Belgium's King Albert II (2nd R) walks near a greenhouse during the 20th anniversary of the Queen Paola Foundation, at the royal estate in Laeken, Brussels September 2, 2017.(Agencies)
The people of the Brussels will have to mind their manners from now on, with the city authorities announcing new fines of up to 250 euros (£200) for insults traded on the streets.
"Any form of insult is from now on punishable, whether it be racist, homophobic or otherwise," a spokesman quoted Socialist mayor Freddy Thielemans as saying.
Brussels, home to the EU and many top international institutions, is known for its family-friendly and cultivated lifestyle but the mayor wants to crack down on the everyday unpleasantness found in any big city.
To do so, officials came to an agreement with judicial authorities to impose fines of between 75 and 250 euros for insults, petty theft and rough jostling where no physical harm is caused.
The spokesman for the mayor said the courts up to now had been too busy to take up such cases and as a result many police "had little incentive to take any action over such incidents".
The issue was highlighted in a recent film by Belgian director Sofie Peeters who recorded in secret the everyday insults and exchanges she ran into on the streets of the city.
(Read by CJ Henderson. CJ Henderson is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)
双语资讯
(Agencies)
生活在比利时布鲁塞尔的人们今后要注意言语文明了,该市政府宣布了一项新举措,要对在公众场合骂人者予以最高250欧元
一名发言人援引社会党市长弗雷迪-蒂勒曼斯的话说,“任何讲污言秽语的人都将受到惩罚,不管是种族主义言论,歧视同性恋者的言论,还是别的。”
布鲁塞尔是欧盟总部和很多高级国际机构的所在地,以有利于家庭和有教养的生活方式而著称,但市长想以此打击在所有大城市都存在的脏话问题。
为此,当地政府和司法机关达成一致,对骂人者、小偷小摸、和没有造成身体伤害的粗鲁推撞予以75欧元到250欧元的罚款。
市长的发言人说,法院一直太忙,没有精力处理类似案件,因此很多警察“没有什么动力处理骂人这种事”。
比利时导演苏菲-皮特斯最近拍摄的一部影片里也强调了这一状况。她在影片中秘密拍摄了自己在该市的街道上碰到的辱骂和口角。
Vocabulary:
homophobic: 讨厌同性恋的
crack down on: 打击,制裁
petty theft: 小偷
exchange: 口角,争吵
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