Chinese County Imposes Fines On People Who Keep Room Dirty, Dishes Unwashed

A huge debate has broken out on Chinese social media platform after a county in the country announced penalties on people who do not complete basic household chores. According to South China Morning Post (SCMP), the stringent measures were announced by Puge county in Sichuan province. The authorities said they would impose a $1.4 fine on people who do not make their beds or leave the dishes unwashed. It also added a $2.8 fine on people who squatted while eating.

The penalties are part of Puge county's new policy titled 'Fine Standards for the New Countryside for Human Settlement Environment'. It aims to enhance living conditions of the people and has a list of 14 categories of behaviour on which fines have been imposed.

The officials will decide on the penalties after inspecting the homes during which they will check for spider webs, clutter and faeces. In such cases, the fines will range from three to 10 yuan.

And if a person or household repeats the offence, the fines will double, said the SCMP report.

Speaking about the new policy, vice-director of the village told a local news outlet that its purpose is to address the issue of "dirty, messy, and disorderly living conditions".

"When you visit a farmer's home, the conditions are often far from presentable. The environment is filthy and messy, featuring spider webs, people dining on the ground, with numerous mosquitoes and dogs in close proximity," he was quoted as saying by SCMP.

"To be honest, fines cannot effectively address these problems. We are using fines as a means of deterrence," he said.

On social media, the new measures have sparked a huge debate.

"The local government seems to be meddling in every aspect of the people's lives, even inspecting whether they have made their beds," one user said on Chinese social media.

Another questioned the intention of the fines, sarcastically remarking that the town is "making money the right way, and fines are king".

A third user, however, justified the penalties. "Anyone who has visited Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture would likely find these requirements quite reasonable. Working at the grassroots level is much more challenging than most people imagine," SCMP quoted the user as saying.

The comment was about the economic development of the Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture - one of China's most impoverished regions.