Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
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http://www.thestar.com/World/Columnist/article/309105
Spitting: Beijing is no longer phlegmatic
Mar 04, 2008 04:30 AM
Bill Schiller
Asia Bureau
BEIJING?It's a long-standing Chinese tradition that often takes foreign visitors by surprise.
But the days of loudly lobbing a long, arching dollop of phlegm across space and on to pavement seem numbered now.
Yesterday, an editorial in the government-run China Daily took Beijing's war against spit to new levels emphasizing that ? with the Olympics just months away ? the "obnoxious" practice of public spitting must be stopped.
"We have to do something about this shameful habit of ours," the newspaper implored.
Last week, Beijing's local government said it would soon announce a "No-spitting day." And it warned that, in the lead-up to the Olympics, health watchdogs would start enforcing rules with fines of 50 yuan (about $15) for spitters.
"The latest hygienic drive aims to eradicate the bad habit of spitting and promote a more civilized lifestyle," said Liu Ying, an official with the city's health department.
It's not the official attempt to bring spitters to heel. In 2003, during the SARS outbreak, The Spiritual Civilization Office of the Communist Party issued its "Directive on Launching Activities to Transform Vile Habits."
The government of the day also handed out small plastic "spit bags" to people in parks and plazas. There was a concern human saliva had the potential to spread the disease.
But despite temporary success, the "vile habit" persists.
And Beijing isn't the only city taking up the fight. In Shanghai, authorities have targeted cab drivers who, while stalled in traffic, frequently roll down their windows or open their doors to let fly.
Earlier this year, the Shanghai Patriotic Sanitation Committee pledged to install "spit sacks" in the city's 45,000 taxis by year end, free of charge. Cabbies will be told to attach it to the divider between driver and passenger so both can use it.
The committee said monitoring of frequent spitting sites before and after a trial use of the sacks showed the number of gobs at one spot dropping to just 46 in a half-hour, down from 164 before the test.
But it wasn't Shanghai's first anti-spit attempt either. For a period of time, the city had attached spittoons to garbage cans on sidewalks. People mistook them for ashtrays.
Dr. Hans Troedsson, China representative for the World Health Organization, last night applauded Beijing's efforts.
"We support the Beijing municipal government's initiative, both for hygienic and disease control reasons," he said.
http://www.thestar.com/World/Columnist/article/309105
Spitting: Beijing is no longer phlegmatic
Mar 04, 2008 04:30 AM
Bill Schiller
Asia Bureau
BEIJING?It's a long-standing Chinese tradition that often takes foreign visitors by surprise.
But the days of loudly lobbing a long, arching dollop of phlegm across space and on to pavement seem numbered now.
Yesterday, an editorial in the government-run China Daily took Beijing's war against spit to new levels emphasizing that ? with the Olympics just months away ? the "obnoxious" practice of public spitting must be stopped.
"We have to do something about this shameful habit of ours," the newspaper implored.
Last week, Beijing's local government said it would soon announce a "No-spitting day." And it warned that, in the lead-up to the Olympics, health watchdogs would start enforcing rules with fines of 50 yuan (about $15) for spitters.
"The latest hygienic drive aims to eradicate the bad habit of spitting and promote a more civilized lifestyle," said Liu Ying, an official with the city's health department.
It's not the official attempt to bring spitters to heel. In 2003, during the SARS outbreak, The Spiritual Civilization Office of the Communist Party issued its "Directive on Launching Activities to Transform Vile Habits."
The government of the day also handed out small plastic "spit bags" to people in parks and plazas. There was a concern human saliva had the potential to spread the disease.
But despite temporary success, the "vile habit" persists.
And Beijing isn't the only city taking up the fight. In Shanghai, authorities have targeted cab drivers who, while stalled in traffic, frequently roll down their windows or open their doors to let fly.
Earlier this year, the Shanghai Patriotic Sanitation Committee pledged to install "spit sacks" in the city's 45,000 taxis by year end, free of charge. Cabbies will be told to attach it to the divider between driver and passenger so both can use it.
The committee said monitoring of frequent spitting sites before and after a trial use of the sacks showed the number of gobs at one spot dropping to just 46 in a half-hour, down from 164 before the test.
But it wasn't Shanghai's first anti-spit attempt either. For a period of time, the city had attached spittoons to garbage cans on sidewalks. People mistook them for ashtrays.
Dr. Hans Troedsson, China representative for the World Health Organization, last night applauded Beijing's efforts.
"We support the Beijing municipal government's initiative, both for hygienic and disease control reasons," he said.