CHINA / National |
No smoking, swearing during Olympics(Shanghai Daily)Updated: 2007-03-12 16:00 Beijing will launch a campaign to clear out foul language and smoking in public areas during the 2008 Olympic Games, senior Chinese officials said yesterday. The campaign, designed to kick indecent behaviors during the period when the Olympic matches are held in China, intends to stop citizens and fans from cursing and giving the city a bad image, said Qu Weihua, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Beijing News reported today. Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the top political advisory body in China, is holding its Fifth Session of the Tenth National Committee in Beijing between March 3 and March 15. The campaign includes eight programs and is scheduled to start on March 27 in Beijing, 500 days before the event's opening ceremony and will be highlighted one year before the event, said Xu, who is also the deputy chief of the Civilization Office of the Central Communist Party Committee, a body that promotes decent behaviors among citizens. The Beijing Olympics will run from August 8 to 24 next year. To offer a green Olympics as the government has promised, Beijing will also require smokers to butt out their cigarettes not only in stadiums but also in public places like restaurants and hotels, said Liu Jingmin, vice Mayor of the Chinese capital. Beijing residents are inclined to light up wherever they want and even for some top lawmakers at the conference, smoking is common in areas where "nonsmoking" signs are obvious, Zi Huayun, a CPPCC member, said in a proposal to enhance the public awareness of Beijing locals. Given the prevalence of smoking in the city, Liu said the government is considering setting up nonsmoking stadiums and fields, but will add smoking areas around them. |
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