[LINK] Australia and China

[Bernard Robertson-Dunn]

stephen at melbpc.org.au wrote:
>  And given the
> centralization of power apparently necessary under Communism at least
> for implementation stages, i was, as you suggest, perhaps incorrectly
> under the impression that any such laws would need approval by Bejing.
According to this report:
http://www.theage.com.au/world/chinese-ordered-to-smoke-till-they-drop-20090505-atxq.html

<quote>
The edict, which flies in the face of national anti-smoking policies 
from Beijing, is aimed at increasing tax revenue.

In total, officials have been ordered to puff their way through 230,000 
packs of Hubei-branded cigarettes worth about $812,000.

However the order was reported to have been rescinded yesterday. A 
notice on the Gongan government web site said the rule was introduced in 
March in an effort to crack down on fake cigarettes and illegal 
cigarette smuggling in the area, which is causing the government to lose 
revenue, but said it decided to scrap the edict since the article 
appeared. It did not elaborate.
</quote>

Seems as though a bit of nuancing is going on.
(The modern meaning of nuance==spin)

-- 
 
Regards
brd

Bernard Robertson-Dunn
Canberra Australia
brd at iimetro.com.au