What are governments around the world doing to stimulate the economy? Great Britain is cutting sales taxes. Japan is building bridges and paving roads. And China is ordering their citizens to smoke more cigarettes.
世界各國政府振興經濟有何作為？英國降銷售稅，日本造橋鋪路，而中國則下令其公民抽更多香菸。
The Telegraph reports that government officials in Hubei, China have ordered the local populace to purchase 230,000 packs of Hubei-branded cigarettes. If people "fail to meet their targets" or are caught smoking rival brands manufactured in neighboring Chinese provinces, they are fined and subjected to societal shame.
每日電訊報報導，中國湖北省的政府官員下令當地居民購買23萬包湖北品牌的香菸。如果民眾「無法達成他們的目標」，或被查出抽鄰近省份生產的對手品牌香菸，就要處以罰款並受到社會羞辱。
The move, which flies in the face of national anti-smoking policies set in Beijing, is aimed at boosting tax revenues and protecting local manufacturers from outside competition from China’s 100 cigarette makers.
這項行動公然違反北京定調的全國反菸政策，雖然其宗旨在於增加稅收，並保護當地廠商免於受到來自中國100家菸商的外來競爭。
The Telegraph reports that one village was required to purchase 400 cartons （80,000 cigarettes） for its local government officials, and even Hubei schoolteachers have smoking quotas.
每日電訊報報導，一個村莊須替當地政府官員購買400條（8萬根香菸），甚至連湖北的學校教師也有抽菸配額。
"The regulation will boost the local economy via the cigarette tax," said Chen Nianzu, a member of the Gong’an cigarette market supervision team.
「這項規定將可透過香菸稅來振興地方經濟」，公安縣卷菸市場整頓工作領導小組成員陳念祖說。
China has 350 million smokers, about a million of whom die each year from smoking-related illnesses.
中國有3.5億抽菸人口，每年約有100萬人死於抽菸相關疾病。
新聞辭典
be subjected to：片語，受到……或被某事（所苦）。例句：The suspect was subjected to cross-examination at the police station.（嫌犯在警察局受到盤問。）
fly in the face of：片語，公然違抗。例句：Your theory is quite wrong; you are flying in the face of all the experts.（你的意見完全錯誤，你是在公然反抗所有的專家。）
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