Kyoto Prize,The Japan Prize (日本国際賞) , Praemium_Imperiale
我知道日本起碼有三大獎 國際馳名現在以隨意順序介紹
2008年7月24日 星期四
2008年7月23日 星期三
中国人偏見 與“人心光靠投资买不来”
偏見
所有的中国人都爱吃大米饭，不会发R的卷舌音，长得都差不多。关于13亿中国人的偏见如果列个单子一定会很长。在西方，个子矮小，敏捷伶俐的中国人形象深 入人心。这也难怪，普通的欧洲人又能对中国有多少认识呢？顶多去中餐馆吃一顿已经西化的中餐，点一只油炸春卷，来一盘炸鸭，除了中国人不用刀叉吃饭以外， 又能了解多少关于中国的知识？德新社用调侃的笔调试图纠正几个关于中国的偏见：中国人很有礼貌，轻声细语，总是面带微笑。
特里尔大学的汉学教授卜松山（Prof. Karl-Heinz Pohl）说"在为人处事方面（中国人）有很明确的礼节规矩，但是到了火车站候车广场，规矩就不灵了。"在中国的大街上，到处还有人随地吐痰，拥挤时推推 搡搡，不太雅观地在大街上吃午餐。在正式的宴请时，中国人对外国客人十分热情有礼，但是啃干净的骨头还是吐在盘子边的桌布上。
中国人轻声细语？现实正好相反。柏林大学的汉学家达严思（Jens Damm）说，中国人的嗓门比西方人想像得大得多。中国人对说话的分贝值宽容度要大得多。奥运会前夕，人们不但要学"怎样规规矩矩地排队"，还要学会"轻 声讲话"。龙的传人也不是总在微笑，到中国去的游客踏上中国的土地就基本能够体会地到。
中国人热爱米饭，而且无所不吃，四条腿的除了板凳桌椅之外啥都吃。
卜松山教授介绍到，北方人爱吃面条馒头，南方人爱吃米饭。至于肉食方面，中国人主要还是吃普通的鸡鸭鱼肉。但是南方人大胆敢吃，什么能吃的都上了餐桌，常常令欧洲人做惊恐状。例如油炸蚂蚱和烤狗肉。
中国人不会发R的卷舌音。
卜松山教授说，汉语里没有R的卷舌音，但这只需要练习就可以发音。达严思也强调，中国人中有人会发非常标准漂亮的R卷舌音。中国人把R的音都发成L，达严思认为这是谣传。
汉语是门很难学的语言
卜松山教授说，汉语其实不难，至少语法简单，没有复杂的词尾变化和变格。但是很多外国人学汉语的时候对四声音调难以掌握到位，"妈妈骂马"就是经典练习，说不好的话意思都拧了。汉语中有5万个汉字，读书看报需要掌握1500－3000个汉字。
所有的中国人都长地差不多，个子矮小，黄皮肤。
在不染发的情况下，大多数中国人都是黑发，眼睛深色。中国人的个子并不小，看看中国的篮球运动员就知道了。北方人个子比南方人高。而且，卜松山教授 说，中国人的皮肤也不是那么黄，和欧洲的情况相似，北方人的皮肤比南方人白。不过，中国人自认为是黄色人种，并以黄帝的后代为骄傲。
儒家思想"非常中国"
到底什么是"非常中国"的呢？专家认为儒家思想中的家庭观念是最典型的。达严思说，尊重长辈、维系家庭直到今天在中国还是很普遍。但随着现代化的发展，养老院也成为老人的归宿。
中国 | 2008.07.23
“人心光靠投资买不来”
314西藏骚乱爆发之后，中国政府先是采取了强硬的新闻封锁政策，虽然随后又邀请外国记者团进入拉萨等地实地报道。但由于报道行程在专人严格的组织和陪同 下进行，因此并未能由此而充分建立"新闻自由"的形象。近日，德国两名欧洲议会议员应中国官方之邀对西藏进行了2天的参观访问。德国之声电台驻华记者就西 藏为其留下的印象与感受采访了这两位议员。
中 国邀请方为前来走访西藏地区的德国欧洲议会议员埃尔玛-布罗克和卡尔斯腾-霍鹏施戴特安排了2天满满的日程：参观现代化的工厂基地，走访中小学校等，为的 是给来自欧洲的客人留下深刻的积极印象。布罗克是德国基民盟党的政治家，在欧洲议会主要负责外交事务。布罗克承认中国政府对西藏进行了巨大的经济投资，但 是表示：“中国政府显然还没有弄清楚一个事实，就是要想赢得人心，光靠投资是买不来的。一个人的身份与所属不是别人给的，而是受自己心灵的指点。出于这个 原因，即使出再多的钱，中国政府还没有能赢得西藏人的心。”
比如中国政府向西藏的学校进行了大量投资，然而布罗克认为：“中国政府规定，西藏学校里的汉人不用学藏文，但是占学生人数90%的藏族学生每天却必须学习汉语。这会导致汉藏学生之间产生小摩擦，而这些小摩擦以后也许会演变成就像314一样的政治骚乱。”
在 藏族学生每天苦学汉语的时候，汉族学生可以提前放学。欧洲议会议员布罗克认为，这就是中国政府通过普及汉语，从而使汉族文化以及汉人在西藏占据主导地位。 西藏人要想找到工作，或是处理日常的一些事务，都必须讲汉语。而藏文却逐渐成了西藏人在家里说的语言。这样的语言延续和发展的机会就很小。
布 罗克和霍鹏施戴特利用晚上的时间自己到街上去走走看看，他们发现，拉萨市中心到了晚上会被戒严。即使是白天，今天的拉萨也同一年前有很大变化，特别是布达 拉宫。欧洲议会议员，来自德国下萨克森州的霍鹏施戴特介绍说：“很令人遗憾的是，现在许多喇嘛都被赶出了寺院。代替喇嘛的却是大批中国警察，或是便衣。也 就是说，布达拉宫的佛教灵魂被完全破坏了。我希望，这些警察能尽快撤离，还布达拉宫昔日的平静。”
北 京政府始终坚持，314西藏骚乱是受"达赖集团"幕后指使，最终企图破坏08奥运会的顺利召开。欧洲议会议员布罗克和霍滕施戴特利用此次中国之行，希望能 说服北京政府同达赖喇嘛直接对话，然而布罗克明显感到北京方面的固执：“中国政府坚持认为，达赖喇嘛的最终目的是西藏独立，破坏中国领土完整。为达到此目 的，达赖喇嘛篡动一小部分激进分子进行破坏活动。”
台湾鰻蝦生産
7月24日は土用の丑の日。この日といえばうなぎを食べる習慣があるわけだが、土用の丑の日を前に18日には、東京・赤坂にて台湾産うなぎに関する 記者説明会が行われた。うなぎの産地偽装問題や原産地表示違反の影響で、うなぎに対する消費者の信頼感が揺らいでいる中での開催とあって、品質面や安全性 のPRに重点を置いた内容となっていた。
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開催者は、台湾鰻魚発展基金会や台湾鰻蝦生産合作者聯合社、台湾冷凍水産工業同業公会、台湾鰻蝦輸出業同業公会、日本鰻輸入組合。説明会では台湾産の活うなぎも実際に用意され、水槽の中で元気に泳ぎ回るうなぎの様子が記者たちの目を釘付けにした。
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元気に泳ぎ回る台湾のうなぎ | 台湾産うなぎでつくったうな重 |
説明会では台湾のうなぎ業界関係者が次々と日本語で挨拶。中でも台湾鰻魚発展基金会・薫事長の郭瓊英さんは、「台湾産ウナギは40年以上もの間、日 本のみなさんに食されてきました。最盛期には、日本のうなぎ市場の70%を台湾産が占めていました」とその長い歴史をPR。さらに安全面の話では、「ト レーサビリティ制度の実施に向けて動いており、うなぎを1匹ずつ検査して、輸出許可が下りたものだけを日本に輸出しています」と話した。
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台湾鰻魚発展基金会・薫事長の郭瓊英さん。説明会の最後には、素手でウナギを掴んで記者団に笑ってみせた |
自然に近い環境で育った台湾産うなぎ
台湾鰻蝦生産合作者聯合社・総経理の徐崇仁さんは、「うなぎが養殖されている台湾南部は、亜熱帯気候で陽光に恵まれた土地です。うなぎ養殖に適した 環境で、通常の10倍以上の水量の大きな露地池で、1年～1年半かけてゆっくりと育てているのが特徴です」と、放養密度が低いことなどを強調した。
養殖段階での薬物使用は極力避け、日本が禁止している薬を使ったかどうかは、生産履歴の証明書に明記されているので、輸出合格書が発行されない仕組みになっていることも説明。薬物残留検査についても詳しく解説した。
一方、日本鰻輸入組合は、輸入した台湾産うなぎを日本でも再度検査し、合格したものだけを市場に出回らせるというルールを敷いており、そもそも台湾 産うなぎの違反率は非常に低いことを説明した。同組合副理事長の稲垣信起さんは、「台湾産のうなぎはハウスで養殖されるのではなく、露地の池で養殖されて います。エサも1日に何度も与えて早く成長させるのではなく、1日1回のみ。自然に近い環境で育てているのが特徴です」とコメントした。
最後には参加した記者に、試食用としてうな重が配られた。台湾産うなぎを都内のうなぎ料理店で焼き上げたのだという。試食してみると、ふんわりとや わらかな食感で、適度に脂が乗っている。「台湾産うなぎ」がブランドとして確立される日もそう遠くないかもしれない、と感じる説明会だった。
2008年7月21日 星期一
為中國奧運算算帳
為奧運算算帳
2008年07月16日13:32
這一數字創下了歷屆奧運會投資之最，讓人們不禁懷疑，中國這樣一個發展中國家為一場僅持續兩周的體育秀如此大舉開支是否合理。
中國龐大的奧運支出──從耗資30億美元的機場航站樓到造價5億美元的“鳥巢”國家體育場──足以令雅典奧運會150億美元的奧運預算相形見絀，而希臘因這一預算已背上了沉重的債務負擔。2012年奧運會東道主倫敦也因奧運開支不斷擴大而陷入爭議。
為成功舉辦奧運，北京不放過任何細節。政府花費3,000萬美元對原先塵土飛揚的郊區京順路進行形像改造，種植樹木、花草並建了裝飾牆。這條路是通往北京首都機場的輔路，臨近賽艇比賽地。政府還向道路附近的居民發放了少量補償款，迫使他們搬遷。
從經濟方面來說，中國有能力承擔起史上最大規模的一屆奧運會。今年中國國內生產總值(GDP)預計高達4萬億美元左右，相對於此，奧運開支不算什麼大問題，而且讚助商已經承擔了部分成本。此外，大多數支出都不是直接用於奧運會，而是花在道路、地鐵及機場等能帶來長期效益的地方。
不過，一些發展問題專家懷疑，中國為奧運如此耗資巨大是否傳遞了錯誤的信息。中國經濟在過去30年經歷了迅猛增長，許多人的生活水平也得到顯著提高，但仍有數億人仍生活在貧困中。政府在醫療和其他社會福利方面的支出一直都低於其他方面的投入。
卡內基國際和平基金會(Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)的中國項目高級研究員裴敏欣表示，從政治角度來說這是值得的，但從經濟角度來看並不是這樣。他指出，中國還有很多地方需要資金投入；我們都知道中國政府的支出原則是政治優先、經濟其次。
從國際上來說，中國龐大的奧運預算還抬高了未來奧運舉辦門坎，未來奧運東道主可能會來自更容易發生經濟起伏的發展中國家。俄羅斯將舉辦2014年冬季奧運會，巴西已入圍2016年奧運會主辦國候選名單。
德國約翰內斯﹒古騰堡大學(Johannes Gutenberg University)體育經濟學教授霍格﹒普魯斯(Holger Preuss)表示，北京已經開創了倫敦等未來奧運東道主難以企及的先例。他說，許多國際奧委會(IOC)委員已經考慮，我們必須想辦法削減奧運規模，使得更多城市真正有能力舉辦奧運。普魯斯指出，如果這種為奧運大把燒錢的勢頭延續下去，就以500億美元為例，可能全球只有10個城市能負擔得起。
國際奧委會執行理事吉爾伯特﹒費利(Gilbert Felli)表示，他對北京的開支項目感到滿意。他說，北京奧運預算看起來很高，是因為其他舉辦城市私人部門運營的項目在中國需要政府負責，或者因為發達國家已有更為先進的基礎設施，因此根本不需要在這方面進行投入。
費利指出，很難在舉辦城市之間進行比較。他認為，奧運會的運轉預算不能與一個國家用於未來的投資混為一談。
北京奧運會組織方沒有回復記者關於開支方面的提問。
上述420億美元（約合人民幣2,900億元）的奧運總開支是由中國政府下屬的奧林匹克研究中心(Beijing Olympic Research Center)估算的。其中，奧運設施與運作開支僅佔人民幣318億元，另有人民幣713億元用於治理環境。奧運總支出的絕大部分（約人民幣1,800億元）用在了道路交通等基礎設施方面。
中國與國際奧委會也在致力消除有關奧運支出方面的憂慮。2001年北京獲得奧運舉辦權後，國際奧委會主席羅格(Jacques Rogge)就承諾要研究途徑削減奧運開支。羅格表示，我們認識到奧運會的規模顯得有些過於龐大，到了一個城市所能承受的極限。2004年奧運會期間，國際奧委會注意到雅典可能敲響的財力警鐘，再次提醒北京削減部門場館的投資規模。
考慮到中國的國情，一些奧運工程的長期價值也存在疑問。例如，中國沒有明確指出鳥巢在奧運會後的用途，而且鳥巢沒有頂棚，在北京寒冷的冬季與炎熱多雨的夏季無法保護正常使用。甚至沒有奧運賽事的城市也建設了奧運工程。內蒙古自治區省會呼和浩特新建了一個造價2.27億美元的機場，作為奧運期間北京巨大新航站樓的後備。中國許多官員中流傳著這樣的話：奧運是個筐，什麼都往裡裝。
大多數中國人表示他們歡迎奧運會，但面臨著5月四川大地震造成的巨大破壞，政府的舖張行為罕見地招來了一些批評聲。中國官方主辦的《了望》雜志記者李鬆在7月9日一期上撰文稱，“國家目前的經濟狀況不允許我們在奧運上舖張浪費。我們必須精打細算，能省則省，將更多的資金用於支援災區的重建。”
文章批評了一些旨在拼湊“2008”這一數字或申報吉尼斯世界紀錄(Guinness World Records)的迎奧運活動，例如一場2008名古箏手合奏迎奧運挑戰吉尼斯紀錄的音樂會。
人權組織表示，他們擔心對奧運浪費與腐敗提出批評的人士遭到中國政府的封鎖或逮捕。總部位於紐約的中國人權(Human Rights in China)執行主任譚竟嫦(Sharon Hom)表示，除非中國政府對所有奧運支出進行全面、準確、透明的審計，而不只是公布估計與預算金額，否則你無法真正討論支出是否合理的問題。
中國也試圖重視費用超支這一問題，尤其是在大地震發生之後。在那場災難中，有數千名兒童喪生於倒塌的質量劣質的校舍之下。有關部門從火炬傳遞中撤下了一名負責四川學校的官員，還將原定5月份的四川火炬傳遞活動推遲到8月初。一些中國學者最近注意到政府的奧運口號發生了變化，從“歷史上最好的奧運會”變成了“具有中國特色的奧運盛典”。
中國人民大學國際關系教授時殷弘表示，在今年之前，奧運會是為了展示中國不斷上升的國家實力與國際責任。但他表示，現在，這一口號的改變反映了中國需要更加務實，承認一場奧運會無法解決中國所有的問題。
盡管時殷弘沒有對奧運開支提出異議，但他指出，如果奧運進展不利，這方面的憂慮可能會增加。時殷弘表示，最終的評判只有到最後一天才能作出。
Geoffrey A. Fowler / Stacy Meichtry
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2008年07月16日13:32
據
估計，中國為北京奧運會的投入總計420億美元；中國龐大的奧運支出──
﹒為成功舉辦奧運，北京不放過任何細節。政府花費3,
從經濟方面來說，中國有能力承擔起史上最大規模的一屆奧運會。
不過，一些發展問題專家懷疑，
卡內基國際和平基金會(Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)的中國項目高級研究員裴敏欣表示，
從國際上來說，中國龐大的奧運預算還抬高了未來奧運舉辦門坎，
德國約翰內斯﹒古騰堡大學(Johannes Gutenberg University)體育經濟學教授霍格﹒普魯斯(
費利指出，很難在舉辦城市之間進行比較。他認為，
北京奧運會組織方沒有回復記者關於開支方面的提問。
上述420億美元（約合人民幣2,900億元）
中國與國際奧委會也在致力消除有關奧運支出方面的憂慮。
Associated Press
造價高昂的鳥巢一直是眾矢之的
大多數中國人表示他們歡迎奧運會，
文章批評了一些旨在拼湊“2008”
人權組織表示，
中國也試圖重視費用超支這一問題，尤其是在大地震發生之後。
中國人民大學國際關系教授時殷弘表示，在今年之前，
盡管時殷弘沒有對奧運開支提出異議，但他指出，
Geoffrey A. Fowler / Stacy Meichtry
相關閱讀
中國西部地震專題
奧運會：運動鞋的競技場 2008-07-15
原聲視頻：北京的新面貌，美還是醜？ 2008-07-14
人權機構害廣告商自打嘴巴？ 2008-07-14
北京官員力証污染數據準確性 2008-07-11
2008年7月20日 星期日
Stirrings in the suburbs (China)
Stirrings in the suburbs
By Geoff Dyer
Published: July 20 2008 18:43 | Last updated: July 20 2008 18:43
Lu Guanfeng moved his family to the Shanghai suburbs five years ago for the peace and quiet. He bought an apartment in a gated community called Green Garden New World, which features a gazebo on the private lawns.
Since the start of the year, however, his little patch of suburbia has been anything but quiet. Instead, the residents have been developing a new taste – for political activism. In January, they organised large protests against plans to build a high-speed magnetic levitation train line near their flats. Four months later, when an earthquake devastated part of Sichuan province, the area was again energised with private charity campaigns and volunteer work.
China Beyond the Games
Audio slideshow: Suburban rebellion
This is the first part of an FT series on China in the lead up to the Olympics in August. For other parts of the series click here
Mr Lu, an internet entrepreneur in his 40s, was involved in the anti-maglev protests and later went to Sichuan to help after the earthquake. “We are trying to get the government to listen more to public opinion,” he says.
Welcome to suburban China, the new fault line in the country’s one-party rule. Places such as Green Garden New World will play an important role in determining which political direction China takes over the next couple of decades. The Communist party shows no sign of retreating from its dominant position in politics but it faces challenges on a series of fronts from a society that is becoming more complex, educated and assertive.
The biggest potential threat to the party comes from the educated urban middle class. Although there are daily protests by poor farmers who claim their land has been stolen or poisoned by a nearby factory, rural protests tend to be isolated and local police are often not afraid to crack heads, far away from probing eyes. A restive middle class in the country’s international cities is a different matter. If company executives, lawyers and university professors start challenging the political status quo, the party’s hold will become much less secure.
China’s leaders are well aware that during the transition to democracy in South Korea and Taiwan – or indeed more than a century earlier in western Europe and the US – the urban middle class played a pivotal role. There is a vigorous debate in elite circles in Beijing about transparency in government, media freedom and legal due process: just how quickly the party embraces such changes will depend to a large degree on how much pressure it faces from the new suburbs.
“The government is starting to be challenged by new social groups, which are growing rapidly and want to be heard,” says Jeffrey Wasserstrom, a China expert at the University of California, Irvine. “Even people who support a lot of things the government is doing can change their view if they do not feel they are being listened to.”
The one thing China throws up quicker than factories is new suburbs. Mr Lu lives in an unusually prosperous one called Xinzhuang at the end of the first metro line in Shanghai. In the decade or so since the metro opened, the area has experienced rapid social and economic change. With the metro line came some of the first apartment buildings constructed for private ownership.
Professional families from the inner city who had just bought their first car were attracted to the gated communities. Rising incomes also brought many of the other trappings of middle-class life. At the new Friendship Shopping, the first high-end mall in a Chinese suburb, residents of Xinzhuang can choose a shirt at Brooks Brothers, purchase a Rolex watch or sip lattes at Costa Coffee.
Xinzhuang’s political awakening began in January when the local government released plans on an obscure website to extend the city’s maglev train line through part of the neighbourhood. Shanghai has the world’s only commercial maglev line. Planners want to bring the line, which runs from the international airport to a distant suburb at a speed of 430km/h, across the city to the domestic airport. The scheme caused outrage among residents near the planned route, who feared noise and potential pollution. Internet petitions were circulated and large posters appeared on the side of buildings with slogans such as “No to Maglev Cancer Rail”.
On a Saturday afternoon in January, thousands thronged Shanghai’s People’s Square in front of city hall to protest against the plans. Given that demonstrations are in effect barred, the residents described it as a sanbu or “walk” – they had all just happened to turn up in the square at the same time. Another group went for a spontaneous “shop” on the city’s main retail streets, shouting anti-maglev slogans.
This polite but firm suburban rebellion – which was one of the largest urban protests in recent years and was caught on camera by international media – had the intended impact. A few weeks later, the mayor of Shanghai announced that the project had been delayed by at least a year while more discussions were held with locals.
It was not the first time that residents of suburban Shanghai had opposed the maglev plans: the original route was changed after a series of protests in spring last year outside government buildings. But this time their protests were more audacious, using text messaging and YouTube to spread word about new events. The sanbu strategy appeared to have been copied from a similar protest last year in the southern city of Xiamen, which halted construction of a chemicals plant.
Both the Shanghai maglev and Xiamen protests have come to be considered milestones in Chinese politics – powerful examples of pressure from the suburban middle class for a more transparent and accountable system of government. “The Communist party has guaranteed that citizens have the right to express ideas through legal means,” says Mr Lu, sitting in a living room that displays his daughters’ pictures of Minnie Mouse as well as a statue of Confucius. “We are not opponents of the government but we are exposing some problems of government behaviour.”
Without medical training or other skills to offer the relief effort, he remained in the city doing administrative work. “It was actually really tedious, but when I got back lots of friends and colleagues were very interested and wanted me to put them in touch with contacts in Sichuan for volunteer work,” he says.
According to the government, more than 200,000 people travelled to Sichuan to lend a hand with the relief effort. At Friendship Shopping, there were long lines of people queuing to give blood for injured people in Sichuan.
The response to the earthquake has prompted a vigorous debate both at home and abroad about whether it has opened new room for civil society in China. In the days immediately afterwards, there appeared to be unusual openness for journalists and charities to operate. In the weeks since, however, the government has clamped down and imposed its control on activities.
Yet whatever the impact, the tens of thousands of people who dropped everything to lend a hand were demonstrating a desire to be more involved in the life of the country. Along with the maglev protests, they indicate a growing desire among middle-class citizens to be heard in new ways. “Chinese society is becoming more robust, diverse, interested and capable,” wrote George Gilboy, a senior fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in a recent paper.
The notion that the Chinese middle class is becoming more politically active is a deeply seductive one for western observers. It plays into one of the most powerful ideas of the age: that capitalism will inevitably bring democracy. It underscores a lot of western diplomatic and commercial engagement with China – why harp on about human rights, some diplomats ask, if the country is moving in that direction anyway? It also implies that, in an important way, China is becoming like the west.
Yet there are plenty of reasons to be wary. Even among China-watchers who think a confident middle class will eventually push for a more liberal political system, many argue that it will be only a slow and gradual process.
One important reason for this is that the middle class is still relatively small. Around 800m Chinese live in rural areas, where most struggle to make ends meet through farming. In the cities, a large percentage of people now own their homes but this is a deceptive indicator of wealth because many bought property at cut-rate prices during government privatisations. Car ownership, another indicator of middle-class status, is growing rapidly but from a very low base: the proportion of Chinese who own a vehicle is still only around 3 per cent.
The small size of the middle class also begets a political conservatism. To live in the wealthy suburbs of a city such as Shanghai is to enjoy social privileges in terms of education and healthcare; many middle-class Chinese lean towards the political status quo because they suspect that a democracy would have to spread those resources more thinly across the country.
According to David Goodman, a China expert at the University of Technology in Sydney, China’s middle class has much stronger ties to the state than was the case in most of western Europe or in most Asian countries that have become democracies. As a result, it is less likely to challenge the party-state.
“A lot of the new wealth has come out of the party-state through semi-privatisations or it has been absorbed by the party-state,” says Prof Goodman. “Given a free hand, some of these people might go off and form political parties, but they will not do so while the party-state is in place.”
The party has gone to great lengths to win the loyalty of professionals. At the time of the Tiananmen protests in 1989, many members of the educated middle class were outraged at their low salaries. In the intervening years, people such as university teachers have been given regular and in some cases large pay increases.
Among ambitious students, party membership is an attractive asset because of the connections it brings. One professor at a leading Beijing university says that although his very best students turn up their nose at the idea, many others are eager to join the party because they believe it will boost their job prospects.
Such favourable attitudes to the Chinese party-state were present in the other episode of political activism that stirred Xinzhuang this year – when this time the protesters were defending the good name of the government. In the aftermath of the March unrest in Tibet and chaos surrounding the Olympics torch relay in London and Paris, many were outraged at what they saw as attempts to humiliate China in its Olympics year.
After internet users began to call for a boycott of French goods, large demonstrations were held at several Carrefour supermarkets. At the Carrefour next to Friendship Shopping in Xinzhuang, teenagers milled outside with T-shirts saying “Tibet WAS, IS and ALWAYS will be part of China”. A middle class insecure about its own status identified closely with the overseas prestige of China.
Protesting against the government also brings huge risks. Several of the anti-maglev campaigners say they were threatened with arrest or other punishments if they caused too much trouble. A suspicious Mr Lu has a camera in the corner of his living room to record all meetings, either with journalists or officials. He cites a Chinese saying to explain the reluctance of people to become campaign leaders: “The shot hits the bird that pokes its head out first.”
For all the symbolism of the anti-maglev campaign, therefore, some observers believe middle-class China is prepared to challenge the authorities only when its immediate interests are threatened – and that recent events fall short of a challenge to the system.
“The outpouring of human compassion after the earthquake is real but the Chinese middle class needs fires in its own backyard to get politically agitated – witness the protests in Shanghai and Xiamen,” says Chen Jie, an academic at the University of Western Australia. “Overall, the Chinese middle class is not very mature.”
Additional reporting by Yang Jie
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
2008年7月18日 星期五
中國什麼人最愛索賄﹖
中國什麼人最愛索賄﹖
在
中國﹐什麼樣的人最愛索要賄賂﹖根據最近的一項方法不盡科學的調查來看﹐答案是那些許諾辦事結果不會有麻煩的政府官員。總 部位於馬里蘭州的企業反賄賂非盈利組織Trace International週二發表了一項調查的相關結果。該調查項目名為Business Registry for International Bribery and Extortion（簡稱Bribeline）。這項調查搜集了截至6月30日的一年時間里人們主動提交到項目網站上的數據。該組織將在接下來的幾個月陸 續公佈其他更多國家的數據。
Trace International的數據存在一定缺陷。接受調查者除了默認腐敗是個問題之外沒有其他選擇﹐因為調查沒有給參與者提供一個聲明他們不曾被要求行賄 的選項。為鼓勵人們參與﹐調查設計成匿名式﹐因此不能避免參與調查者重複參加的可能性。Trace表示﹐它第一年收到的148份網上調查有重要的統計意 義。
Trace總裁亞歷山德拉•瑞吉(Alexandra Wrage)說﹐有關中國的初步結果顯示﹐受訪者提到的行賄案54%都屬於應“不合理要求”﹐也就是行賄人為預防發生服務不能及時到位等有害後果而做出 的。調查顯示﹐只有20%是出於“互利”的考慮作出的安排﹐比如為獲得新合同被對方索要賄賂。
瑞吉還指出﹐調查搜集到的賄賂有85%的案例索賄人是與政府有關的人士。索賄人提出的要求大部分是現金﹐但金額懸殊很大。有大約五分之一的受訪者稱﹐他們被索賄的次數超過100次。
中國政府並不諱言腐敗已成為一個普遍性問題﹐並在官方媒體上多次承諾要改善商業環境﹐也處理了多起官員腐敗案。今年4月份﹐中央政府公佈了一個反腐敗五年計劃﹐去年還成立了國家預防腐敗局。中國還簽署了《聯合國反腐敗公約》。
去年﹐在透明國際(Transparency International)的全球貪腐印象報告中﹐中國的廉潔程度在179個國家中排在第72位。
Trace 的調查結果有一個明顯的“空缺”﹐那就是與北京奧運會有關的賄賂。瑞吉說﹐她仔細察看了資料﹐以便看到有無受訪者認為是與奧運會有關的賄賂行為﹐因為在其 他主辦國﹐大規模建設活動往往會滋生腐敗。她說﹕我找了一下﹐沒看到這方面的內容。（不過﹐中國2006年免除了北京市一位參與奧運建設工程的副市長的職 務﹐此人被控有腐敗行為。）
出席Trace午餐會的通用電氣(General Electric Co.)駐香港律師凱利•奧斯汀(Kelly Austin)說﹐從反腐敗方面來說﹐地球是平的。也就是說﹐各個國家在反腐敗法規方面都是相似的。她舉例說﹐中國這方面的法規與美國的《海外反腐敗法》 沒有明顯的不同。
奧斯汀說﹐通用將參考這份最新調查結果。她說﹐這份數據將幫助我們有效制定在中國和其他國家的合規計劃。
James T. Areddy
Tracing the Roots of Corruption
Who in China is most likely to request a bribe? A government official promising a trouble-free outcome, according to one unscientific survey.
Trace International, a Maryland-based non-profit anti-bribery business association, on Tuesday published data from a project it calls Business Registry for International Bribery and Extortion, or Bribeline. The data were collected over the year ended June 30 from voluntary submissions to its online Bribeline service, which operates in 21 languages. The organization will publish data on more countries in coming months.
The Trace data have shortcomings. Respondents have little choice but to say corruption is a problem since it offers no way for a participant to say they haven't been solicited for a bribe. The system is purposely anonymous in order to encourage entries, so it doesn't prevent respondents from posting their experiences multiple times. Trace says the findings of 148 entries it logged in the first year are statistically significant.
The early China findings show 54% of bribes described by respondents were 'extortionate demands,' or requests to avoid a harmful outcome such as untimely delivery of service, said Trace President Alexandra Wrage. Only 20% related to a 'mutually beneficial' arrangement, such as bribes solicited in exchange for gaining new business, according to the survey.
Also, she noted, 85% of bribes reported in the study were solicited by individuals associated with the government. The request was most often for cash, but amounts fell within a wide range. About one-fifth of respondents said they had been solicited for a bribe more than 100 times.
China's government doesn't shy away from accusations that corruption is an endemic problem, with repeated pledges through state media to clean up the business environment and multiple cases of officials being punished for corrupt acts. In April, the Communist Party unveiled a new five year anti-corruption plan and last year the government established a National Bureau of Corruption Prevention. It has also signed the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
Last year, China ranked 72nd best of 179 countries on Transparency International's ranking of perceived corruption.
Notably absent from Trace's findings was bribery associated with the Summer Olympics. Ms. Wrage said she pored over data for any sign respondents had seen bribery associated with the Games, since sizable construction contracts have tended to breed corruption in other host countries. 'I looked for it, and it wasn't there,' she said. (In 2006, China fired a vice mayor of Beijing who was involved in Olympics construction on corruption charges).
Kelly Austin, a Hong Kong based attorney for General Electric Co. who participated in Trace launch, said 'the world is very flat these days from an anti-corruption perspective,' meaning the rules in particular countries are similar. For instance, she said, China's rules aren't markedly different from the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Ms. Austin said GE will use the new data tools. 'The data will help us more effectively tailor our compliance programs' for China and other countries, she said.
Trace International, a Maryland-based non-profit anti-bribery business association, on Tuesday published data from a project it calls Business Registry for International Bribery and Extortion, or Bribeline. The data were collected over the year ended June 30 from voluntary submissions to its online Bribeline service, which operates in 21 languages. The organization will publish data on more countries in coming months.
The Trace data have shortcomings. Respondents have little choice but to say corruption is a problem since it offers no way for a participant to say they haven't been solicited for a bribe. The system is purposely anonymous in order to encourage entries, so it doesn't prevent respondents from posting their experiences multiple times. Trace says the findings of 148 entries it logged in the first year are statistically significant.
The early China findings show 54% of bribes described by respondents were 'extortionate demands,' or requests to avoid a harmful outcome such as untimely delivery of service, said Trace President Alexandra Wrage. Only 20% related to a 'mutually beneficial' arrangement, such as bribes solicited in exchange for gaining new business, according to the survey.
Also, she noted, 85% of bribes reported in the study were solicited by individuals associated with the government. The request was most often for cash, but amounts fell within a wide range. About one-fifth of respondents said they had been solicited for a bribe more than 100 times.
China's government doesn't shy away from accusations that corruption is an endemic problem, with repeated pledges through state media to clean up the business environment and multiple cases of officials being punished for corrupt acts. In April, the Communist Party unveiled a new five year anti-corruption plan and last year the government established a National Bureau of Corruption Prevention. It has also signed the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
Last year, China ranked 72nd best of 179 countries on Transparency International's ranking of perceived corruption.
Notably absent from Trace's findings was bribery associated with the Summer Olympics. Ms. Wrage said she pored over data for any sign respondents had seen bribery associated with the Games, since sizable construction contracts have tended to breed corruption in other host countries. 'I looked for it, and it wasn't there,' she said. (In 2006, China fired a vice mayor of Beijing who was involved in Olympics construction on corruption charges).
Kelly Austin, a Hong Kong based attorney for General Electric Co. who participated in Trace launch, said 'the world is very flat these days from an anti-corruption perspective,' meaning the rules in particular countries are similar. For instance, she said, China's rules aren't markedly different from the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Ms. Austin said GE will use the new data tools. 'The data will help us more effectively tailor our compliance programs' for China and other countries, she said.
中國平息地震遇難學生家長的抗議活動
China Quells Parents' Protest
Riot police were called in to disperse a crowd of hundreds of parents in southwestern China whose children were killed in school collapses during May's massive earthquake.
Police wielding riot shields and batons dragged away more than a dozen of the parents, who had gathered in front of a local government office in the city of Mianzhu in Sichuan province Tuesday morning, witnesses said. The parents were hoping to hear the results of an investigation into the failure of area school buildings in the quake.
No report was forthcoming from officials there, parents said. At about 11 a.m., hundreds of police in riot gear arrived. A woman who refused to leave was kicked repeatedly and knocked to the ground, according to witnesses.
At least some of the people detained were released later Tuesday, parents said.
Police officials in Mianzhu declined to comment, except to say the case is being handled by their 'national security' unit.
Local authorities in China have been stepping up efforts to silence complaints and stifle protests by parents frustrated by the pace of inquiries into why schools weren't sturdy enough to survive the 7.9-magnitude quake -- apparently because they worry the issue will tarnish China's image.
One letter from authorities in Mianzhu last month warned parents to avoid 'doing things hurting the national dignity.' The letter said that 'malfeasant persons at home and abroad' were seeking to use the parents' sadness 'to sabotage the Olympics' and 'ruin China's image.'
Some of the parents in Tuesday's protest said local officials had visited them earlier in the day to offer financial assistance if they would sign a document promising that they would 'never participate in any activities that will affect overall rebuilding efforts.'
Families that agree will receive a one-time payment of about $8,500. Parents would also receive additional funds every month after they retire. Because of Chinese family-planning policies, many couples lost their only children in the disaster, which the government has said destroyed nearly 7,000 classrooms and dormitory rooms.
Parents interviewed by phone said they interpreted the offers as an effort by the government to force them to stop speaking out and pushing the government for an explanation of why so many schools were destroyed in the quake. Many blame shoddy construction and government corruption for the collapses.
'If we sign the letter, it means we will get the money, but the government won't be held responsible,' said one parent. 'We wouldn't be able to do anything or say anything anymore.'
Police have been deployed to break up several parent protests since the earthquake. Human-rights advocates say the government in June detained a local political activist, Huang Qi, who had met with bereaved parents. Local authorities have also sought to bar foreign reporters from areas where schools collapsed.
Xu Feidi, the vice mayor of Mianzhu, said the money was 'not compensation' for the children's deaths, but was 'a payment involving comprehensive considerations.' He said families that lost children had already received a range of other benefits, such as health-care funds, totaling more than $4,000.
In addition, Mr. Xu said, the local government had bought what are essentially annuities for the parents, which would provide them with monthly stipends to supplement their ordinary pensions after they retire. 'The government is doing its utmost to help,' Mr. Xu said.
Mr. Xu, who said he was unaware of Tuesday's confrontation, also said government investigators had basically concluded that the severity of the earthquake was the primary cause of the school collapses.
'It was a natural disaster unprecedented in thousands of years,' Mr. Xu said. 'To separate the quality problem from this cause is very difficult.'
Eight schools in Mianzhu partially or completely collapsed in the earthquake, killing hundreds of students, who were in afternoon classes when the quake struck on May 12.
In the case of the Dongqi Middle School, the classroom structures gave way when many surrounding buildings remained upright. At least 220 of the school's 900 students and 14 teachers were killed. Bereaved parents say they believe official negligence was partly to blame.
Some parents said they felt the government's financial assistance offers were inadequate. The weakness of China's government-sponsored social safety net means that most people need to rely heavily on their children to care for them when they stop working.
'We were so unhappy with' the government's assistance offer, said the mother of a teenage boy killed in the collapse of a high school. 'Our child died, and we raised him for 17 years,' she said.
Parents reached by phone in some other municipalities where schools collapsed said they hadn't received any similar compensation offers from local authorities.
Gordon Fairclough
Police wielding riot shields and batons dragged away more than a dozen of the parents, who had gathered in front of a local government office in the city of Mianzhu in Sichuan province Tuesday morning, witnesses said. The parents were hoping to hear the results of an investigation into the failure of area school buildings in the quake.
No report was forthcoming from officials there, parents said. At about 11 a.m., hundreds of police in riot gear arrived. A woman who refused to leave was kicked repeatedly and knocked to the ground, according to witnesses.
At least some of the people detained were released later Tuesday, parents said.
Police officials in Mianzhu declined to comment, except to say the case is being handled by their 'national security' unit.
Local authorities in China have been stepping up efforts to silence complaints and stifle protests by parents frustrated by the pace of inquiries into why schools weren't sturdy enough to survive the 7.9-magnitude quake -- apparently because they worry the issue will tarnish China's image.
One letter from authorities in Mianzhu last month warned parents to avoid 'doing things hurting the national dignity.' The letter said that 'malfeasant persons at home and abroad' were seeking to use the parents' sadness 'to sabotage the Olympics' and 'ruin China's image.'
Some of the parents in Tuesday's protest said local officials had visited them earlier in the day to offer financial assistance if they would sign a document promising that they would 'never participate in any activities that will affect overall rebuilding efforts.'
Families that agree will receive a one-time payment of about $8,500. Parents would also receive additional funds every month after they retire. Because of Chinese family-planning policies, many couples lost their only children in the disaster, which the government has said destroyed nearly 7,000 classrooms and dormitory rooms.
Parents interviewed by phone said they interpreted the offers as an effort by the government to force them to stop speaking out and pushing the government for an explanation of why so many schools were destroyed in the quake. Many blame shoddy construction and government corruption for the collapses.
'If we sign the letter, it means we will get the money, but the government won't be held responsible,' said one parent. 'We wouldn't be able to do anything or say anything anymore.'
Police have been deployed to break up several parent protests since the earthquake. Human-rights advocates say the government in June detained a local political activist, Huang Qi, who had met with bereaved parents. Local authorities have also sought to bar foreign reporters from areas where schools collapsed.
Xu Feidi, the vice mayor of Mianzhu, said the money was 'not compensation' for the children's deaths, but was 'a payment involving comprehensive considerations.' He said families that lost children had already received a range of other benefits, such as health-care funds, totaling more than $4,000.
In addition, Mr. Xu said, the local government had bought what are essentially annuities for the parents, which would provide them with monthly stipends to supplement their ordinary pensions after they retire. 'The government is doing its utmost to help,' Mr. Xu said.
Mr. Xu, who said he was unaware of Tuesday's confrontation, also said government investigators had basically concluded that the severity of the earthquake was the primary cause of the school collapses.
'It was a natural disaster unprecedented in thousands of years,' Mr. Xu said. 'To separate the quality problem from this cause is very difficult.'
Eight schools in Mianzhu partially or completely collapsed in the earthquake, killing hundreds of students, who were in afternoon classes when the quake struck on May 12.
In the case of the Dongqi Middle School, the classroom structures gave way when many surrounding buildings remained upright. At least 220 of the school's 900 students and 14 teachers were killed. Bereaved parents say they believe official negligence was partly to blame.
Some parents said they felt the government's financial assistance offers were inadequate. The weakness of China's government-sponsored social safety net means that most people need to rely heavily on their children to care for them when they stop working.
'We were so unhappy with' the government's assistance offer, said the mother of a teenage boy killed in the collapse of a high school. 'Our child died, and we raised him for 17 years,' she said.
Parents reached by phone in some other municipalities where schools collapsed said they hadn't received any similar compensation offers from local authorities.
Gordon Fairclough
中國平息地震遇難學生家長的抗議活動
數
百在汶川大地震中因校舍坍塌失去子女的家長周二聚集在四川綿竹市政府辦公樓前舉行抗議活動，隨後奉命趕來的防暴警察將示威人群軀散。目擊者說，手執防暴盾及防暴棍的警察拖開了幾十名抗議家長。而這些家長們的訴求就是要知道針對震區坍塌校舍的質量調查結果。
家長們表示，當地政府沒有就此給出任何說法。周二上午大約11點，數百身著防暴服的警察來到了示威現場。目擊者稱，一位拒不離開的女士被踢了數腳，並被打倒在地。
﹒家長們說，至少部分被羈押者在周二晚些時候獲得了釋放。
綿竹警方官員拒絕就此發表評論，只是說此事由國家安全部門處理。
由於政府遲遲未能就為何校舍無法抵擋7.9級地震給出調查結果，遇難學生家長深感失望。而顧慮到國家形像可能因此受損，當地政府使出了越來越大的力氣來平息指責、壓制抗議。
綿竹政府上個月發信警告這些家長要避免做有損國家尊嚴的事。這封信表示，國內外不法分子正利用家長的悲傷情緒，妄圖損害中國的名譽，破壞北京奧運會。
一些參加了抗議活動的家長透露，當地官員周二較早時曾找過他們，表示可以提供經濟資助，但前提是他們要簽署文件，保証今後決不參加任何有礙整體重建工作的活動。
認同這一點的家庭可以一次性獲得約8,500美元。退休後這些家長每月還可拿到其他補助。由於中國實行計劃生育政策，許多家長都在這場地震中失去了唯一的孩子。官方數據顯示，汶川大地震摧毀了近7000間教室和宿舍。
接受電話採訪的家長說，他們認為政府之所以同意給錢是想迫使他們收聲，並不再要求政府就如此多校舍坍塌的原因給出解釋。許多人都認為低劣的建築質量以及政府腐敗是令校舍一震即塌的禍首。
一位家長表示，如果我們簽了那個文件，就意味著雖然我們能拿到錢，但政府就沒有責任了，我們也不能再說什麼或是做什麼了。
自從地震發生以來，警方已幾次趕來驅散示威家長。人權活動家表示，政府6月份拘留了當地一位名叫黃琦的政治活動人士，此人曾與那些痛失子女的家長有過接觸。當地政府也在試圖阻止境外記者進入有校舍坍塌的地區進行採訪。
綿竹市副市長許飛地表示，這筆錢並非遇難學生的死亡賠償金，而是一筆考慮到方方面面因素的綜合性給付。許飛地稱，失去子女的家庭已獲得了一系列福利待遇，例如總計4000多美元的健康醫療金等。
許飛地還表示，當地政府已經為這些家長購買了基本養老保險，以便退休後每月可領到退休金以外的補助。許飛地稱政府已盡了最大努力來幫助他們。
許飛地表示他對周二的沖突事件並不知情，並指出政府調查得出的主要結論顯示，地震強度過大是校舍倒塌的首要原因。
他談到，此次地震是一場千年不遇的自然災害，很難在不考慮這一因素的情況下單獨評估建築質量問題。
綿竹共有八所學校在5﹒12地震中全部或部分坍塌，當時數百名正在上課的學生被奪去了生命。
Junho Kim for The Wall Street Jounal
曾經的東汽中學只剩斷壁殘垣
一些家長說，他們覺得政府補助不夠。中國的社會保障體系尚不完善，大多數人退休後很大程度上都要依靠子女養老。
一位母親談到，我們對政府的資助方案很不滿意，我們的兒子沒有了，我們養育了他整整17年。
記者電話聯系了其他地區遇難學生的家長，他們表示沒有從當地政府拿到過任何類似賠償。
Gordon Fairclough
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