江蘇一餐廳收取1元錢"空氣淨化費"

A restaurant in eastern China has been caught charging customers an "air cleaning fee" on top of their food bills.

中國東部的一家餐廳被物價局警示，原因竟然是在他們的結賬單上有一項是收取顧客的“空氣淨化費”。

Diners at the eatery in Zhangjiagang city, Jiangsu Province, were charged one yuan ($0.15; 10p) each to cover the cost of purifying the air inside, the official Xinhua news agency reports. Cities in the region have been enveloped in thick smog in recent weeks, with visibility of less than 100m in the worst-hit areas.

據新華社報道，江蘇省張家港市一餐廳加收每位食客1元（0.15美元；10P）費用，以彌補空氣淨化器的設備成本。最近幾周，該區域的城市被濃密的霧霾籠罩，最嚴重的地方能見度小於100m。

The restaurant's owners recently purchased an air filtration system to improve the dining experience, and covered the cost by passing it on to customers without prior warning, the report says. But after complaints from angry patrons, the local government intervened to stop the practice, telling the owners that it constituted an illegal charge. A city official tells Xinhua that it wasn't the diners' choice to breathe filtered air, so it could not be sold as a commodity.

據報道，該餐廳的老闆最近購買了一套空氣淨化系統，以優化用餐環境，同時爲彌補設備及運營費用，便自作主張在餐費之外加收食客的“空氣淨化費”。顧客感到憤怒並抱怨後，當地政府出面阻止了這一做法，告訴老闆這屬於違法收費。一位城管工作人員告訴新華社記者，消費者未提出需要購買“淨化空氣”的要求，就不得將“淨化空氣”作爲商品出售。

While those on the receiving end of the charge were unhappy, the idea has been welcomed by many Chinese social media users. "I'd agree to the fee!" declares one person on the Sina Weibo microblogging site, while another says they would happily pay more for clean air. One user suggests that the government should follow suit to deal with the country's severe smog problems. But some criticise the way the owners collected the cash. "Paying is not the problem," writes one person. "The problem is being informed in advance and obtaining consent."

在那些食客對這個收費感到不舒服的同時，這個主意卻受到了中國很多網友的歡迎。“我同意出這個錢。”一位新浪微博網友說，而另一個新浪網友說他們很樂意爲清潔的空氣付出更多的錢。一個用戶建議政府應該效仿國家處理嚴重的煙霧問題的做法。但也有一些批評老闆收費的方式，有人這樣留言：“付錢不是問題，問題是事先通知，並獲得許可。”