methinks they got their work cut out for them. Spitting is the least of their worries. Those images from Tianenmen square are pretty powerful.
Everytime I spit in China, I feel like spitting again 10 minutes later....
I understand public urination/defecation isn't particularly unusual, either. Sounds like they've got some work to do.
Oh, man, is that a fashion statement or what? Wonder where I could git me one o' them...
Anyone who has spent time in east Asia knows that every morning starts with a chorus of millions of people in the streets hacking, clearing their throats, and launching phlem everywhere. The more rural the area, the worse the problem due to the dust of unpaved roads and smoke from cooking fires. It also seems to be a deep cultural tradition and might explain a few health issues as well.
My friend was not harmed.
OK. Spitting is now illegal there, but how about the important issue - smoking?
Good luck. They might curtail spitting on sidewalks, but ending spitting altogether seems like a much larger challange than the unification with Taiwan.
Sounds good to me. Seeing spit on the sidewalk makes me gag.
Its no surprise to anyone who's spent any time over there that TB and most other global epidemics incubate first in China.
Ptui!
Years ago, when we lived in Yokohama, the common practice for three wheel truck drivers was to pull over and pee at the curb. No one seemed to take notice.
I was in Beijing for 9 weeks last year. I'll forever have several images burned into my memory:
** walking through a campus park and seeing an elderly lady squatting beside a tree.
** on 3 occasions, smiling parents standing by while their 3-6 year old child pees on a public walkway (once on the subway station platform, not 20 yds from a restroom).
** the open-crotched jumpers for infants and toddlers to go at any time (on about 1/3 of all infants), although most parents were subtle about the act and they did do the clean-up. Only saw one real "dad" type holding the child at arms length away from his body while the babe did their thing.
** Men spitting... no problem. I'm a guy.
Elderly spitting... no problem. I like the salt-o-the-earth types of either gender.
Catching sight of a gorgeous young lady in a nice dress and enjoying the sight as she walks by... then immediately hearing, "SNAARRRRRR-R-R-RK! Tooey!", turning around and seeing nobody else but the lithe form continuing on her way. SO disturbing! Almost like a "Crying Game" moment.
Really, the spitting wasn't THAT common... but rarely will you go for more than two days without taking notice of a hocker, and rarely more than two weeks without seeing public pottying. It's 13 million people, breaking out of third-world status, after all.
They were much more genteel in the 90's - they pee in the wheel wells now.
I guess the Pittsburgh Steelers won't be playing any exhibition games in Beijing anytime soon.
I lived in China for 7 years and over that time I watched things slowly improve in the area of public hygiene. Smoking is less allowed in public places and on public transportation. Beijing - and maybe Shanghai - have always been more civilized and progressive in this regard.
Oh, the split pants on the kids! My oldest daughter, now 17 and soon to graduate from high school, was less than 3 months old when we moved to China. As we learned more about the split pants and the early potty training, we decided to try it. It worked really well and she was basically potty trained well before her first birthday. Of course we had to convert all her pants so she could do her thing as she couldn't get her pants down, but it was a small price to pay.
And now it's confession time. There were times when I was in public, usually riding my bike, and felt the liberty to let go with a big loogie in the bushes. The horrible pollution in the city where we lived made it even more tempting. One time I was just about to let go with a big one when I heard a bicycle bell behind me and this guy raced up past me on the side I was facing. He was lucky I was able to stop in time. LOL!
I've heard the three wheel trucks are gone, too.
Oh, almost forgot my first encounter with spitting in China. In 1985 I was part of a teaching team at a Chinese university. On my first day in class, as the students were waiting in their seats for the bell to ring, I noticed a nice looking young woman in her early 20s. She was wearing an obviously new blue dress, probably purchased for this special occasion of studying under a foreign teacher. As I was looking at her, she slowly spread her legs apart and pulled the edge of her skirt back and let a big gob of spit fall to the floor beneath her. Ugh!
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