希拉里没有这样评价中国，为什么读者还要以诈传诈？

Why did readers believe this BS about Hillary Clinton?

大中公益网 2012年07月13日
来源：大中报记者埃里克-爱民-伍德（Eric Emin Wood）

一篇通过电子邮件发送的新闻报道称，美国国务卿希拉里•克林顿最近在哈佛大学发表演讲时称，中国经济增长率没有中国人民认为的那么高。该电邮在中国读者之间频频转发。

An e-mailed news article making the rounds between Chinese readers across the internet says the U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, recently gave a speech at Harvard saying that China’s economic growth is less than its citizens have been led to believe.
据该报道称，克林顿女士提出的原因包括：中国百万富翁和政府官员不断地流失，中国人民对中国政府缺乏信任，等等。

According to the article, Ms. Clinton’s reasons include an exodus of China’s millionaires and government officials from the country, and its government’s lack of credibility with the Chinese people.

大中报在网上未能找到能够证明该文章存在的证据。然而，在输入克林顿女士的名字后，谷歌搜索栏中出现了“hillary clinton harvard speech china”的提示文字。

Chinese News could not find evidence of such an article online, though “hillary clinton harvard speech china” showed up in Google’s search bar after typing Ms. Clinton’s name.

2011年11月，克林顿女士为《外交政策杂志》撰写了一篇文章，名为《美国的太平洋世纪》，文中提到了中国问题。

In November 2011, Ms. Clinton wrote an article for Foreign Policy Magazine, titled “America’s Pacific Century,” that addressed China.

克林顿女士在该文中写道：“我们国家有些人将中国的发展视作对美国的威胁；中国有些人担心美国寻求遏制中国的发展。这两种观点我们都不能接受。事实是，一个繁荣的美国有利于中国，一个繁荣的中国也有利于美国。”

“Some in our country see China’s progress as a threat to the United States; some in China worry that America seeks to constrain China’s growth,” Ms. Clinton’s article said. “We reject both those views. The fact is that a thriving America is good for China and a thriving China is good for America.”

就中国的人权纪录而言——这无疑是两国间最具争议的问题，也是美国政府官员一直以来直言不讳的话题——克林顿女士说道：“我们向我们的中国同行指出，严格遵守国际法和实行更开放的政治体制将为中国奠定基础，带来更大的稳定与增长，并将增强中国的合作伙伴的信心。否则，中国将给自身发展造成不必要的限制。”

Of China’s human rights record, surely the most contentious issue between the countries and one that United States officials have always been vocal about, Ms. Clinton said: “We make the case to our Chinese colleagues that a deep respect for international law and a more open political system would provide China with a foundation for far greater stability and growth – and increase the confidence of China’s partners. Without them, China is placing unnecessary limitations on its own development.”

大中报在《外交政策杂志》网站上还找到了一篇更新的文章，名为《中国经济灾难的五个迹象》。该文章是7月2日发表的，由长期居住在香港的记者特莱福•莫斯撰写。

Chinese News found a second, more recent article on Foreign Policy’s website: “Five Signs of the Chinese Economic Apocalypse,” published on July 2 and written by Hong Kong-based journalist Trefor Moss.

莫斯先生在文章中提到了他所认为是对中国经济正在放缓的诸多迹象。他在文中表示，在中国的百万富翁中，超过半数人都在考虑出国或侨居国外；此外，在过去12年中，近19000名政府官员在企图逃亡海外时被抓获。

Citing what the author believes are a number of signs that China’s economy is slowing down, Mr. Moss’s article says that more than half of China’s millionaires are thinking of leaving the country and permanently living abroad, and that close to 19,000 officials have been caught in the last 12 years trying to flee overseas.

该文还提到发生于广东省沙溪镇的一次“群体性事件”，并称让工人感到自己也能享受中国经济发展的回报“对中国的稳定是至关重要的”……“他们的不满情绪可能会导致中国的毁灭……中国当局不能在同一时间处理那么多的‘沙溪事件’。”

It also cites a “mass incident” in the Guangdong manufacturing town of Shaxi, saying it’s “critical to China’s stability” that workers feel they are sharing the rewards from China’s economic growth, and that “their disaffection has the potential to be China’s undoing… the authorities can only cope with so many Shaxis at once.”

莫斯先生向大中报表示，他从未听说有这么一篇电子邮件，其中将基本上属于他自己的论点误说成是克林顿女士的观点，而且，他完全不知道为什么会有人这样指责她。

Reached by Chinese News, Mr. Moss says he hasn’t heard about the e-mail that essentially cites his arguments as Ms. Clinton’s, nor does he have any idea why she’d be accused of doing so.

他表示，自己撰写该文章的目的是为了“以有趣但认真的方式（来讨论）中国经济放缓的迹象。”

He says he wrote the article to discuss “signs of China’s slowdown in a fun-yet-serious way.”

莫斯先生说：“很长时间以来，中国政府一直在夸耀自己的经济模式，久而久之，很多人开始对这些大肆宣传的说法信以为真。不出所料，我们现在发现，中国经济问题层出不穷，要想永远保持两位数增长是不现实的……这提醒着人们，在全球化经济中，没有人能够幸免于（全球经济体系）的其他部分所发生的危机事件的影响。”

“China’s government has been talking up its own economic model for a long time, and many people were starting to believe the hype,” Mr. Moss says. “Unsurprisingly, we’re now finding that China’s economy has a lot of problems, and that endless double-digit growth is not realistic… It’s a reminder that in a globalised economy no-one is immune to crises in other parts of the system.”

问题在于，为何那么多读者如此盲目地轻信了希拉里•克林顿说了一些她实际上并未讲过的话，也不先检查一下这些信息是否可信？

The question is, why have so many readers been quick to believe Hillary Clinton said what she didn’t without checking its accuracy?

在过去16多年以来，美国网站Snopes.com一直致力于揭穿各种谣言，其中包括那些通过电子邮件转发的新闻报道。该网站的焦点集中于对不同的政治主张进行调查。

For more than 16 years an American website, Snopes.com, has devoted itself to debunking rumours, including news stories forwarded by e-mail. Much of its resources are spent investigating political claims.

2010年，该网站的联合创始人大卫•米克尔森在接受《纽约时报》采访时表示：“尤其是在政治领域，几乎所有说法都有着无数个深浅不一的灰色级别，但人们总希望一个声明（所包含的信息）是正确或错误的。从更大的意义上来说，人们希望证明自己的世界观是对的。”

“Especially in politics, most everything has infinite shades of gray to it, but people just want things to be true or false,” co-founder David Mikkelson told the New York Times in a 2010 interview. “In the larger sense, it’s people wanting confirmation of their world view.”

贝内特－琼斯律师事务所诉讼律师黄云峰表示，安省没有关于新闻报道准确性的明确法律规定。

In Ontario, there is no law specifically governing accuracy in reporting, says Rebecca Huang, a litigator with law firm Bennett Jones LLP.

不过，如果一个出版物所发表的内容是错误的，并导致了一个人的名誉遭到损害——包括那些需要保护自己在加拿大的名誉的非加拿大公民，如克林顿女士——则构成违法行为。

However, it’s against the law for a publication to be wrong in a way that damages a person’s reputation – including non-Canadians, like Ms. Clinton, with a reputation in Canada to protect.

黄女士说：“当一名记者对某事件进行报道并决定对某人进行抨击时，这位记者必须进行负责任的调查，以确保所发表的抨击言论是以事实为依据的。”

“When a journalist reports on an event and decides to be critical of somebody, the reporter must conduct a responsible investigation to make sure there are facts to support the criticism,” Ms. Huang says.

根据安省的《诽谤及短暂诽谤法》，如果某人认为自己的名誉受到了媒体的破坏并且想要提出诉讼，他们必须在得知涉嫌诽谤的文字后6周内将诉讼意向告知出版物。媒体机构可以就冒犯性文章发表“全面且公正的”撤回声明来限定自己的赔偿责任。

Under Ontario’s Libel and Slander Act, if someone feels their reputation has been damaged by the media and wishes to seek legal action, they must provide the publication with a notice of intent within six weeks of learning about the alleged libel. Media outlets can limit their exposure to liability by printing a “full and fair” retraction of the offending article.

话虽如此，但是黄女士说，“当你根据诽谤法提出起诉时，必须存在对某个特定的人的诽谤性言论。但是，在这个情况下，我不清楚被诽谤的人是谁。如果希拉里•克林顿表示中国经济（不像中国政府所说的）那么强，那么‘希拉里•克林顿称中国经济急转直下’这一说法是个错误的引用语句。但是这个错误的引用语句本身并不是诽谤性的。”

That said, “whenever you engage defamation law, there must be something defamatory to a specific person and I’m not sure who is being defamed in this case,” says Ms. Huang. “If Hillary Clinton was saying that China’s economy is not as strong as it’s made out to be, the misquote could be that Hillary Clinton says the Chinese economy is tanking. But that misquote, in and of itself, is not defamatory.”

黄女士的同事迈克尔•帕里斯表示，除非“有发言者或出版商虚报称希拉里•克林顿说了一句将导致她在具有正确思维的社会成员眼中受到名誉上损失的言语”，否则错误的引用语句不能构成诽谤行为。

In order to be defamatory, says Ms. Huang’s colleague Michael Paris, the misquote would require “speakers or publishers falsely reporting that Hillary Clinton had said something that would lower her reputation in the eyes of right-thinking members of society.”

例如，帕里斯先生表示，如果将一句仇恨性或种族主义的言论错误地称其为出自克林顿女士之口，这可以被视为诽谤行为。

For example, Mr. Paris suggests a quote wrongly attributing hateful or racist remarks to Ms. Clinton could be considered defamatory.

帕里斯先生指出，像许多行业一样，媒体业往往也是由自治机构进行管理的，例如安省新闻评议会。

Mr. Paris notes that like many industries, the media often governs itself through organizations such as the Ontario Press Council.

安省新闻评议会执行主任唐•麦柯迪告诉大中报，通常情况下，诽谤法足以确保出版物所载内容的准确性。

Don McCurdy, the council’s executive director, tells Chinese News that libel laws are usually enough to ensure a publication’s accuracy.

他说：“如果一个刊物转载了一篇文章，即使不是他们亲自写的，他们也可能因对其进行转载而被要求承担文章内容的法律责任。”

“If a publication reprints an article, they could be held liable for the article’s contents by virtue of re-publishing it, even if they didn’t produce it,” he says.

麦柯迪先生说，正如读者要谨慎决定是否将某封有新闻价值的电子邮件转发给他人一样，媒体出版物也需要审慎考虑自己对哪些信息来源的可信程度达到足以进行文章转载的程度。

Mr. McCurdy says that media publications, like readers who decide to forward a newsworthy e-mail, must be careful about which sources they trust enough to reprint articles from.

他说：“如果最初发表某文章的刊物被视为一个有效的信息来源，并且他们没有明目张胆地滥用新闻自由权的先前行为，那么你可以信任这个来源。如果一则消息是在Facebook上发布的，而你在未进行检查的情况下对该消息信以为真，那简直是太可笑了。”

“If the publication that originally published the article is considered a valid source of material, and they don’t have a history of flagrantly abusing freedom of the press, then you can trust that source,” he says. “If something’s posted on Facebook and you take it at face value without checking it out, that’s ludicrous.”

麦柯迪先生说，若想搞清楚一篇新闻报道的内容是否属实，读者应该直接与信息来源取得联系。

Readers who wish to discover whether a story is accurate or not should contact the source, Mr. McCurdy says.

他说：“如果希拉里的话被引用或错误引用，视情况而定，那么你可以致电她的办公室，请她的新闻秘书解释一下这句引用语。这句话是被断章取义了呢？还是被误解了？抑或是完全错误的呢？”

“If Hillary Clinton is quoted, or misquoted, as the case may be, you phone her office, and you get her press secretary to explain the quote,” he says. “Is it taken out of context, misinterpreted, or was it just plain wrong?”

于是，大中报与希拉里•克林顿的代表和哈佛大学的代表取得联系。

Chinese News did so, contacting representatives for both Hillary Clinton and Harvard University.

哈佛大学的代表没有给予答复。克林顿女士的发言人则表示，他们未能找到能够证明她最近在该大学进行过任何演讲的证据。

Harvard’s representatives did not respond, while Ms. Clinton’s said they could not find evidence of her giving any recent speeches at the university.

编注一：以下大中报的一位读者发给编辑的文章。此文让大中报决定写这篇调查报告。

美国国务卿——希拉里，近期在美国著名的哈佛大学发表演讲，对将来的中国发表预测：20年后，中国将成为全球最穷的国家。她给出的依据是：     

1.从申请移民的情况看，中国90%的官员家属和80%的富豪已申请移民，或有移民意愿。一个国家的统治阶层和既得利益阶层为什么对自己的国家失去信心？令人费解！

2.中国人不了解他们作为社会个体应该对国家和社会所承担的责任和义务，更不知道对国际社会应负的责任和义务。所受的教育，或者是宣传媒体基本上都是仇视或妖魔化他人或他国，让人民丧失理性和公正的判断。

3.中国人是世界上少数没有信仰的可怕国家之一。全民上上下下唯一的崇拜就是权力和金钱，自私自利。没有爱心、失却同情心的大国能获得国际社会的尊重和信任吗？

4.中国政府所谓的政治，除了欺骗人民，背叛人性，没有其它东西。人民大众过去是权力的奴隶，演变为金钱的奴隶。这样的国家如何赢得尊重和信任？

5.大多数中国人从来就没有学到过什么是体面和尊敬的生活意义。对民众而言，唯有获取权力或金钱就是生活的一切，就是成功。全民腐败、堕落、茫然的现象，在人类历史上空前绝后！

6.肆无忌惮地对环境的破坏、对资源的掠夺，几近疯狂。这样奢靡、浪费的生活方式，需要几个地球才能供给？怎么不能让他国担忧？！

她说，中国政府不能总是把注意力和民众的关注转移他国，制造敌人，把自己的压力转嫁给外部世界。应当顺应时代潮流和人类文明趋势，主动变革，关心民生，重视民主，不能不负责任地推拖和压制。否则，中国只能越来越不稳定，将会出现大的社会动荡和人道灾难，20年后，中国将成为全球最穷的国家。这或将是全人类的灾难，同样会是美国的灾难。

编注二：英翻中：马特-杜鲁门编译。Translator (English to Chinese): Matt Trueman. 如果你对本文有任何评论，请到096.ca的“特别报道”栏目下、此文的论坛里发表评论。如果你有任何社区、社会和生活问题需要大中报回答或调查，请将你的评论或问题细节以电话留言（416-504-0761 转215分机），或传真（416-504-4928），或电邮（cng@chinesenewsgroup.com），或电邮给Eric Emin Wood(eric.emin@chinesenewsgroup.com）。你可以匿名为本报提供调查线索，但调查线索应包括当事人的联系电话或地址、发生问题的时间及地址等信息。