Hold your tongue when in Shanghai
30 January 2007, 02:43
Shanghai, China - Mind your language, please. This is Shanghai.
China's financial centre is mulling over a law against using swear words in public, reports said on Monday, in a sign of just how far the city has travelled from its famously profane 19th-century dockside origins.
Newspapers and a government spokesperson said the ban could be included in a law targeting spitting, littering, smoking, jaywalking, and other behaviour deemed disruptive or anti-social.
The law, now being considered by the city council, needs to address swearing not only because it is uncouth - but also because it could cause simple arguments to escalate into physical violence, the Shanghai Morning Post newspaper quoted city government adviser Luo Huarong as saying.
A spokesperson for the city government's Office of Spiritual Civilisation Construction said officials were still looking into the feasibility of a profanity ban.
"It's not certain whether this can pass, or how we would punish people who use bad language even if it is passed," said the spokesperson, who refused to give his name.
Shanghai in recent years sought to boost its quality of life and shake a reputation for rude behaviour among its residents.
While the Chinese language contains a colourful range of profanity, bans on such language are notoriously difficult to enforce and have been opposed by free speech and civil liberties advocates in the US and other Western countries. - Sapa-AP
China's financial centre is mulling over a law against using swear words in public, reports said on Monday, in a sign of just how far the city has travelled from its famously profane 19th-century dockside origins.
Newspapers and a government spokesperson said the ban could be included in a law targeting spitting, littering, smoking, jaywalking, and other behaviour deemed disruptive or anti-social.
The law, now being considered by the city council, needs to address swearing not only because it is uncouth - but also because it could cause simple arguments to escalate into physical violence, the Shanghai Morning Post newspaper quoted city government adviser Luo Huarong as saying.
A spokesperson for the city government's Office of Spiritual Civilisation Construction said officials were still looking into the feasibility of a profanity ban.
"It's not certain whether this can pass, or how we would punish people who use bad language even if it is passed," said the spokesperson, who refused to give his name.
Shanghai in recent years sought to boost its quality of life and shake a reputation for rude behaviour among its residents.
While the Chinese language contains a colourful range of profanity, bans on such language are notoriously difficult to enforce and have been opposed by free speech and civil liberties advocates in the US and other Western countries. - Sapa-AP
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