Spitting is here to stay - unless . . .

"Always look on the bright side of life." Those were words once sung by that cheeky comic scamp Eric Idle, of Monty Python fame. In times of trouble, such as this, we should all remember his advice.

SARS has cast a large, enveloping black cloud over China and without positive thinking, it could sap the life out of the country.

So let's hear it for the optimists. The people whose encouraging words keep us going through this monumental struggle against SARS; people like Premier Wen Jiabao, who has promised that China will emerge more unified and "stronger than ever" from the crisis; the people who are already pointing to the long-term benefits of this SARS epidemic; the people who are saying that governmental medical institutions will become more efficient thanks to SARS.

All this sounds plausible and, indeed, helps boost flagging morale. It is when the optimists start talking about hygiene that their argument starts to become a little shaky.

SARS will lead to the end of spitting, they say. People now realize that it is unhygienic and will stop, they go on. And if their social conscience fails to deter them, then the new 200-yuan fine for spitting, brought in to counteract SARS, will do so.

Some hope. Spitting is part of Shanghainese culture and few are going to stop simply because they have been told that their actions are helping to spread SARS. If spitting is to stop, it will have to be by coercive measures. True, the authorities have quadrupled the fine for spitting so that it is now equivalent to one sixth of the average worker's monthly wage. But has the death knell for Shanghai's most foul and unsightly habit really been sounded? Will this hike actually consign flying phlegm to the past?

Unlikely. Little will change unless the fine exists in practice as well as in theory. It must be imposed and be seen to be imposed. This has not happened up until now.

Despite the threat of fines, offenders have been able to carry on spitting, free from punishment. The authorities claim they do not have the manpower to enforce the law. If this is the case, they should take workers from the city's overstaffed restaurants and train them up as sanitation supervisors.

But in fact the problem seems not to be finding the culprits but punishing them. There is currently very little a sanitation supervisor can do if a violator refuses to pay the fine. They have no right to detain members of the public and so when someone is spotted spitting, there is nothing to stop the offender simply running, or even walking away from the crime scene.

Sanitation supervisors are thus rendered powerless. Pointless even. They are unable to levy the fines that they have been put there to enforce.

Sorry to pour cold water on the optimists' bonfire but unless something is done about this, spittle will continue to line Shanghai's streets, no matter how steep the spitting fine is.

Annotation:

cheeky adj.厚颜无耻的                                        
scamp  n.流氓

sap vt. 使衰竭, 逐渐侵蚀                                      
flagging adj. 衰弱的,逐渐衰退(或减退,低落)的


quadruple vt.使成四倍                                        
death knell  丧钟

hikephlegm  n.粘液, 痰, 粘液质

levy v.征收, 征集, 征用                                        
bonfire n.大篝火, 营火

steep adj.陡峭的, 急剧升降的, 不合理的