Final answer:
It is true that individuals hire "mules" to transport wine into mainland China from Hong Kong to avoid taxes. This is a form of smuggling, often done to evade tariffs or prohibition laws.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement is true. Because of taxation on wine bottles hand-carried across the border from Hong Kong to China, entrepreneurial individuals do indeed engage in hiring "mules" to transport wine into the mainland as a means to bypass taxes and regulations.
This practice is a form of smuggling, which is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.
There are various methods of smuggling, and it is often done to circumvent taxation or prohibition laws within a particular geographic region.
In the case of wine, which is considered an intoxicating liquor, being transported into China from Hong Kong, it would be analogous to the prohibition that was once in the United States, where the transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, was prohibited when in violation of the laws thereof.