The Cigarette Tax

We often say: “The Chinese government is the countinghouse of our foreign masters.” Perhaps there are some people who don’t believe this. Do we not also say repeatedly: “The false show of friendship by foreigners (especially the British and Americans) is merely a pretense of ‘amity’ in order that they may squeeze out more of the fat and blood of the Chinese people”? Perhaps there are some who don’t believe this either. Ever since the ban on exporting cotton was abrogated because of opposition by our foreign masters, ¹ it has been impossible not to give some credence [to this view]. Now that our foreign masters have again put pressure on the government to withdraw the cigarette tax in Zhejiang and other provinces, it has become even more impossible not to give some credence to it. A dispatch from Beijing in Shenbao, dated August 28, says: “The Cabinet discussion of opposition from the British and American ministers to raising the local cigarette taxes resulted in telegrams being sent to all the said provinces ordering them to stop collecting the tax.” Just what is the levying of a cigarette tax? Let’s look at the telegram of June 31 [sic] from the Hangzhou General Chamber of Commerce to the Beijing government:

We humbly submit that levying taxes on luxury goods is a general practice of all nations. Cigarettes have become very popular in recent years, and in Zhejiang Province alone annual sales have surpassed ten million, an enormously high rate of consumption that is shocking to hear. The poisonous effects are no less than those of opium. When the local authorities had considered this, they issued a special order for the establishment of a bureau to levy a tax that would turn the consumption of a useless item into the properly useful construction of roads. We now hear that the foreign merchants, using their treaty rights as a pretext, have repeatedly intervened with the government, ignoring the fact that this kind of a special tax is imposed solely on the cigarette smoker and has nothing to do with the tobacco merchant. This is strictly a tax borne by the people of Zhejiang, yet the foreign merchants again make an effort to intervene! Furthermore, we must not allow the foreigners to interfere with our sovereignty over domestic administrative matters. We must stand on principle and forcefully fight back, rejecting all pretexts. This will be very advantageous indeed for our sovereignty.