禁酒令是河南信阳政府为整治腐败、提高工作效率而于一年前开始实施的。信阳市有100多名官员因违反规定而受到批评。英国《泰晤士报》2008年2月23日就此刊登该报驻京记者的一篇文章説，白酒企业对禁止官员在午休时间喝酒感到苦恼。

　　如今，白酒企业抱怨，他们的收入自禁酒令实施以来减少了1/3。他们聘请律师向各白酒企业征求意见，并将其调查结果上报给省立法机构。他们的目的就是修改或取消禁酒令。

　　河南省酒业协会聘请的律师康银中(音)认为，喝不喝酒是个人问题，就算是政府官员，只要不影响工作，就不应该禁止他们喝酒。

　　他对禁令的合法性提出质疑，说：“任何政府文件都不应凌驾于法律之上。”

　　据该地区最受欢迎的白酒生产企业说，禁酒令实施以来，其销售量从2006年前8个月的6000万元下降到了2007年前8个月的4000万元。

　　当地政府表示，自禁令实行以来，单去年上半年就节省开支4300万元，这笔钱足以修建至少40所小学，这相当于一个小县城一年的收入。另外，因过度饮酒而引发的各类疾病也减少了一半。
禁酒令的推行者河南信阳市委书记王铁表示，禁酒令将会继续实施下去。禁令并没有禁止政府官员在晚上饮酒。

　　他说：“禁酒令受到了人民群众的热烈欢迎，我们将继续实施下去。”

附: 英国《泰晤士报》(The Times)报道原版.
（http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/china/article3420299.ece）

From The Times
February 23, 2008

Drinks firms in anguish as officials" long,
boozy lunchbreaks are banned
Jane Macartney in Beijing
Alcohol companies in a central Chinese province are to challenge a ban on government officials enjoying a drink during their lunch break.

The order was brought in a year ago by the Government to address corruption and improve efficiency among its workers — a task somewhat hindered by the regular practice of employees taking long, alcohol-fuelled lunches. More than 100 officials in Xinyang have been reprimanded for flouting the rule.

Now, producers of baijiu, a clear grain liquor famed for its potency, are complaining that revenues have plunged by as much as a third since the ban came in.

Alcohol producers in Henan province have gone so far as to retain a lawyer whose task is to collect opinions from liquor manufacturers and present his findings to the provincial legislature. The aim is to demand a revision or the lifting of the ban.

Kang Yinzhong, the lawyer hired by the Henan Alcohol Association, argued that drinking was a private matter and even those who held public office should be allowed to sip alcohol at lunch as long as it did not affect their work.
He questioned the legality of the ban, saying: “No government document can sit above the law.”

The most popular liquor manufacturer in the region — Jinguchen, or Golden Green Spring — reported that sales had dropped from 60 million yuan (£4 million) in the first eight months of 2006 to 40 million yuan in the first eight months of last year after the ban took effect.

The Government said that the sobriety campaign had saved it 43 million yuan in the first half of last year alone — enough to build at least 40 primary schools or equivalent to the entire annual revenue of a small county. The number of illnesses linked to excessive drinking had fallen by half.

Drinking in China is as much a show of machismo as enjoyment. Diners challenge one another to empty their glass, which is immediately refilled with another shot of liquor, often about 60 per cent proof. Failure to join in means a loss of face.

Wang Tie, Communist Party chief of Xinyang and the man who initiated the sobriety campaign, said that he stood behind the prohibition, which does not prevent officials from taking a tipple in the evening.

“This has won a warm welcome from the public and we will firmly carry on with it,” he declared.

China"s Communist rulers have repeatedly pointed out that rising corruption and lavish displays of wealth and consumption by public servants have aroused widespread public anger and pose one of the greatest threats to the party"s grip on power.

The challenge by liquor producers and restaurants over such an emotive issue thus stands scant chance of success.

One law professor said it was hardly surprising that the ban had aroused controversy since it damaged the interests of the alcohol industry. （据泰晤士报）  来源：新华网