The subways Line 1 and 2 of Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan Province are open. Staff dressed in costumes of the ethnic minority greet passengers on the station. Photo: VCG

 Authorities of Kunming, capital of Southwest China's Yunnan Province have announced a plan to ban passengers from playing loud music and making other noise on the subway, and those who fail to adhere will risk staining their personal social credit reports.

The transportation bureau of Kunming published a draft regulation on passenger behavior on August 20, which said passengers are not allowed to speak loudly inside subway cars or play music out loud on their digital devices.

Those who violate the rule will be penalized and demerits may be recorded on their personal social credit reports. The move aims to protect other passengers from noises and keep subway cars quiet, the draft said.

Some netizens gave thumbs to the regulations, recommending that the ban on playing loud music should be promoted nationwide. "It's so annoying. They need to buy a pair of earphones," a netizen wrote.

However, some questioned why everything is listed in the credit system now. "Administrative penalty is enough to them. Why does everything have to get credited," another net user commented.

Beijing has banned "uncivilized behavior" on subways since May, prohibiting eating and playing loud music. 

To better enforce the regulation, the Beijing Municipal Commission said violations will be included on violators' personal social credit records. Local subways can also deny service to people who continue to misbehave. 

Lanzhou, in Northwest China's Gansu Province, also issued regulations  banning loud music in July, but didn't link bad behavior to the personal social credit system.

China is constructing the world's largest social credit system, which is designed to help the country restore social trust. 

Credit China, a government website that provides open credit information for public access, has published about 197 million pieces of credit information on administrative licenses and administrative penalties. 

Meng Wei, spokesperson for the National Development and Reform Commission, said China will promote the development of the social credit system in line with laws and regulations to prevent abuse of the credit mechanism.

Global Times