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Wang Tao: creating more courteous cities

Wang Tao (second from right) with some of his volunteers

Wang Tao, born in 1971, is the founder of a non-profit organization named Green Woodpecker. Since May 2006, he has devoted himself to campaigns against public spitting, jaywalking and yelling in public. Wang started Green Woodpecker in October 2006 with 50,000 RMB he raised by himself, calling for people to care for their community the way that woodpeckers care for the forests. Now this Beijing-based organization has become more influential, with nearly 4,000 members and branches in cities like Wenzhou, Chengdu, Changchun, Qingdao and Shenyang.

Before Wang Tao started his organization, he was just an environmental protection volunteer. After Beijing's successful Olympic bid, he kept thinking about what he could do to make the Olympics and the city environment better. Inspired by a TV program that recorded people spitting on the street, Wang Tao decided to start his own anti-spitting campaign.

On a morning in May 2006, he set off for Tiananmen Square with tissues, gloves, tongs and a badge that read "City Cleaning Volunteer." Although he had practiced many times at home, his first encounter with a member of the public was a little bit embarrassing. Wang Tao saw a middle-aged man spitting on the ground, but just before Wang was able to approach the spitter, the man fled into the crowd.

"In the end, I had to clean it by myself", Wang recalled.

Dissuading people from spitting in public may seem like a small matter, but it takes great courage and determination. Wang Tao has encountered many different situations, some of which were really unpleasant, and he has learned a lot from people's reactions.

One day he just walked up to a man in an attempt to dissuade him from spitting, but out of nowhere, the man swung his fist in front of Wang's face and shouted, "Are you asking for punches?" Wang Tao did not back down and continued to gently urge the man not to spit, which really ruffled the man's feathers. Fortunately, passersby around Wang helped him out of that situation. After the incident, Wang Tao also reflected back on his own actions and tried to be more gentle and persuasive when approaching people.

In addition to the difficulties, Wang also faced pressure from his own family. For years, almost all of his salary and much of his family time was taken up by activities with Green Woodpecker. But Wang Tao stuck to his belief that improving his community was a worthy task.

He is not alone any more. Green Woodpecker has attracted many volunteers, particularly after the organization set up a website. The volunteers are from many different walks of life with different identities and professions: college students, social workers, retired people and even middle and high school students. As Green Woodpecker developed, the relevant government units began to provide the organization with support like free tissues, relieving some of the financial pressure on the organization. In addition to its anti-spitting campaign, Green Woodpecker also holds activities to campaign against behaviors like jaywalking, littering, queue-jumping and yelling in public. Currently they are paying more attention to garbage sorting and reducing car-driving and air pollution.

In Wang Tao's eyes, Green Woodpecker should live up to its name and protect the "forest" where it lives. For all of us, our cities are our "forests" to protect.

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