Authorities in Binalonan have made gossiping illegal under a new local law aimed at preventing rumors from spreading within the community.

菲律宾小镇比纳洛南的政府通过了一项新法令，禁止居民聊八卦，以防止流言在社区内散播。

Trash talking someone could see offenders literally picking up trash under a new local law designed to make people take responsibility for the things they say. The law isn’t very clear on what qualifies as gossip, but mayor cited peddling rumors of residents’ relationships or financial situations as examples of punishable offences.

按照当地的这项新法令，说别人坏话将被罚捡垃圾，目的是让人们对自己所说的话负责。法律条文没有明确界定何为八卦，不过镇长举例说，散播居民恋爱关系的绯闻或经济状况的流言就会受到处罚。

As bizarre as the new law may seem, it has actually been enforced in the Moreno neighborhood of Binalonan since 2017.

尽管这项新法令看起来很奇葩，但其实从2017年开始就在比纳洛南镇的莫雷诺社区实施了。

The crackdown on gossip and rumor spreading is being rolled out just in time for summer, which is reportedly the worst time of the year for such behavior, as heat forces locals to gather in the shade and talk about all sorts of things, like who’s been cheating on their spouse, or who has been racking up debt.

这项打击流言蜚语的活动正好赶在夏天启动，据称夏天是流言最盛的时候，因为暑热迫使当地居民聚在阴凉处聊各种八卦，比如谁出轨了，或谁欠债了。

"It’s such a waste of time,” Mayor said. “You’d think people would have something better to do. Banning gossip is our way of improving the quality of life in our town. ”

镇长说：“聊八卦太浪费时间了。难道大家就没有更好的事可以做了吗？禁聊八卦是为了改善我们镇的生活质量。”

不错