Roving anti-spit squads slapped fines on 10,000 expectorators Monday and forced them to mop up after themselves on the first day of a campaign to rid Peking of a traditional but ”uncivilized” habit.
More than 147,000 uniformed sanitation police patrolled the streets, tracking down spitters and charging them 18 cents a spit.
Sanitary workers in white coats and bonnets manned sidewalk ”Health Propaganda Stations,” using microscopes to give passersby a scientific glimpse at what lives in their sputum.
A day-long barrage of anti-spitting propaganda bombarded Peking`s 9 million residents.
For centuries, millions of Chinese have cleared their throats by spitting, a habit traced back to a belief such sounds would frighten the
”throat demons” that cause disease.
