经济学人182:中国互联网-打击百度

 　　The internet in China

　　中国互联网

　　Bashing Baidu

　　打击百度

　　State television fires on China’s Google

　　国有电视台向中国谷歌开火

　　Aug 27th 2011 | from the print edition

　　LAST year Google remembered its motto (“Don’t be evil”) and stopped co-operating with China’s censors¹. Since then, Google has found it much harder to do business in mainland China. The chief beneficiary was Baidu, China’s leading search engine. Its share of internet searches, already vast, grew to a dominant² 75%.

　　去年谷歌牢记自己的信条（“永不作恶”）以致终止了和中国审计的合作。自此以后，谷歌发现自己很难在中国大陆做生意了。其中主要的受益者就是百度，中国领先的搜索引擎。它的巨大的网络搜索份额已经达到垄断性的75%。

　　Robin³ Li, Baidu’s Chinese-born, American-educated co-founder, is only 42 but one of China’s richest men. That makes him a target, despite his scrupulous⁴ efforts not to upset the ruling Communist Party. Since August 14th Baidu has been the subject of a series of damning investigative reports on CCTV, the main state-run broadcaster. Using undercover cameras, CCTV exposed Baidu employees apparently⁵ helping⁶ firms circumvent⁷ laws that bar unlicensed companies from advertising⁸ online. The reports also suggested that the lack of transparency in Baidu’s advertising system could lead advertisers to overpay. A Baidu spokesman refused to comment.

　　中国出生，接受美国教育的百度联合创办人——李彦宏只有42岁就已经是中国最有钱的人之一。尽管他低调谨慎以免招惹到执政的共产党，但是这还是让他成为了目标。自从8月14日以来，百度已经成为了cctv(主要的国营媒体)开展的一系列调查恶性事件报道中的材料。cctv利用隐藏好的摄像头揭示了百度的雇员明显地在帮助一些公司绕开法律（禁止没有许可证的公司在网上做广告）。这些报道还提到百度广告系统的不透明导致广告商们支付过多的钱。百度的发言人拒绝发表评论。

　　It was not the first time that CCTV has bashed Baidu. Reports in 2008 made similar allegations, prompting Baidu to apologise publicly. The latest attacks go further, though. It might seem a bit rich for the state broadcaster of a secretive, authoritarian⁹ country to chide¹⁰ Baidu for murkiness¹¹. And it certainly surprises some China-watchers. Baidu has done all it can to comply with the government’s whims¹². It is also a national champion: its shares are listed on New York’s NASDAQ exchange, and foreigners can’t get enough of them.

　　这不是cctv第一次抨击百度了。在2008年的报道中也有类似的指控，促使百度发表公众道歉。尽管这一次的攻击已经相隔渐远了，但还是能认为对于一个不公开，专制的国家所有的电视台来说，对百度的暗中交易的批评次数好像有点多了。而且这确实令一些中国的观察者感到惊讶。百度已经做了它所能做的一切来迎合这个政府的意愿。在另外一个方面它也是这个国家的领先者：它的股份在纽约的纳斯达克陈列着而且外国人渴望得到这些股份。

　　So what might the criticism signify? Is CCTV attacking Baidu for political reasons, or commercial ones? CCTV has a search engine, too, which hardly anyone uses. So do two other big government-run media outfits—the People’s Daily newspaper and the Xinhua news agency. CCTV, though state-run, is not just a propaganda outfit¹³. It is also expected to make money through advertising (and it does). It must be tempting¹⁴ to nobble a rival.

　　那么这些抨击意味着什么呢？cctv攻击百度是出于政治因素呢还是商业因素？cctv也有一个搜索引擎，基本上没什么人在使用它。两大政府所有的媒体公司——人民日报和新华报社也是如此。尽管cctv是国有企业，但是它不仅仅是宣传的企业，它还希望能通过广告来盈利（它成功了）。它一定想威胁到它的对手。

　　That no other state-run media outlets¹⁵ carried stories on Baidu suggests this is not a government-orchestrated campaign against the company or the internet more generally. However, the Communist Party is wary¹⁶ of the influence of private internet companies, and no doubt keen to see that Baidu doesn’t get too big for its boots.

　　没有其他的国营媒体公司报道百度，这意味着抨击百度不是政府密谋的对付私营公司或互联网的运动。无论如何，共产党谨慎地对待私营的互联网公司的影响力而且会毫无疑问地希望看到百度不过过于自信。

　　The party was slow to grasp how big the internet was going to be in China, and it missed its chance to own the digital commanding heights. So it tries to control them indirectly¹⁷. On August 23rd, for example, Beijing’s Communist Party chief paid a friendly visit to the offices of China’s biggest microblogging site, Sina Corp’s Weibo, and suggested that it “absolutely put an end to fake and misleading information”. Sina Corp, a private firm, deletes postings that annoy the party within hours. Not quick enough, said the party chief.

　　执政党很晚才意识到中国互联网将会发展到什么程度而且它错过了占领信息化话事权制高点的机会。所以它尝试着去间接地控制他们。例如在8月23日，北京党委书记去中国最大的微薄公司——新浪做了一次友好参观，而且还建议说必须完全杜绝虚假和误导的信息。作为一家私营企业，新浪公司会再几个小时内就把对党有害的信息删除掉。这个书记还是说不够快。

　　Perhaps the most likely motive¹⁸ for CCTV’s attacks on Baidu is that its journalists are trying to do their jobs. Public anger about toxic¹⁹ food, corporate²⁰ mismanagement and official corruption²¹ has emboldened²² reporters. Journalists at CCTV led the extensive media coverage²³ of a high-speed-rail crash at Wenzhou in July that killed 40 people, until the censors curbed²⁴ them.

　　也许cctv对百度的攻击最可能的动机是它的记者们在努力做着自己的工作。公众对有毒食品、公司管理混乱和官员贪污感到愤怒，这促使记者去报道。cctv的记者们引发了大量媒体对7月份的温州高铁列车相撞事故的报道，这次事故死亡人数40人。直到审计部门勒令停止，报道才停止。

　　Such reporting embarrasses the party, which likes to boast that China builds big infrastructure²⁵ projects faster and better than anyone else. The CCTV attack on Baidu could reflect a decision to go after a less protected target. Or not. This being China, no one knows for sure.

　　这样的报道令执政党感到尴尬，这个政党喜欢吹嘘中国建设大工程比其他国家都要快且好。cctv对百度的攻击可以反映出其决定追打一个比较不受保护的目标。也许不是，这就是中国，没人能确切知道答案。

1 censors   

删剪（书籍、电影等中被认为犯忌、违反道德或政治上危险的内容）( censor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The censors eviscerated the book to make it inoffensive to the President. 审查员删去了该书的精华以取悦于总统。
• The censors let out not a word. 检察官一字也不发。

2 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

3 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

4 scrupulous   

adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的

参考例句：

• She is scrupulous to a degree.她非常谨慎。
• Poets are not so scrupulous as you are.诗人并不像你那样顾虑多。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 circumvent   

vt.环绕，包围；对…用计取胜，智胜

参考例句：

• Military planners tried to circumvent the treaty.军事策略家们企图绕开这一条约。
• Any action I took to circumvent his scheme was justified.我为斗赢他的如意算盘而采取的任何行动都是正当的。

8 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

9 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

10 chide   

v.叱责；谴责

参考例句：

• However,they will chide you if you try to speak French.然而，如果你试图讲法语，就会遭到他们的责骂。
• He thereupon privately chide his wife for her forwardness in the matter.于是他私下责备他的妻子，因为她对这种事热心。

11 murkiness   

n.阴暗；混浊；可疑；黝暗

参考例句：

• There is a mass of murkiness which neither moonlight nor sunlight can penetrate. 日月无光。 来自辞典例句
• Ms Munro comes from southern Ontario, an area of considerable psychic murkiness and oddity. 芒罗女士(MsMunro)来自南安大略，一个奇特古怪的地方。 来自互联网

12 WHIMS   

虚妄，禅病

参考例句：

• The mate observed regretfully that he could not account for that young fellow's whims. 那位伙伴很遗憾地说他不能说出那年轻人产生怪念头的原因。
• The rest she had for food and her own whims. 剩下的钱她用来吃饭和买一些自己喜欢的东西。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

13 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

14 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

15 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

17 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

18 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

19 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

20 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

21 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

22 emboldened   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine, he went over to introduce himself to her. 他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• His success emboldened him to expand his business. 他有了成就因而激发他进一步扩展业务。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

24 curbed   

v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Advertising aimed at children should be curbed. 针对儿童的广告应受到限制。 来自辞典例句
• Inflation needs to be curbed in Russia. 俄罗斯需要抑制通货膨胀。 来自辞典例句

25 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。