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'Please don't spit' - Beijing
11/01/2006 09:44 - (SA)
Beijing - China's capital wants to discourage people from spitting and littering in its streets as it attempts to clean up its image before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, state media reported on Tuesday.
Beijing is also planning to release a new code of conduct for its citizens, updating one released 10 years ago, said the official Xinhua News Agency.
Individual bags will be available in taxis, on buses and in public places for people to cough up their phlegm, Xinhua said.
Spitting, considered by many in Asia as a natural way to clear their sinuses, topped a list of the most disgusting habits in a survey among 10 000 Beijing residents last year, said Xinhua.
Also on the list were littering, dogs fouling the pavement, jaywalking and aggressive jostling by passengers boarding buses, Xinhua quoted officials at Beijing's office for the promotion of social ethics as saying.
Authorities also plan to place garbage cans every 100m along major roads. Dog owners have been urged to build special toilets for their pets off the main roads.
The local government has also called for heavier penalties for those who disrupt public hygiene, said the report.
China tried to ban spitting during the outbreak of severe acute respiratory disease, or SARS, in 2003, but found it nearly impossible to enforce.
- AP
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