說三道四

說三道四




香港明報每個週六，都有外地評論摘要，為了解翻譯出來的中文稿子，與原來的英文原本文章有何差異，我通常會在網上搜尋原文閱讀。 以前很也曾經多次，把兩篇中英兩文一起轉載，方便網友參考，當然也方便自己以後查閱。


誠然，過去兩週來，中外的新聞不斷：黃主任的言論、美國會兩黨為美債上限角力、新疆恐怖襲擊與殲暴、全球股災蒸發兩萬億美元、菲傭居留權施法覆核等等，最繫我心者，還是：七二三動車追撞事件。


【明報專訊】中國的動車意外，繼續引來外地傳媒關注，除了中國官僚貪腐問題及高鐵是否「大躍進」備受指摘外，內地打壓傳媒報道的手段也引來強烈批評。

外地評論摘要：美國《華爾街日報》8月3日
高鐵殘骸被埋 問責也被埋（WSJ：China's Wreckage Under Wraps）
天災和工業慘案，在新中國並非新事，但導致40人死亡（官方數字）的7‧23高鐵相撞意外，卻可能發展成另一類事件。中國新聞從業員和公眾都在反抗官方審查，就政府自詡全球最先進的鐵路系統要求得到更多的資訊。餘下來拭目以待的是，究竟事故引發的民憤會否迫使共黨政府，改變它處理尷尬事件的一貫做法。

北京政府上周五下令國內傳媒封口之前，國內報章整整一星期的社論，都在嚴厲質詢官員是否罔顧乘客性命，鐵道部發言人在記者會上飽受記者圍攻。有人在微博上寫：「當一個國家腐敗到一次雷擊就能導致火車意外，我們沒有一個人能置身事外……今天的中國就是在風雷暴雨中疾走的列車，我們全都是乘客。」

這種對政府弊病的公開批評，令人期望中國是否在發展出能監察政府的傳媒，但恐怕未必。北京已學懂了如何先讓公眾發泄民憤，然後就阻止能帶來真正問責的跟進報道出現。

四川大地震之初，記者們即時就指出校舍是受震尤其嚴重的建築，好幾份報章刊登專題質疑是否涉及腐敗或豆腐渣工程，但翌月民辦傳媒的記者就被下令撤出災場。

同樣，在毒奶粉事件中，政府為防問題愈掘愈深，很快推出官方版本並強令傳媒統一報道口徑，毒奶受害人家長趙連海為伸權益，竟受威脅甚至下獄。

中國政府上周在壓力下聲稱會改革鐵路系統，總理溫家寶承諾會有「公平透明的調查」，但政府如此鐵腕鎮壓言論，任何改革都不可能在公眾監察下推行。

有人形容，官方控制傳媒的手腕升級已為「控制2.0」。這也許能在短線維持穩定局面，但卻會令導致民怨的問題坐大，隨著每次事故在受控前，要發泄的民憤不斷增多，有一天可能政府再也無法鎮得住人們要求答問的呼聲。


究竟外國人是怎樣看呢？借用國內用語：外國人是怎樣說三道四呢？


【Wall Street Journal】China's Wreckage Under Wraps
Without accountability, each tragedy sparks greater public anger.

Modern China is no stranger to natural and industrial disasters. Yet the July 23 high-speed train crash that left 40 people dead and another 191 injured—according to the official tally—could become a different kind of event.

Chinese journalists and ordinary citizens are resisting government censorship and pressing for more information about the safety of a rail system the government has touted as the most advanced in the world.

What remains to be seen is whether the outrage the crash has provoked will force the regime to refashion its standard procedures for dealing with embarrassing—and revealing—events.

On Friday the government decided to curtail domestic media coverage of the accident after a week of sharp editorials asking whether official neglect cost the trains' passengers their lives. At a press conference with the railways ministry, journalists grilled the ministry's cowed-looking spokesman.

"When a country is so corrupt that one lightning strike can cause a train crash . . . none of us is immune," one person wrote on Sina Weibo, the country's most popular microblogging service. "China today is a train rushing through a lightning storm . . . we are all passengers."

This kind of open criticism of the government's failures raises expectations that China is developing a watchdog media. If only that were true. The regime has learned how to allow the public to vent and then prevent the follow-up reporting that would bring true accountability.

When a magnitude-7.9 earthquake ravaged Sichuan province in May 2008, reporters noted immediately that schoolhouses had been particularly hard-hit. Several newspapers published pointed stories asking whether corruption and inadequate building standards were responsible for the high number of school-age victims. Yet by mid-June of that year reporters from the commercial media were being recalled from the scene.

Likewise when toxic milk powder sickened thousands of infants in 2008, the government rushed its version of events out to the public in order to pre-empt those who would dig deeper.

The media were not silenced; rather they were forced to hew rigidly to the official line that contamination was under control and recalls were limited. Activist Zhao Lianhai, who tried to expose the cover-up and demanded greater compensation for the families, was threatened and then jailed.

After intense public pressure the Chinese government last week declared it would work to reform the rail system. When Premier Wen Jiabao visited the crash site last Thursday, he promised a "fair and transparent investigation." But now that the state has pressed its heavy hand, any reforms will be undertaken outside of the public gaze.

For now, too many questions about last month's crash remain unanswered. Reporters who arrived on the scene the day after the crash found crews busy burying the wrecked carriages in the mud, as if to conceal the evidence.

Rescue workers seemed more interested in restoring rail service than in recovering wounded passengers. The official death toll was suspiciously volatile. Many suspect that a cover-up was underway from the start.

Chinese media watchers like Qian Gang, who writes on the previous page, have dubbed the government's more sophisticated policies to control the media "Control 2.0." While this regime may maintain stability in the short term, it allows the problems that cause public distrust to fester.

Mothers still flock anxiously to Hong Kong to buy foreign milk powder for their infants, and ticket sales for the high-speed trains have collapsed. As each incident requires a bigger venting of anger before it can be contained, the day may be approaching when the government is unable to put the lid back on and deny the Chinese people's demands for answers.


我的英文不算好，只可勉強是夠用，故此不敢評論明報是否翻譯和摘要得宜，各位網友們可以自讀、自衡、自量、自斷。我就較為享受原汁原味！


WSJ 顯示這文是 Review and Outlook 是沒有處名的文章，也不是 Editorial 社評，我只可以理解成是 WSJ 華爾街日報 內部自己人寫的或是約稿，因為沒有處名，文責看來似是由 WSJ 肩負吧。


上文不是翻譯外電新聞報導的 FACTS 實況，而是翻譯轉載華爾街日報的八月三日的評論 REVIEW and OUTLOOK。不過原來明報已經做了翻譯後的“去蕪存菁”，摘要後才刊登出來，公開予讀者閱讀，而不是全文一段不漏全部展示，我不知道報章報社雙互之間的協議，也是非我後所能及。


看電視新聞，除了一貫的亞記亞洲台和無記互動新聞台，我都有收看鳳凰衛視和有線電視的新聞報導，若有國際大新聞則兼看 BBC（World），CNN（International），和 AJE （Al Jazeera 半島的英語頻道），務求得到更多方面收集而來的更多資訊。


曾在舊文寫過：『被稱為「中國CNN」的官方新華社主辦國際新聞電視台「中國國際電視台」（CITV）將於明天(按：2009年11月18日）開始試播。』至今尚未有看到過，是否已經無疾而終呢？還是尚在試播試播在試播中，從來未正式開播呢？


新聞消息的傳播，由遠古的口述至到筆錄，由月刊週報到日報，再由日報轉至電台，透過有電線的收音機窄播新聞，再轉至向無線電收音機進行廣播新聞，又再由有線電視台發展至無線電視廣播新聞，直至今時是利用衛星向全球廣播新聞。


於國際社會雖云：新聞自由，新聞報導應該依據 facts 實況實據，據實報導，至於是否能辦得到呢？這是後話。而評論文章例如：社評 editorial 評論 review 就可以 take sided 有先決立場。我時常強調讀報、讀新聞、看新聞、還有讀歷史要多讀，若能多讀經由不同的源和 perspective 發表的報導與評論，經過消化了解後，然後“去蕪存菁“，最為重要。


在這資訊發達的時代，新聞是24小時每週七天年中無休，即時的才是新聞，之後再重覆的只可稱舊聞（歷史）。但不改的是，人們總愛在事後作出評論，不管是有先見之明，還是馬後礮，人總是愛繼續說三道四。不過我也慶幸，還能在特區繼續寫我的 blog。



補遺：
明報還有另一篇外地評論摘要：“高鐵慘劇 掀動中產造反”英國《金融時報》8月4日評論版文章作者：David Pilling。Financial Times：”China crashes into a middle class revolt“ By David Pilling。各位網友們，有暇可以細讀精讀原裝全文和中譯的摘要，了解了解！


後記：
本文寫於農曆七月七日七夕晚上，七夕之夜相傳是牛郎織女，一年一度鵲橋相會的日子，謹祝：所有有情人終成眷屬！



伸延閱覽：
China's Wreckage Under Wraps WSJ.com
高鐵殘骸被埋 問責也被埋《華爾街日報》 新浪新聞網
China crashes into a middle class revolt FT.com
高鐵慘劇 掀動中產造反《金融時報》David Pilling 新浪新聞網



我的舊文：
再說三道四
中國人不是頻危物種
好的試點中國CNN～CITV