More than 50 people in the Chinese capital have been fined for spitting during the week-long Labor Day holidays, according to officials in charge of the city's image.

 

Beijing's management department and civilization promotion office have jointly sent five inspection teams to patrol the downtown Wangfujing pedestrian mall, Tian'anmen Square, commercial centers and railway stations to stop people from spitting, littering, posting of advertisements and writing on public property.

 

As of Sunday, 56 people had been fined for spitting and refusing to correct the bad habit, according to the teams.

 

The officials also handed out more than 10,000 bags to tourists, reminding them not to litter.

 

Earlier reports said people spitting in the streets in Beijing will be fined up to 50 yuan (about US$6.5).

 

"Fifty yuan is a fairly hefty fine for spitters," said Zhang Huiguang, director of the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau.

 

In Beijing, 50 yuan is about daily income of a Chinese college graduate and can buy 16 subway tickets or 100 packs of paper tissues.

 

The government is anxious to correct the embarrassing habits of Chinese travelers ahead of next year's Olympics Games. The May Day holiday week is seen as a good time to start as an estimated 150 million Chinese tourists will be on the road.

 

The China National Tourism Administration has issued a circular, requiring travel agencies and tour guides to be responsible for correcting the bad behavior of tourists during the holidays.

 

Jumping a queue, spitting, littering and loudly clearing one's throat in public are some of the frequently observed bad habits that are giving Chinese travelers a bad reputation, according to the Spiritual Civilization Steering Committee (SCSC) of the Chinese Communist Party, the official etiquette watchdog.

 

"We are supposed to remind people constantly throughout the tour, and also lead an etiquette discussion at the end of the tour," said Huang Xiaohui, a travel guide with a Beijing-based travel agency.

 

"The Olympics are coming, and we don't want to be disgraced," Huang said succinctly.

 

Beijing expects to receive 550,000 foreign tourists during the 2008 Olympics and an estimated two million domestic tourists will also visit the capital city.

 

"Promoting civilized behaviors among Chinese travelers is a long-term task. To harvest short-term results before the games, we need to focus our resources on the main problems," said Zhai Weihua, SCSC deputy director.

 

"Tens of thousands of reporters will come to China to cover the Games next year, which means both China's positive and negative sides will be amplified. Once bad impressions are made, they last, " Zhai said.

 

"That's why we should grab the opportunity to change uncouth behavior," said Wu Jianmin, President of China Foreign Affairs University, in a TV interview.

 

The Olympics are now only about 450 days away.

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2007)