Taizhou will punish such behaviors as not wearing masks amid the epidemic, illegal parking and throwing objects from high places. Such behaviors will be treated as uncivilized and subject to penalties under a new regulation passed by the city's top legislative body on April 27. 

The regulation, passed during the fifth session of the fifth Taizhou Municipal People's Congress, will take effect after being approved by the standing committee of the Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress. 

It is expected to become the ninth local decree issued by Taizhou since it gained local legislative power in 2015. 

In May 2019, a draft regulation to promote civilized behavior among local residents was  submitted to the standing committee of the Taizhou Municipal People's Congress for deliberation. 

After soliciting public opinion, the committee reviewed the draft and submitted it to the city's top legislative body. 

The revised regulations included five chapters consisting of 36 clauses. 

It specified rules of etiquette in public order, public transportation, community life, tourism, internet use, and law enforcement. 

Meanwhile, the regulation also made provisions to encourage civilized behavior such as charity, public welfare, voluntary felon-fighting, and emergency rescue. 

Prohibitions on the illegal consumption and trade of wild animals and related products, as well as articles requiring the wearing of face masks, were listed among the regulations to help better control the novel coronavirus epidemic. 

"The regulation not only adheres to core socialist values, but is also the first substantive law to be deliberated and passed by the city's municipal congress," said Yuan Maorong, director of the standing committee of Ningbo Municipal People's Congress.