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<\/p>\nA GOVERNMENTAL body in China is planning to send police to penalise people who do not make their beds or wash their dishes.<\/p>\n
The South China Morning Post reported that under the draconian new policies, Chinese officials will be fining citizens that fail to live up to new standards of cleanliness.<\/p>\n
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The fine for failing to make your bed or wash your dishes is set to be 10-yuan (\u00a31.12). Citizens will also be fined 20-yuan (\u00a32.24) if they squat whilst eating.<\/p>\n
The government in Puge county, Sichuan has claimed that the new policies are being implemented to enhance living conditions in the area.<\/p>\n
But it has sparked fierce debate across the country, as citizens have started questioning whether the government should be allowed to invade so intrusively into home life.<\/p>\n
The policy, titled \u00a0\u201cFine Standards for the New Countryside for Human Settlement Environment\u201d currently details 14 categories of behaviour which are subject to fines.<\/p>\n
As well as the fines already outlined, there\u2019s a five-yuan (56p) penalty for having intact spider webs anywhere on their property.<\/p>\n Fines also range in the region of three to 10-yuan (34p-\u00a31.12) depending on the severity of clutter or faeces in people's backyards.<\/p>\n The county government has emphasised that fines will be doubled for repeat offenders.<\/p>\n The vice-director of the county stated that the goal is to address the pervasive issue of \u201cdirty, messy, and disorderly living conditions\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n He said that the fines are still in the drafting stage, and that he intends for them to be used as a deterrent to aid the current issues in rural homes.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cWhen you visit a farmer\u2019s home, the conditions are often far from presentable. <\/p>\n "The environment is filthy and messy, featuring spider webs, people dining on the ground, with numerous mosquitoes and dogs in close proximity.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be honest, fines cannot effectively address these problems. We are using fines as a means of deterrence."<\/p>\n He added that the government intends to reinvest the money they collect from the fines back into the community.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cFor instance, if a household is penalised three yuan, we will use that amount to purchase a broom for them. <\/p>\n "If the fine is 10 yuan, we will buy a basin for them. Our goal is to transform these detrimental habits, which is an extremely difficult task."<\/p>\n Another member of Puge county's government mentioned that they are not the first to impose such fines.<\/p>\n They addressed concerns about the spread of disease due to poor living conditions, and emphasised the difficulty of breaking habits in poorer regions.<\/p>\n Puge county is located within one of China's most impoverished regions, and attempts to aid its economic development is a common topic in Chinese state media.<\/p>\n It is often featured in success stories about how China's poverty alleviation schemes, and how the country has been able to revitalise its rural areas.<\/p>\n Public opinion on the issue of fining their citizens has been split.<\/p>\n Some view the intense monitoring of people's cleanliness as an overreach of government power.<\/p>\n One online user said: \u201cThe local government seems to be meddling in every aspect of the people\u2019s lives, even inspecting whether they have made their beds".<\/p>\n Another questioned the intentions behind the fines, and sarcastically remarked that the town is \u201cmaking money the right way, and fines are king\u201d.<\/p>\n However, others have argued that the penalties were justified within the context of poverty alleviation and rural revitalisation. <\/p>\n One person said: \u201cOutrageous situations always promote outrageous policies.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyone 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.\u201d<\/p>\n While another added: \u201cIn some impoverished places, changing customs and habits requires some external forces. Apart from fines, there may not be a better solution".<\/p>\n This comes after claims that Xi Jingping is morphing into a totalitarian police state.<\/p>\n Former defence official, Michael Beckley, warned that the dictator is set to "tighten control over every aspect of society".<\/p>\n Beckley predicted the Communist Party's surveillance will\u00a0grow more invasive\u00a0to maintain its iron fist rule.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/newspress-collage-22596852-1686060567358.jpg\")
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