(Audio available for download)

What tarnishes the city's appearance and image the most? When asked this question, many Beijingers will answer right away: the small advertisement stickers that can be seen everywhere. These nuisances have been dubbed the city's "skin disease."

And in recent years, accidents have frequently occurred with the so-called "card kids" who stand in the middle of traffic to hand out small advertisement stickers and cards to drivers. Last July, a 17-year-old card boy was hit by a car and died. And this April another 13-year-old boy was badly hurt in an accident, but several of his fellow workers are now still walking out in the middle of the busy Jingkai Express Way to distribute small ad cards to drivers.

Meanwhile, to curb the overflow of small ads glued around the city, the draft version of the revised Beijing Metropolis Appearance and Environmental Sanitation Regulations will pose more severe punishment on "ad gluers." The telephone numbers that appear on these small ad cards will be put out of use by telecom operators. And the organizers and companies behind these ad gluers will face a penalty up to 500,000 yuan, a big jump on the current fine of only 10,000 yuan.

The rule has already received applause from many. Li Chunguang is an official with the city's inspection team. "We have always been hoping that those who distribute small cards, glue stickers or spray advertisements on walls would be more severely punished by law. And especially those people who organize minors to hand out small ad cards on the street deserve the most severe punishment."

The hefty penalty has shown the government's determination to thoroughly heal the city's so-called "skin disease." But to effectively trace the ones who are behind the ads will remain a challenge.

The draft has now been put online to solicit public opinion. Following this, a revision of the regulations will come out next month.

China Drive is one of CRI's radio programs aired from Monday to Friday. We pick the most interesting life reports from China Drive. Stay tuned.