Spitting and throwing cigarette butts anywhere are planned to be fined up to 200 yuan. China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) learned from the twenty-first meeting of the Standing Committee of the 15th Beijing Municipal People's Congress held on April 23 that the implementation of the "Beijing City Appearance and Environmental Sanitation Regulations" for nearly 18 years has now ushered in the third revision.

For many years, uncivilized behaviors such as spitting, defecating, and littering have been criticized as chronic diseases. With the sudden outbreak of COVID-19, people pay more attention to public health and personal hygiene. The accidental sputum on the sidewalk, the cigarette butts discarded at the entrance of the office building and shopping malls make people frown and avoid; Initiatives such as the use of common chopsticks, common spoons and meal-sharing systems, no eating of wild animals, frequent hand washing, no spitting, no littering, etc. were again mentioned.

In November 2019 and March 2020, the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress conducted two deliberations on the "Regulations on the Promotion of Civilized Behavior in Beijing (Draft)." The draft regulations stipulate that Beijing will focus on uncivilized behaviors such as spitting and littering wastes. During the legislative process, some people put forward opinions, such as spitting and other uncivilized behaviors, which is a persistent disease that people generally hate. Although the "Beijing City Appearance and Environmental Sanitation Regulations" already stipulates legal responsibility for these behaviors, the penalties are too light, it is recommended to increase the penalty.

CBCGDF understands that since the implementation of the "Beijing City Appearance and Environmental Sanitation Regulations" in 2002, the upper limit of fines for uncivilized behaviors such as spitting has been 50 yuan. In contrast, Shanghai's measures are obviously more severe. In 2003, Shanghai's maximum fine for spitting was increased from 50 yuan to 200 yuan. It is reported that since the "heavy penalty", the phenomenon of spitting on the streets of Shanghai has become less and less. This time, Beijing also plans to increase the penalty for uncivilized behavior such as spitting. CBCGDF learned that spitting and defecating everywhere; littering melon peel cores, cigarette butts, paper scraps, chewing gum, plastic bags, packaging and other wastes; Disposal of sewage, garbage, burning of leaves, garbage, and other uncivilized behaviors. The fines ranged from more than 20 yuan to less than 50 yuan in the past. It is planned to increase the fine to 50 yuan. The fine in serious cases is 200 yuan.

Will raising the amount of fines reduce uncivilized behavior?

Original Chinese article:

http://www.xinhuanet.com/local/2020-04/23/c_1125895153.htm

By / Maggie