NAN – Because of the smog in China, a restaurant in the eastern city of Zhangjiagang has bought several air filters and was charging each diner 14 cents as a clean air fee.
A media report said on Tuesday in Beijing that the authorities had intervened and ordered that the charge be lifted.
It said government insisted that installing air filtering machines was a good idea, but that it was not acceptable to impose a charge for them on the bill.
It said the government decision had provoked discussions on the internet with some people saying they were prepared to pay for clean air.
Beijing hit the headlines this month with the highest-level smog alert.
Environmentalists said that air pollution in 80 per cent of Chinese cities was above the limit.
It said more than 4,000 people die every day due to air pollution in China.
“Some 38 per cent of Chinese breathe air that is on average unhealthy,” the report said.
