• 中台关系：第一步，攻占百货商店

    2008-07-14

    [2008.07.10]First, we take the department stores中台关系：首先，我们攻占百货商店

    China and Taiwan
    First, we take the department stores…
    中台关系：首先，我们攻占百货商店...

    Jul 10th 2008 | BEIJING AND TAIPEI
    From The Economist print edition, the original post is here.
    Translation by misser.

    After decades worrying about a mainland invasion, Taiwan is now courting one
    数十年来台湾担心大陆入侵，如今却汲汲以求


    IT WAS listed on the information board at Beijing's Capital Airport as an international flight. It departed from the international terminal. Passengers had to clear customs and immigration before boarding. Upon landing in Taipei, the crew of Air China 185 made a cabin announcement warning passengers against taking fruit into the "country" they were about to visit. But on no account would anyone in China dare call this non-stop journey an "international" flight. Like the check-in clerk and the immigration official at Beijing's airport, the flight's co-pilot can only giggle uncomfortably when asked to explain the contradictions. It is, after all, an article of faith in Beijing that "Taiwan is part of China".

    在北京首都机场的信息公告板上这次航班被列为国际航班。它从国际航空站离开，登机前乘客需办理清关和出境手续。着陆台北后，国航185的乘务员在机舱宣布中警告乘客不要带水果进入这个他们即将访问的"国家"。然而在中国的任何人都决不敢称此次直达旅行为"国际"航班。当被问起这些自相矛盾之处，航班的副驾驶员只能尴尬地傻笑，一如北京机场的地勤人员和出入境官员。毕竟，"台湾是中国的一部分"是北京不言自明的信念。

    The delicate and sometimes bellicose wrangling between China and Taiwan has long demanded painstaking terminological finesse. The opening on July 4th of regular direct charter flights between China and Taiwan marks important progress between the two sides. But the stubborn persistence of such word games also shows how far apart the two sides remain.

    长期以来，中国与台湾地区间微妙（有些时候甚至敏感）的争执，需要令人痛苦的术语技巧。7月4日，中台开通了定期的直达包机航线，这标志着双方的重大进展。不过上述文字游戏棘手依旧，显示双方距离依然遥远。

    As indeed do the "direct" flights. For a variety of reasons, suchas national security concerns and the lack of standard cross-strait aviation agreements, these charters must still take a lengthy detour through Hong Kong airspace. This is less cumbersome than the normal routine, which requires a landing and brief stopover in Hong Kong (or nearby Macau). But it still adds an hour and nearly 1,000km (625 miles) to the journey from Beijing to Taipei.

    所谓的"直达"航班也是如此。出于一系列理由，如国家安全问题，如海峡两岸缺乏飞行协议标准，这些包机航班必须照旧大老远绕行香港航区。这比通常的旧例还是少了一些麻烦，旧例要求在香港（或附近的澳门）着陆并短暂停留。不过即便只是绕行，也给北京到台北的航程增加了1个小时，近1, 000公里（625英里）。

    Niggling details aside, the arrival of the first flight on July 4th was treated as a big breakthrough. The plane was greeted in Taipei with celebratory arches of water blasted from airport fire-engines. Bigwigs on both sides were also in full-gush mode. Lien Chan, former chairman of Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party, said the flights "would make people around the world proud of this generation of Chinese." Wang Yi, Beijing's senior official dealing with Taiwan saw off the first flight from Beijing, speaking of "a new start" and "a rare opportunity for development".

    抛开细节不谈，7月4日首航的到来被认为是一大突破。为向该航班致意，台北动用机场消防车，喷出欢迎的水龙。双方要人亦倾巢而出。台湾执政党国民党前主席连战说，该次航班"将使世界各地人民为这一代中国人而骄傲。"北京对台事务高级官员王毅在北京为本次首航送行，称之为"一个新的开始"和"两岸关系发展难得的机遇"。

    For all the hullabaloo, though, these flights marked only an incremental advance. Similar flights began running five years ago during limited holiday periods, and have increased in frequency since. None of that dimmed the enthusiasm of the mainland tourists who enjoyed the chance to see for themselves a place they had heard so much about-for good and ill. Nearly 700 made the trip during the first weekend. They spent a short time taking in a carefully selected set of sights in Taipei before heading off to other parts of the island. One sensitive site they were not allowed to visit was the memorial to Chiang Kai-shek, a former KMT leader and bitter foe of Mao Zedong who brought his government to Taiwan in 1949 after losing China's civil war.

    然而，虽然动静如此之大，这些航班也只是标志着更进一步而已。类似航班从5年前便开始在特定假日时段运行，此后还增加了班次。不过这一切并没有减弱大陆游客的热情，他们兴致勃勃地借此机会亲眼目睹这个听闻已久（毁誉参杂）的地方。在第一个周末，有近700人加入了这一旅行。启程前往岛内其他地方前，他们在台北一些仔细挑选好的景点短暂停留。有个敏感的景点他们不许参观：蒋介石纪念馆。蒋介石是前国名党领袖，***死敌，在输掉中国内战后于1949年率领他的政府退至台湾。

    The Chinese tourists were also prohibited from leaving their chaperoned groups. Taiwanese travel agents said this reflected concerns on both sides. Mainland authorities did not want to run the risk of attempted defections, and Taiwan wanted to keep potential spies from roaming where they should not. Exceptions, however, were made for shopping. Johnny Tsai, manager of the China Times Travel Service, said his group of 109 mainlanders were allowed to run off on their own at a department store in the southern city of Kaohsiung, and spent heroically there.

    中国游客亦不得离开受监护的旅游团。台旅行社说这反映了双方的顾虑。大陆当局不愿冒有人试图叛逃的风险，而台湾则想让潜在的间谍无法去他们不应该去的地方瞎逛。不过，购物除外。中国时代旅行社(意译)的Johnny Tsai说，他的旅行团109名大陆游客都被允许在南部城市高雄的百货商店自由活动，结果是大肆血拼。

    For the newly installed KMT government, that may be as important as any boost to the politics of cross-strait relations. Since taking office in May, President Ma Ying-jeou has faced pressure to reinvigorate the economy. Annual growth remains above the 4% mark and inflation below it, but share prices have been tumbling and concerns are growing over widening inequality and looming economic stagnation. Soaring fuel prices and a global slowdown limit Mr Ma's room for manoeuvre. An influx of well-heeled, free-spending mainland tourists therefore seems just the ticket. Some economists predict it could add as much as 0.5 percentage points to the annual growth rate.

    对于履新的国民党政府来说，这可能与两岸政治关系的任何进展同样重要。马英九"总统"自5月上任后，面临使经济复兴的压力。台湾经济年增长率停留在略高于4%大限，通胀则略低4%，然而股价正在下跌，对贫富差距扩大和经济停滞隐现的担忧在加剧。高涨的油价和全球经济放缓限制了马英九先生的操作空间。因此，衣着光鲜、挥金如土的大陆游客的流入，就像天赐尤物。有经济学家预计他们将为台湾的年增长率增加多达0.5个百分点。

    Others doubt that. Mr Tsai wonders whether his first carefully selected group of the rich and "high-level" will be typical of future visitors. Chen-wei Lin of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) says that the economic benefits of mainland tourism are unknown and that Mr Ma is overstretching when he promises worried Taiwanese that Chinese tourism will save their economy. Mr Lin also faults Mr Ma for failing to secure a matching cargo-flight arrangement, which he believes would be far more lucrative for Taiwan.

    其他人对此有所保留。Tsai先生就怀疑他这个精挑细选、富有且"高端"的首航旅游团是否会成为未来游客的主流。对手民进党的林陈威说，大陆游客带来的经济效益尚未明了，马先生承诺忧心忡忡的台湾民众中国旅游团将拯救台湾经济，实属言过其实。同时，林先生指责马先生未能促成同等的货运航班安排，他相信这对台湾来说有利得多。

    Nevertheless, the talk of new beginnings is not all hype. After eight years in which it shunned and berated the previous president, Chen Shui-bian of the more independence-minded DPP, China was pleased to see the KMT return to power in March with the election of Mr Ma.

    不管如何，"新的开始"的言论并非纯属虚构。8年来，中国回绝并严厉斥责前"总统"陈水扁（他出身更倾台独的民进党），如今乐于见到马先生在3月的选举获胜，使国民党重掌政权。

    By the time he took office, China had suffered a string of setbacks. Deadly unrest in Tibet had brought tension with the outside world. International sourness still lingers over its human-rights record, its links with repugnant regimes in Myanmar, Sudan and elsewhere, and its fitness to host the Olympics. It gained much kudos for its handling of the devastating earthquake in Sichuan in March. But in international affairs, China still badly needs to see something go right somewhere, and for the moment Taiwan is going least wrong.

    在马英九上台之前，中国遭遇一系列不顺。西藏致命的骚乱让它与外部世界的关系骤然紧张。国际上对其不满依旧着眼于人权纪录，它与缅甸、苏丹和其他地方恶政权的联系，以及它是否适合举办奥运。在5月四川的毁灭性地震灾难中，它处理得当，赢得了巨大的声誉。但在国际事务中，中国依然极度需要让事情对路。此时此刻，台湾事务最对路。

    Welcome for bricks.


    Thanks to 7colorwolf, jyjnl, rushor, brightu, houyhnhnm.
    发表于13:17 | 阅读全文 | 评论 5 | 编辑 | 推荐

  • 中国西南：传统带来的震撼

    2008-07-14

    [2008.06.27]Tradition's rock传统带来的震撼 桂林篇

    South-west China
    中国西南
    Tradition's rock
    传统带来的震撼--桂林篇

    Jun 27th 2008
    2008年6月27日
    From Economist.com
    摘自《    经济学人》印刷版

    Monday星期一
    A booming country's quiet corner
    轰鸣大国中的宁静角落

    CHINA may be rushing toward superpower status, but not all of it is in a hurry. Life in the country's south-west glides along rather sedately. The road into Guilin, a smallish city of 650,000 people in Guangxi province, was strangely quiet as I looked out at the countryside through rain-streaked taxi windows. The driver could see nothing: her windscreen wiper scraped to a halt. She pulled to a stop in the middle of the highway to fix it, and as she returned it to life, nothing passed in either direction.
    中国可能正在向超级大国的地位冲刺，但并非处处都在急行。中国西南部的生活就相对比较平静。桂林是广西省一个的规模较小的城市，人口为65万。从雨水滑落的出租车玻璃窗向野外观看，我发现通往桂林的道路竟是出奇的宁静。司机的视野却被挡住，原来风挡雨刷出了毛病。她在高速公路开了一半路程就停下来修理风挡雨刷，当她把风挡雨刷修好后，道路双向已无车辆往来。

    The sense of a slower life continues when we reach the town. The heavy industry that propels China's economy is largely absent from Guilin, which relies instead on tea, tourism and traditional medicines. It has proved a lucrative mix, and people can afford to amble along the streets with time to spare.
    在到达桂林时，我仍能感觉到此处的生活节奏比较缓慢。在桂林，推动中国经济发展的重工业几乎没有，而是依赖茶叶，旅游业和传统药物。这些产业一同兴旺发展,使桂林变得富庶安逸。闲暇之余，当地人便沿街悠闲地散步。

    Watch for the birdie

    Even the name of the town suggests a more gentle pace: Guilin means “forest of osmanthus trees”—and osmanthus wait until fall to blossom, rather than bursting into flower in spring. But modernisation has not bypassed the town entirely. It may be more than 2,000 years old and boast 600-year-old Ming-era buildings, but little of the town looks like it has passed its twentieth birthday. One local proudly points out an expensive new apartment block just being finished near the town centre.
    这座城市的名字甚至都在暗示一种悠闲的生活步调：桂林取自“桂树成林”。桂树要盼到秋天方可开花，而不是在春天突然绽放。不过，这座城市也全面开始了现代化。桂林或有超过2000年的历史，有600多年的明朝建筑，但多数城市里的建筑看似刚建不到20年。一名当地人自豪地向市中心附近一栋刚要竣工的昂贵的新公寓楼指去。

    But along the Li river, which runs through the centre of town, fishermen ply their trade in the same odd manner they always have. They battle the current in bamboo boats—flat platforms of up to a dozen thick bamboo trunks lashed together.
    漓江穿过这座城市的中心。不过，漓江沿线的渔民还在以传统的奇特的贸易方式进行买卖。渔民搭乘竹筏（用多达十几只的粗大竹干编凑而成），搏击湍流。

    Instead of rods, they fish with trained cormorants, which dive into the water for fish and return to deliver them to the fisherman on the boat. Strings tied around their necks mean they can only swallow the smallest—anything larger and more saleable get no further than their throats. A cormorant can catch 15kg of fish a day, but only after three to five years of training.
    渔民逮鱼不是用钓竿，而是用训练有素的鸬鹚。鸬鹚潜入水中捉鱼，然后回到竹筏上把鱼交给渔民。鸬鹚的颈部被绳子系住，他们只能吞食小鱼，更大和更易出售的鱼将无法吞下。一只受训三到五年的鸬鹚一天可捉到15公斤鱼。

    Similarly venerable is the local tea ceremony, which can last several hours. Bundles of leaves are dropped into small clay pots, which are filled with hot water. The outside of the pots are also doused in the water, which drains down into the slats of a wooden tray. The tea is ready when the outside of the pot is dry.
    历史同样悠久的当地茶道要持续数小时。人们把几包茶叶放进装有热水的陶器茶壶。茶壶的外围也浸在水中，这些水再慢慢流进一个木制托盘的空条板中。在茶壶外侧的水流干时，茶便给沏好了。

    The choice of tea is mind-boggling to my coffee-soaked palate. Each stage of a leaf's growth can provide a different style of drink, with only the toughest, oldest leaves being relegated to the humble teabag. Long before that, leaves can be pressed together into bricks from which you can chip off a lump to produce a striking orange brew, or bundled into small balls and mixed with the flowers of the town's ubiquitous osmanthus trees, which give a sweet, perfumed taste. The liquid served later that day at a local restaurant is thin and underwhelming.
    品茶比我喝咖啡更为复杂。一片茶叶生长的每个阶段都可提供一个不同样式的喝法，只有最硬的，最老的茶叶片会被放入粗糙的茶袋。在此之前，茶叶可压成砖块形状，从中切一小块便可泡制一壶不同寻常的橙色佳茗，或捆绑成球状同城中无所不在的清新芳香的桂花相混合。当地餐厅出售的香茗味道淡薄，令人难以流连。

    I am told to consume the small cups offered for tasting in three sips. Apparently, only water buffalo down a drink in one go, and dogs take two sips.
    人们告诉我，这些小杯茶要品三小口。很显然，一口而进是牛饮,两口喝完是家犬。

    The limestone mountains surrounding the town have been eroded away into strangely shaped fingers of rock, which locals have taken to identifying with some imagination. Their perspective eludes me. Camel Hill looks to my eye like a fist, closed except for a thumb pointing to the sky, while Elephant Trunk Hill looks like a simple arch. My concerns are soothed when I spot a hill which really does look like an elephant, but dashed again when I find out it is actually meant to resemble a tortoise.
    城市周边的石灰岩山区已侵被蚀成相当数量奇形怪状的岩石，当地人已对山石发挥想象颇感兴趣。不过，他们的观点令我困惑不解。在我看来，骆驼山就像一只四指朝天的拳头，而象鼻山看起来像是一座简陋的拱桥。起初，在发现一座确实像是一只大象的小山后，我的疑虑有所缓解。但随后我确定这座小山其实像是一只乌龟，我的希望再次破灭。
    发表于13:16 | 阅读全文 | 评论 1 | 编辑 | 推荐

  • 因上<经济学人>封面而被判处死刑的伊朗学生

    2008-07-14

    [2008.07.10]Silent no more 不再沉默

    Jul 10th 2008
    From The Economist print edition
    《经济学人》实体版 2008年7月10日

    An Iranian student protester, sentenced to death for appearing on our cover, has escaped to America
    一位曾因在本报封面上露面而被判处死刑的伊朗学生已经逃到美国。


    NINE years ago, Ahmad Batebi appeared on the cover of The Economist. He was a 21-year-old student, one of thousands who protested against Iran’s government that summer. He was photographed holding aloft a T-shirt bespattered with the blood of a fellow protester. Soon afterwards, he was arrested and shown our issue of July 17th 1999. “With this”, he was told, “you have signed your death warrant.”
    9年前Ahmad Batebi出现在《经济学人》的封面上。他当时是个21岁的学生，是那个夏天成千上万抗议伊朗政府人群中的一员。他高举一件溅满同伴鲜血的T恤的形象被拍进照片，政府很快将他逮捕，并给他看了本报1999年7月17日号。“有了这个”有人告诉他，“你就等于签了死刑判决书了。”

    During his interrogation he was blindfolded and beaten with cables until he passed out. His captors rubbed salt into his wounds to wake him up, so they could torture him more. They held his head in a drain full of sewage until he inhaled it. He recalls yearning for a swift death to end the pain. He was played recordings of what he was told was his mother being tortured. His captors wanted him to betray his fellow students, to implicate them in various crimes and to say on television that the blood on that T-shirt was only red paint. He says he refused.
    在审讯阶段，他被蒙住眼睛用钢鞭打到昏死过去。逮捕他的人把盐水浇到伤口上把他弄醒，这样就能进行更多折磨。他们压着他的头，浸入充满污物的水沟中，直到他把粪水吞进去。他记得当时只想快点死去，结束痛苦。有人给他放录音，告诉他这是他母亲被折磨时的惨叫。逮捕他的人逼他背叛同伴，指正他们犯了一系列罪行，并要他在电视中声明T恤中的血迹只是红色颜料。他说他拒绝了。

    He was sentenced to death for “creating street unrest”. But after a global outcry, the sentence was commuted to 15 years in jail. He speculates that his high profile made it hard to kill him without attracting negative publicity. For two years, he was kept in solitary confinement, in a cell that was little more than a toilet hole with a wooden board on top. He was tortured constantly. Only when he was allowed to mingle with other prisoners again did he begin to overcome his despair.
    他以“在大街上引起混乱”的罪名判处死刑。但在全球的反对浪潮下，最后减为15年监禁。他猜测也许因为自己知名度太高，杀死他很难而不招致恶评。他被单独监禁整整两年，关在一间只有一个厕所蹲位那么大的房子里，上面盖着一块木板。对他的折磨从未停息，只有在被允许再次和其他犯人呆在一起的时候，他才开始克服绝望。

    He suffered a partial stroke that left the right side of his body without feeling. He needed medical attention. The regime did not want to be blamed for him dying behind bars, he says, so he was allowed out for treatment. Three months ago, on the day of the Persian new year, he escaped into Iraq. On June 24th he arrived in America.
    他饱受偏瘫的折磨，整个右边的身子完全丧失感觉，需要医疗。他说政府不想因为他死于监狱而招受非议，所以允许他保外就医。三个月前，就在波斯历新年那一天，他逃到了伊拉克，6月24日到达美国。

    He spoke to The Economist on July 7th. Looking at the picture that sparked his ordeal, he says that another man in his place might be angry, but he is not. Mr Batebi is a photographer himself. He says he understands what journalism involves. Had we not published the picture, he says, another paper might have. Looking at the same picture, his lawyer, interpreter and friend Lily Mazahery says she is close to tears: in it, the young Mr Batebi’s pale arms are as yet unscarred by torture.
    7月7日他接受了《经济学人》的采访。看着给自己招致无数苦难的照片，他说如果换成其他人经受如此磨难必会愤懑在心，可他不会。Batebi先生也是摄像师，他说自己知道解新闻行业的规则，如果我们不公开这张照片，其他报纸也会。看着同一张照片，他的律师，翻译和朋友Lily Mazahery忍不住热泪盈眶。照片中年轻的Batebi先生那苍白的双臂如今依旧，似乎已经忘却曾因拷打留下的无数伤痕。

    The protests Mr Batebi took part in nine years ago frightened Iran’s rulers. The students were angry about censorship, the persecution of intellectuals and the thugs who beat up any student overheard disparaging the regime. Mr Batebi thinks Iran could well turn solidly democratic some day. In neighbouring states, religious extremism is popular. In Iran, he says, the government is religiously extreme, but the people are not.
    Batebi先生9年前参加的抗议活动曾让伊朗的统治者大为恐慌。学生们对严行审查制度，压迫知识分子的政府和捕风捉影，随意殴打任何对政府有异议学生的暴徒感到极度愤怒。Batebi先生认为伊朗某一天会实现真正的民主，他说在周邻国家宗教极端主义扎根与群众之中，而在伊朗只有政府才实行宗教极端政策，但老百姓并不支持。

    He is cagey about how exactly he escaped. But he says he used a cellphone camera to record virtually every step of his journey, and will soon go public with the pictures and his commentary. Meanwhile, he seems to be enjoying America. He praises the way “people have the opportunity to become who they want to be”. Shortly after he arrived, he posted a picture of himself in front of the Capitol on his Farsi-language blog, with the caption: “Your hands will never touch me again.”
    他十分小心避免透露逃脱的细节，但说用手机上的照相机记录下了全过程，将很快公开这些照片并加上自己的解说词。他似乎在美国过得不错。他赞美到那种“让人们有机会实现自我”的环境。来到美国不久，他在自己用波斯语撰写的博客上贴了一张照片。照片中的他站在国会大厦前，下面写到“你的手再碰不了我。”
    发表于13:10 | 阅读全文 | 评论 1 | 编辑 | 推荐

  • 斯里兰卡:历经战火考验的总统

    2008-07-10

    [2008.07.09] The war president 历经战火考验的总统

    Sri Lanka 斯里兰卡
    The war president 历经战火考验的总统
    Jul 3rd 2008 | COLOMBO AND TRINCOMALEE可伦坡和亭可马里
    From The Economist print edition

    Sri Lanka’s army chief says the government has won its 25-year war against the Tamil Tigers. This is not true
    斯里兰卡的军队首领声称政府已经赢得了其与泰米尔猛虎组织长达25年的战争的胜利。但事实并非如此。

    MAHINDA RAJAPAKSE, Sri Lanka’s president, shakes out his white outfit and spreads his bare toes with a satisfied air. “We have concentrated on the LTTE [the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam],” he says, “because unless we defeat them, we will have no peace and development.” In January he abrogated a ceasefire and stepped up a brutal two-year offensive against the no-less-brutal LTTE. This week his army commander, General Sarath Fonseka, claimed the operation had succeeded. The Tigers, said the general, had lost the capability of fighting as a conventional army. “We have defeated them.”
      斯里兰卡总统拉贾帕克萨身着传统的白色服装，将他裸露的脚趾惬意的舒展在空气中。“我们一直在集中精力对付泰米尔伊拉姆猛虎解放组织”，他说道，“因为一天不打倒他们，我们就不会有和平和发展。”1月的时候他退出了停火协定，面对泰米尔伊拉姆猛虎解放组织的丝毫未减的野蛮暴力，转而走向一个长达两年的无情攻势。本周他的军队指挥官，萨瑞斯佛塞克将军宣称作战已经成功。他说“猛虎”已经丧失其作为正规军作战的能力，“我们战胜了它。”

      The Tigers have not surrendered and would presumably disagree. But the president’s brother, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, who is also defence secretary, says the government has a once-in-a-generation chance to crush them. General Fonseka claims the Tigers have lost 9,000 fighters since 2006. They were driven from one big Tamil town, Jaffna, in 1995. Now they no longer pose a threat to another, Trincomalee.
      “猛虎”现在并未屈服，据预测也是不会屈服的。但是总统的弟弟，国防部长高特哈巴亚称现在政府有一个千载难逢的机会去摧毁它。佛塞克将军宣称“猛虎”自2006年起已经失去9000名战斗者，这些人是1995年从一个叫做贾夫纳的泰米尔小镇出来的。如今他们对其他地方已经不构成威胁了，比如说对亭可马里。

      In 2005 they enforced a boycott of a presidential election in the areas they controlled. Last year they were driven from the eastern part of their northern stronghold and failed to stop the ensuing provincial vote (one that most independent observers considered deeply flawed). The Tigers split in 2004. One of the group’s former child soldiers, Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan (known as Pillayan), whose still-armed militia contested the election as born-again democrats, has become chief minister of the Eastern Province—the highest-ranking elected office held by a Tamil.
      2005年“猛虎”曾在受他们控制的地区联合抵制总统选举。去年他们从自己的北方要塞的东部地区被驱逐，而且没能阻止接下来的地方选举（这在多数的独立观察者看来，是存有很大漏洞的地方）。“猛虎”在2004年分裂。这个组织的前童子军首领之一——塞文尼撒舒瑞—单卓坎森（通常被叫做皮雷岩）的武装部队仍在争夺选举的结果，就好像再生的民主党人，他已经成为东部省的首席部长——也是泰米尔职位竞选中最高的官阶。

      Perhaps most important, the LTTE is said to have lost much of its foreign backing. Two years ago Tamil organisations could still raise money freely in Europe. Now, the LTTE are on many terrorist lists (America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation dubs them “the most dangerous and deadly extremists in the world”). Canada has added the World Tamil Movement, a Tiger front, to its banned list; Italy has arrested 33 suspected LTTE financiers in one of the biggest crackdowns in years.
      也许最重要是在于，“猛虎”据称已经失去了很多国外支援。2年前泰米尔组织还能自由的从欧洲筹钱。但是如今，“猛虎”已经在很多国家的恐怖组织清单上（美国联邦调查据说他们是“全世界最危险和最致命的极端分子”）。加拿大曾加入了“世界泰米尔运动”，“猛虎”也在其禁令清单之中；意大利曾在今年发生的一次最大的镇压中逮捕了33名可疑的“猛虎”财务人员。

      Yet it is much too soon to declare victory. The Tigers, a small guerrilla force of around 5,000 fighters, have repeatedly resisted conventional attack. In the 1980s, they beat back India’s army. Their fearsome leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, remains at large. Trincomalee bristles with soldiers and checkpoints. Even if they were to lose the territory they hold, the Tigers could still sink back into the local population and launch attacks from there.
      现在说已经赢得胜利还为时过早。拥有大概5000名战斗分子的“猛虎”游击队还会一次又一次的还击。在80年代中期，他们曾击退过印度军队。他们令人生畏的领袖沃皮莱普拉巴兰卡，残余势力依然庞大。亭可马里处处都是士兵和关卡。即便他们将会失去他们手中的掌控的地区，“猛虎”仍然会重新聚集他们的当地力量并且在当地发起进攻。

      For that reason, says President Rajapakse, the real test of whether the Tigers are defeated will be their willingness to lay down their arms and negotiate. There is no sign, yet, that they are willing to do so.
      因此，拉贾帕克萨总统称，能否真正战胜“猛虎”的考验在于，“猛虎”是否情愿放下武器与他们进行交涉。这里没有迹象证明这个想法，但是，他们的确想这样做。

      But the claim of victory is still important, for it represents a test for the president, too. His government has been consumed by war to the detriment of other things, notably basic human rights. President Rajapakse is a former human-rights activist who in 1990 called on donors to link aid to human rights and told parliament: “We are prepared to go to any lengths to save human rights from this government.” Now he stands accused of the very abuses he criticised. Defeating the Tigers might allow him to show his government in a better light.
      即便如此，这个胜利宣言依然是重要的，因为它也给总统带来了考验。他的政府已为战争耗费颇多，甚至损害了其他事业的进程，最显著的就是基本人权。拉贾帕克萨总统原来是一位争取人权的积极分子，他曾在1990年号召施主们为人权捐助，并知会了国会。“我们已经整装待发要将人权从这个政府拯救出来，无论这旅程有多么长。”现在他却站在了自己曾经谴责过的位置上。战胜“猛虎”很可能让他的政府前程更加光明。

      That would mean, first, offering the Tamils genuine self-government. A system of devolution exists but has not been implemented. The system is feeble—Pillayan describes it as “just a start”—but there is little excuse for withholding it now there is an elected council in the east, home to Sinhalese and Muslims as well as Tamils.
      这说明了，首先，要给泰米尔一个真正的独立政府。这是一项转换体系，但至今还未实施。这个体系很脆弱——皮雷岩形容说“这仅仅是个开始”——但是并没有借口像这样一直压着不实施，现在在东部，在那些锡兰人，穆斯林的故乡已经有了选举审议会，就像泰米尔一样。

    Next, it would mean tackling neglected economic problems. The country is showing signs of a wage-price spiral, with annual inflation touching 26%, labour unrest and a threatened general strike. The convener of a teachers’ union, the delightfully named Joseph Stalin, says teachers are refusing to mark exam papers. The central bank is trying to break the wage-price cycle by a credit squeeze but its efforts are being undermined by government spending on the war. The budget deficit is 9% of GDP and there is pressure to spend even more on roads, canals, hospitals and Tamil-speaking nurses in the war-ravaged east.
      再者说，这将意味着要处理一些忽视的问题，这个国家现在已经出现了工资——价格螺旋的迹象，年通胀率也已触及26%，工人情绪不稳定与颇具威胁的大罢工，这些都是这个迹象的表现。教师联盟的召集人拥有一个令人愉快的名字——约瑟史琳达说道，教师们拒绝批阅试卷。央行正在努力紧缩银根来打破这场工资——价格上涨的恶性循环，但是央行的努力却被政府在战争上的花费虚耗掉了。财政预算赤字占国内生产总值的9%，这些压力还来源于在道路，河道，医院以及饱受战争蹂躏东部讲泰米尔语地区的医疗开销也有大笔支出。

      Most important, improving the government’s reputation means allaying political and human-rights concerns. The Sinhalese, some 80% of the population, are Buddhists, who pride themselves on tolerance and calm. In his white costume, scarlet scarf and sandals, President Rajapakse cultivates the image of a beneficent guru. Yet the war has hardened attitudes. Criticism of it is called treason. “I’ve never seen the country so polarised,” says Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, the head of the Centre for Policy Alternatives, a think-tank.
      最重要的在于提高政府的声誉，这意味着需要缓和政治策略和人权之间的矛盾。锡兰人里面有将近8成的佛教徒，他们以自己的宽容与安宁为荣。在他白色的民族服装下，拉贾帕克萨总统身着绯红色的领带和凉鞋，陶醉在仁慈的印度教导师的塑像之中。虽然对待战争有着无情的态度，但对此的一切非难都会被称作是叛国。“我从来没想过我的祖国会走上两极趋势，”潘奇瑟西萨拉瓦南姆特说道，他是政策选择中心（一个智囊机构）的执行主任。

      The press has been a bellwether. Basil Rajapakse, another of the president’s brothers, who is his chief adviser on domestic politics, says—unreassuringly— that the government does not want a law on censorship “but a voluntary self-control”. Accusations of harassment are frequent. This week a journalist from the Sri Lankan Press Institute, which had just launched defamation proceedings against a government-controlled newspaper, was attacked by club-wielding thugs, while travelling with a British diplomat, who was also clubbed. Late last year the International Press Institute put Sri Lanka on its watch-list of countries where the media’s situation is precarious, along with Russia.
        媒体一直都是灾难的领头羊。总统的另一个弟弟罗勒拉贾帕克萨，作为国内政策的首席顾问，毫不留情的说——政府不需要制定任何检查制度的法律，“那都应该是自愿者的自制行为”对此困扰的谴责时常会发生。本周斯里兰卡报业协会的一位记者刚因为反对政府控制报纸而提出了诽谤上诉，就在和一位英国外交官一起旅行时遭受了挥舞着棒子的暴徒们的袭击，那个外交官也同样挨了打。去年的时候国际报业协会鉴于其媒介地位的岌岌可危，将斯里兰卡列入其严格审查列单中，同样被列入的还有俄罗斯。

      More subtly, politics seem to have become less open and accountable. The reins of power have been drawn into the hands of the three Rajapakse brothers. In a region where democratic dynasties are common, the Rajapakse clan is unusual. It does not hail from the traditional English-speaking elite that produced Sri Lanka’s other presidents. Mahinda, from Hambantota, represents the rural south, the Buddhist provincial bourgeoisie, rather than the urban elite. To offset weak traditional loyalties, he has curried favour by lavish ministerial appointments. Sri Lanka has a huge, 108-strong cabinet. One minister resigned, saying his ministry should be abolished since it had nothing to do.
        当政治手腕已经看似少有公开和说明的举动，这就让其变得更为巧妙。权利的支配已经让拉贾帕克萨三兄弟够头痛了。在一个正在经历民主时期的国家，这多么普通，拉贾帕克萨家族却是很特别的。它并不为那些传统的讲英文的精英们为他们制造新总统而欢呼。一位来自汉班托塔的叫做曼达的人表示在他更愿意支持南部乡下的信仰佛教的地方中产阶级，而不是城市精英。为了抵消掉那些传统而衰弱的忠贞不渝的老旧念头，他谄媚般慷慨的提供了很多内阁职位。斯里兰卡拥有着一个庞大的，由108人组成的强大内阁。一个部长在被任命时称，他的部门应该被废掉，因为闲置，无事可做。

      This has worrying consequences. Democratic Sri Lanka, which suffered more than most from the 2004 tsunami, has the sort of relations with international agencies you would associate with Sudan. In May it lost its seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council (not a body demanding the highest standards: Russia, Cuba and Saudi Arabia are members). America’s State Department has cited credible reports of government involvement in extra-judicial killings, and complicity in the recruitment of child soldiers by its allies. Sri Lanka’s mission in Geneva responds to criticism by calling the former head of the UNHRC, Louise Arbour, unqualified to monitor human rights in the country. This dispute is self-defeating. Under a trade deal with the European Union called GSP-plus, Sri Lanka’s garment exports (its second-largest source of foreign exchange) enjoy duty-free access to the EU. But GSP-plus hinges partly on human rights. Sri Lanka risks losing its privileges.
      这会有一个令人担忧的结局出现。斯里兰卡民主党在经受了2004年大海啸超乎一切的，最不堪的损失后，就和一些国际机构有了某种关系，对此，你理所当然会联想到苏丹。5月的时候它失掉了联合国人权理事会的席位（并非是一个要求最高标准的团体：俄罗斯，古巴和沙特阿拉伯都是其会员国）。美国国务院曾引用过一些可信的报告称，斯里兰卡政府曾介入过一些未经司法程序的杀戮，还与其同盟国一起招募过童子军。斯里兰卡在日内瓦面对这些指责时，反应是旨在邀请前联合国人权事务委员会主席阿博尔，毫无意义的去斯里兰卡察看人权的现状。这种抵抗无疑是弄巧成拙的。斯里兰卡在普遍化优惠关税特殊优惠方案的条件下与欧盟做成衣出口（斯里兰卡外汇收入第二大来源）交易时，享受着免税进入欧盟的待遇。但是普遍化优惠关税特殊优惠方案的关键的部分在于人权问题。斯里兰卡正在冒着一个会失去它这项优惠待遇的极大风险去这么做。

      The president was elected on a platform of getting tough with the Tigers. But that was thanks partly to the boycott imposed by the Tigers themselves. Hardline governments, they reckon, end up helping their cause by driving even moderate Tamils into their clutches. Mr Rajapakse has driven the Tigers from the east, held an election there and claims to be closing in on victory. Yet the costs have been enormous and if the Tigers refuse to negotiate, there seems to be no alternative strategy to one entailing more bloodshed. Asked about this, Mr Rajapakse says the Tigers will be forced to talk—and, in a gesture he uses when nettled, shoves his bare feet firmly back into his sandals.
        总统是在采取强硬的对待“猛虎”的这样的平台当选的。但这也一部分要感谢“猛虎”自身的联合抵制。“猛虎”估计，一个强硬的政府会为了其事业地进行将稳健派的泰米尔人也抓至麾下，最终会走向垮台。总统拉贾帕克萨刚把“猛虎”从东部赶走，就在那里举行了选举并且宣称自己是以胜利结尾的。然而这样做的代价是巨大的，一旦“猛虎”拒绝交涉，政府面对更多的流血事件将毫无应对之策。被问及这一点，拉贾帕克萨总统说“猛虎”将被迫与之进行交涉——同时，他使用了一个自己在焦急的时候常用的姿势，将他裸露在外的脚牢牢的磕进他的拖鞋里面。
    发表于16:58 | 阅读全文 | 评论 2 | 编辑 | 推荐

  • Ebay: 作茧自缚

    2008-07-03

    [2008 06 19] Handbagged 作茧自缚

    Handbagged


    作茧自缚


    Jun 19th 2008 | PARIS
    From The Economist print edition


    The online auctioneer braces itself for some court decisions in France


    在法国,该网络拍卖商深陷官司纠缠中.



    HIGHFASHIONX, a retailer on the American website of eBay, an online auctioneer, is offering 52 handbags, belts, necklaces, rings and pairs of shoes from the house of Chanel. It also displays something even more exclusive: an apology from Chanel's lawyers. The luxury-goods firm had accused HighFashionX of selling fakes, but its wares were in fact all genuine.


    HIGHFASHIONX,    作为EBAY站点上的零售商和在线卖家,在该网站上出售52种来自香奈儿的手提包,腰带项链,戒指和鞋子.和那些货物一起展示的有一些更独特的东西:来自香奈儿公司律师的道歉函.该奢侈品公司指责HighFashionX出售假货,但是事实上它的货物全是货真价实的真品.

    he incident is part of a war between luxury-goods firms and eBay over counterfeit goods—a war that is about to intensify. On June 30th a French court will rule on a lawsuit brought against eBay in 2006 by LVMH, the world's biggest luxury-goods firm, which is demanding damages of 20m euro ($31m). Further rulings are expected on court cases brought against eBay by Dior Couture, a fashion house, and by L'Oréal, a cosmetics firm. For its part, eBay is launching a campaign in Brussels against firms that, it says, are stifling the development of e-commerce in Europe.A few years ago sellers on eBay were mostly private individuals flogging second-hand goods. But now eBay is increasingly used by professional retailers selling new items. Many of them sell fakes. LVMH claims that out of 300,000 products labelled Dior and 150,000 Louis Vuitton handbags offered on eBay in the second quarter of 2006, fully 90% were fake.



    该事件只是在奢侈品公司和EBAY之间爆发的一场和赝品有关的战争的微不足道的一部分,而且此战争有愈演愈烈之势.本月30日一家法国法庭将开庭审理在2006年触发的世界最大的奢侈品公司LVMH控告EBAY要求20W欧元(31W美圆)赔偿的诉讼案.另外两家, 时装店Dior Couture和化装品公司L'Oréal则上诉要求法庭做出进一步深远的规定.从本身角度出发,EBAY正在布鲁赛尔发动一场针对它宣称指责的阻拦欧洲电子商务的企业们的战役.数年前,在EBAY上的绝大多数卖家都是抛售二手商品的私人.然而,如今EBAY的使用者却持续上升的变成了销售新货物的职业零售商.他们中的大多数人都卖赝品.LVMH称2006第二季度在EBAY上销售的300000件标有DIＯＲ的商品和150000件Louis Vuitton手提包,90%以上都是假货.




    “We don't make any money from sales on eBay,” says Cheryl Solomon, general counsel of the Gucci Group, “but we have to tell people that their bag isn't real, that we can't help them get their money back, and we become the bad guys.” A cottage industry of authenticators has sprung up around eBay and other online auction sites: MyPoupette.com, for instance, charges consumers a fee to examine online photos of handbags and other items before they submit their bids.



    “    从EBAY卖掉的货物上,我们一分钱都没挣到”, Gucci 集团首席顾问Cheryl Solomon抱怨道,”反而我们必须对人们说他们买的包根本就不是真的,对怎么样讨回他们的钱也无能为力,于是他们就迁怒于我们了.”家庭手工作坊式验证方式已经悄然跃上EBAY和其他网上拍卖网站,例如MyPoupette.com,在顾客们提交定单之前,以收费方式为他们检查在线手提包和其他货品的照片以鉴定真伪


    EBay takes a small percentage of the value of every sale on its site, as well as a flat fee, and thus earns money from counterfeits sold on its site as well as genuine items. Mindful of its reputation, eBay has stepped up its efforts to fight counterfeiting in recent years. As well as its peer-review system, which allows buyers to rate sellers, it has another scheme, “Verified Rights Owner” (VeRO), which invites brand-owners to notify it of counterfeit goods. Suspect items are then taken off eBay's websites until their provenance can be proven, usually within hours. But luxury-goods firms say VeRO is not enough. They want eBay to take more responsibility for rooting out fakes. The Union des Fabricants in Paris, an anti-counterfeiting group, wants eBay to use its database of names and postal addresses of sellers to identify and ban professional counterfeiters.



    EBAY    从每笔成交的交易中以固定比率抽取小额费用,因而在它的站点上无论卖出的是赝品还是真品都一样的挣钱.为维护它的声誉,近年来EBAY已经为打击赝品而展开了行动.除了其本身的允许买家对卖家等级进行分类的平等评论系统，它还制定了另外一项计划：“验证权利人”（VeRO）,邀请品牌所有商将查到的伪造品结果正式告之于它。可疑商品将在EBAY网站上下架直到他们的归属能够得到确定，这一过程通常需要数小时。但是，奢侈品公司认为光有VERO计划并不够。他们希望EBAY在彻底根除伪造品方面上能够担负起更多的责任。位于巴黎的反赝品集团，纺织品工会组织，要求EBAY利用其数据库中记载的买家名字和邮政地址等信息以认定和完全禁止职业造假者的行动。


    “We have 2,000 employees worldwide fighting fraud,” says Alexander von Schirmeister, head of eBay in France, “and if we have to do much more, you have to wonder to what extent our business model can exist.” With the support of Meglena Kuneva, European commissioner for consumer protection, and three members of the European Parliament, eBay will argue in Brussels that the internet has been unfairly portrayed by luxury-goods firms as the root cause of counterfeiting. It wants the European Commission to rewrite the rules on “selective distribution”, which allow manufacturers to control how their products are sold online. The rules, written before the internet took off, are now stifling e-commerce in Europe, eBay argues.



    ：“全球范围内我们有2000名员工专注投身于反欺诈行动”，EBAY分部领导says Alexander von Schirmeister谈到，：“而且如果我们被迫付出更多的话，你们就该好好想想我们的商业模式能够在什么样的程度上继续存在了”在欧盟消费者权益保护者委员Meglena Kuneva以及3名欧洲议会成员的支持下，在布鲁塞尔eBay坚持认为奢侈品公司把互联网不公正的扭曲的描述成为导致伪造行为的罪魁祸首。他们希望欧洲委员会能够修订规定有关制造商控制他们在网上的销售方式的：“选择性分配“的有关条例。在互联网兴起之前制定的那些条例，现在在EBAY看来，已经在防碍如今欧洲电子商务的发展。


    But however much support eBay can drum up in Brussels, it is unlikely to distract attention from the forthcoming decision in LVMH's lawsuit. On June 4th eBay lost against Hermès, another French luxury-goods firm, which had sued it for selling counterfeit handbags. Now other firms are waiting to hear the results of the LVMH, Dior and L'Oréal cases against eBay, says Marc Antoine Jamet, chairman of the Union des Fabricants. If eBay loses, he says, “we will probably see many more brand-owners filing similar suits.”



    但是，不管EBAY在布鲁塞尔能够招徕什么样的支持，也无法将公众注意力从即将到来的LVMH诉讼案上移开。本月4日，EBAY已经输掉了对对另外一家法国奢侈品企业Hermès的官司，起因是Hermès起诉它出售赝品手提包。如今，其他的公司正拭目以待该项LVMH, Dior and L'Oréal联合起诉EBAY的最终结果。如果eBay不幸输掉的话，他说道：“那么，我们将会看到比现在数量大的多的品牌商将参与到这种墙倒众人推的起诉中来。“

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