反其道而行之 act in a diametrically opposite way
- 医生劝他别抽烟,可他却反其道而行之。
The doctor suggested him not smoking,but he did the different thing. - 这些事情本来就值得去做,现在西方在这些战略问题上只能和中国进行合作,而不是反其道而行之。
These things are worth doing in themselves, and nowadays the west can only do them with China, not against it. - 正如移民专家伊莲娜•蒂乌尤卡诺娃所说,“政府的‘右手’放开了移民政策,‘左手’却反其道而行之。”
As Elena Tyuryukanova, a migration expert, says, (4)the “right hand of government is liberalising the law, and the left hand is doing the opposite.