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    “I doubt whether there are enough law enforcers patrolling the streets to catch people who litter or spit. People can easily and quickly leave after spitting,” said a Futian District resident surnamed Liu. “The key to clean streets is for residents to consciously refrain from such behaviors.”

    Shenzhen’s civility law took effect March 1, 2013, and imposes penalties for behaviors deemed uncivilized, such as littering and spitting in public.

    But police officers and chengguan encountered enforcement difficulties over the past year, because of an inability to collect verifiable proof of violations. Implementation has been successful in Dongmen Subdistrict of Luohu District, though, where heavy issuance of fines has resulted in significantly less trash on the streets.

    Dongmen began fining litterers in June and the amount of trash on public streets has decreased from 6 tons a day to less than half a ton since then, local Chinese-language newspapers have reported.

    Law enforcers in Dongmen have used handheld cameras and high-definition monitoring systems to take photos and video of people littering. Luohu District People’s Court ordered two Dongmen shop owners to each pay a 1,000-yuan littering fine last month.

    Other behaviors deemed uncivilized by the law include failing to clean up pets’ excrement in public and damaging public sanitation facilities, among others.