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Beijing bans 'uncivilized' behavior to improve public hygiene

43 Comments
By GREG BAKER

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43 Comments
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One thing I noticed in my time in China was how much people spat on the floor.

Just don’t.

22 ( +24 / -2 )

Banning uncivilized behavior? I suppose harvesting organs from political dissenters and locking millions in concentration camps will cease immediately.

22 ( +25 / -3 )

Does this include letting your kid take a dump on the ground?

20 ( +21 / -1 )

Geeze you might as well lock up everyone in Beijing, or China, then. Their lack of hygiene is their defining trait.

15 ( +18 / -3 )

Well, that's a step up from when I lived there in the '80s. There were spatoons, but it's not like people used them.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

Fighto!Today 02:48 pm JST

Young Chinese should be encouraged to berate and humiliate old Chinese and shame them in public

Funny as ever. They had a bash at that in the 60s, didn't really work out too well.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

The laws aim to promote "civilized behavior" and relate to combating the pandemic which has infected more than 82,000 in China alone.

I wish writers would stop repeating this Chinese government propaganda. “82,000”? My aspidistra.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Wasn't it Mao who said that manners were "bourgeoisie"? It's crazy how far back the Cultural Revolution set the entire country of China, when you realize they're still reeling from the effects even now.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Yeah right, don't believe one word.

Chinese propaganda working overtime

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Its a start at least. If Taiwanese can behave themself impeccably, and the people are from same background, then these bad manners (communist behaviour) can be changed in 1-2 generations. Young Chinese should be encouraged to berate and humiliate old Chinese and shame them in public.

But for safety, China absolutely must clean up those filthy uncivilized street markets. That's what kills so many around the world.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

Beijing bans 'uncivilized' behavior to improve public hygiene

Half of China's culture is now illegal

Good news!

8 ( +10 / -2 )

It'll last a few weeks as a global public show for the press; and then it'll just be ignored again like everything else. They banned exotic meats recently too, remember? Of course, they already did that a few times years ago. Laws are not enforced unless they're directly beneficial to the CCP remaining in power.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

This measure is reasonable, better than injecting disinfectants.^_^

6 ( +10 / -4 )

Start by banning the CCP ... that is the origin of everything currently deemed as being uncivilized to human-kind.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Fines for littering, spitting and defecation in public 

When I went to the Confucius Temple in Qufu -- which is supposedly akin to Vatican Square or the Grand Mosque in Mecca -- I was shocked to see Chinese rustics walking around eating fruits, discarding the peels and spitting out the pits on the ground. Nobody pooped though, at least while I was there.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

then these bad manners (communist behaviour)

Not just communists, cobber.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Great does this mean no more honking and spitting when they come by the busload to visit Europe?

I even saw a little old Chinese lady emptying her nose like a soccer player prior to entering a shop here, I mean seriously?

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Those live animal markets with so many live suffering animals stuffed into cages and boxes is pretty damn uncivil. Start with that - might prevent another epidemic or five.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

fingers crossed

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Under new cleanup campaigns, many critics to communist political elites will be considered "unhygienic", subject to sudden disappearance or relocation to re-education camps.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

@Alfie Noakes - you're referring the the Great Cultural Revolution - 1966 to '76. A time of Horrors, and Chinese Cultural Decimation - something akin to what ISIS did to Historical artefacts in the Middle East. Anyone wishing a return to those times, clearly has no understanding of History or even experience from those times.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Chinese Nationalism is more prevalent amongst the younger (brainwashed) generation than their Elder peers...

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Nothing wrong the nationalism per se. But the CCP has brainwashed these people into equating "China" with "CCP".

Agreed, 'brainwashed' people who devote themselves to their leader and tolerate no questioning of his authority should be scorned, right?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Citizens must also "dress neatly" in public and not go shirtless -- an apparent reference to the so-called "Beijing bikini" practice where men roll T-shirts up to expose their stomachs in hot weather.

I'm all for that.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

It would be better if such noble behavior came from the heart rather than the fear of punishment. But maybe this is the only way to enforce it for now.

Unfortunately, poor manners, lying and cheating are very common behaviors in China and well known among anyone who does business with them. This has become more and more apparent to the rest of the world since China opened up more in recent years. The CCP is embarrassed by it and is trying to clean up China's image. This is a good thing and I hope it works.

BUT, the CCP itself can never be trusted. Any polishing of its image will be on the surface only. In any political or business dealings with them you can be sure that they are not in it for mutual benefit, but rather for domination and control.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

A lot of the "uncivilized behavior" that has become synonymous with China is a more modern concept. China lost a lot of its sophistication during the Cultural Revolution. The CCP destroyed a lot of the old China both the good and bad when setting up their communist government. It was a case of throwing the baby out with the bath water.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

If the people aren't happy with the new rules, they should have a "squat-in" where spitting and dumping are encouraged. That will show the cops, but only if 100K people do it.

In the past, these regulations were enforced in a patchy way and the habits have not been stamped out completely.

Doesn't that apply to all laws pretty much anywhere? Enforcement is hard when the rule isn't agreed by the vast majority of the public.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Nothing wrong the nationalism per se. But the CCP has brainwashed these people into equating "China" with "CCP".

Quality as opposed to quantity is a key issue here. The CCP are worried, as they should be, that the best young Chinese minds are going into business when in the past they wanted to be CCP bureaucrats.

The idea of Chinese as a country of brainwashed automatons isn’t complete. You obviously haven’t spent any time there.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Taiwan is a very civilised country. Perhaps China should look across the strait to their neighbouring country Taiwan for better examples as to how to do just about anything.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

More like brainwashed people who believe the propaganda media and allow themselves to be whipped into a frenzy.

Agreed again. So why do you keep doing it?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

commanteer:

Banning uncivilized behavior? I suppose harvesting organs from political dissenters and locking millions in concentration camps will cease immediately.

Don´t hold your breath. First priority: Survival of the CCP.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

All depend on how conscious those people will be regarding civilization. While the rest of the world being respectful to everyone is a common thing, in China it is different.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

People fined for spitting, defecating, dressing inappropriately that's a nice first step.

Now about that Wuhan bio-medical lab that has been studying 300+ strains of the coronavirus....... :)

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Beijing already discourages a range of "uncivilized" behaviors including public , littering...

Shame on those Chinese that litter. Fine them huge amounts just like they do here in the land of the rising sun...so immaculate and clean.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

Been to China often. First time was 1987. In Tibet, it was the first time I got dedicated on by a little girl wearing one of those split pajama looking outfits. Grossed me out. Loved Tibet back then. No railroad, only tiny planes and rickety trucks to get in and out.

First time I ever heard the term Beijing Bikini. Too funny and so true, but I must admit, I do it here as well in Japan.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

Japan is known worldwide as a clean country because at the very root they reject Chinese social behavior. And now the CCP are rejecting it too.

But the Japanese culturally and usually are brought up to follow rules and to be mindful others are watching their behavior and if they exhibit bad behavior that can reflect very poorly on them or even their families character, so they’re always mindful of that and how others in society sees them, the Chinese are not like that. They have to be told which is for most people reasonable logic? If China has to tell the people to display a certain style of behavior that won’t go for too long in that country, because once everything is back to normal, they will once again engage in their old bad habits. It’s always like that with the Chinese, they’re culturally taught different when it comes to social behavior. China will never be clean like Japan, it just won’t happen, for a time being, sure, but from this day and forever, no, it won’t. It’s not Chinese bashing, it’s dealing with reality.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

mmwkdw

Chinese Nationalism is more prevalent amongst the younger (brainwashed) generation than their Elder peers...

Nothing wrong the nationalism per se. But the CCP has brainwashed these people into equating "China" with "CCP".

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

Clipclop:

Agreed, 'brainwashed' people who devote themselves to their leader and tolerate no questioning of his authority should be scorned, right?

More like brainwashed people who believe the propaganda media and allow themselves to be whipped into a frenzy.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

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