Shenzhen is looking closely at introducing new laws to crack down on bad behaviour.

The China Daily notes the city conducted a poll earlier this year asking residents which behaviours they found to be the worst.  The top 10 includes the usual suspects: spitting, cutting in line, littering, and setting up street stalls.

So should these behaviours be punished?  A second opinion poll of 103,000 Shenzhen residents found 80% believe those who commit bad behaviour should be “severely” punished.  Thirty-four percent of those surveyed felt an RMB200 fine would be most appropriate, with 45% saying the fine should be between RMB50 and RMB200.

The city is drafting a law based on the results of the surveys, with the question now being who should be responsible for enforcement: the chengguan or the police?

Dai Guangyu, deputy head of the committee for education, science, culture and public health ofthe Shenzhen People’s Congress Standing Committee, said that in Japan and Singapore, thepolice are the main enforcement bodies for bad behavior in public.

Dai said the result of this opinion poll will come out in two or three days.

Li Xiaofang, a public relations manager in the city, believes the police should take care ofenforcing the regulations.

“I think the police are more able to enforce the law. Compared with chengguan (urban management officers), the police are tougher,” she said.

Zhao Hong, a media employee, thinks it should be the chengguan’s job.

“Chengguan should be the enforcement body since bad behaviors like spitting and throwing garbage on the street belong to urban management.”

There would be some debate as to the perceived leniency of chengguan, that’s for sure.

One wonders why things like spitting and cutting in line are so common if so many people in Shenzhen oppose them.  Perhaps it’s a case of “if you can do it, so can I.”