中國網絡瘋轉:一部來自柴靜的環境紀錄片
On Saturday, Chai Jing, a former television journalist from China, released a feature-length documentary film that, unusually for China, took the government to task. Titled Under the Dome, the video featured Chai giving a presentation on stage, using both photographs and slides to examine how China's notorious air pollution got so extreme—and why the Communist Party has failed to fix it. Jing's interest was personal: Her daughter underwent surgery soon after her birth to remove a tumor that, Chai claims, was caused by pollution.
週六，前電視記者柴靜發佈了一部長紀錄片，片子問責政府，這在中國是很不尋常的。紀錄片標題穹頂之下，視頻中柴靜在臺上發表演講，用照片和幻燈片來展現中國的空氣污染到了極端程度——以及爲什麼中國政府沒有能夠有效治理。柴靜與空氣污染是私人恩怨：她的女兒剛出生就做了摘除腫瘤的手術，柴靜稱，腫瘤是污染引起的。
Under ordinary circumstances, the Chinese government might have swiftly removed the video from Youku, China's YouTube, before it could gain much traction. But the film has been left untouched, amassing tens of millions of views and touching off a spirited discussion online. Under the Dome, which is embedded below, has even received praise from senior government officials.
在通常情況下，中國政府會在視頻引起廣泛注意之前就迅速把視頻刪掉。但是這部片子保存了下來，吸引了千萬人觀看並引發了網上的激烈討論。穹頂之下得到了政府高層的讚譽。"Chai Jing's documentary calls for public environmental consciousness from the standpoint of public health," Chen Jining, China's environment czar, said. "It deserves admiration." This isn't how the Communist Party normally reacts to videos that criticize its governance.
“柴靜的紀錄片從公共健康的角度，喚起公衆的環境意識，”中國環保部長陳吉寧說，“值得欽佩。”這不是中共政府對於批評黨政的視頻的一般態度。
The government's reaction to Under the Dome is particularly noteworthy given that under President Xi Jinping, who took office in 2013, government suppression of the media has intensified. In addition to maintaining long-held bans on Facebook, Twitter, and other foreign websites, Beijing has cracked down on any private networks that provided a workaround to the Great Firewall. And in something of a throwback to the Maoist era, the Communist Party has even promoted a song praising Internet censorship on state-run television.
自2013年習大大執掌政權以來，政府對媒體的管制是強化了的，因此，政府對於《穹頂之下》的反應尤其值得注意。中國政府一直禁止臉書和推特，以及其他一些國外網站，對翻牆軟件也打壓殆盡。在央視電視臺上，甚至還有一首歌讚美互聯網監管，彷彿一瞬間回到了毛時代。Why did Under the Dome get a pass? One reason is tone. Chai, an experienced television anchor, framed her story as a critical investigation rather than a call to action. In China, this distinction is crucial. A much-cited Harvard study found that while the Communist Party tolerates some dissent, the government works hard to stifle overt provocations. Then there's the subject matter: Environmental problems transcend social, linguistic, and economic barriers in China, and air pollution is much harder to conceal than government malfeasance.
爲什麼穹頂之下能被放行？一個原因是基調。柴靜是個老練的電視記者，她把片子拍成一個批判性的調查而不是一個行動的呼籲。在中國，這一分別是非常關鍵的。一份被廣泛引用的哈佛研究顯示，中國政府可以容忍某些異見，但是極力打壓公然的挑釁。另一個原因是片子主題：在中國，環境問題跨越了社會、語言和經濟的隔閡，空氣污染比政府瀆職更難掩蓋。In this spirit of semi-forced transparency, Beijing has acknowledged that it isn't close to solving its environmental problems. Last month, a top government official said that China had to cut emissions by as much as 50 percent in order to make any noticeable progress toward cleaner air. Achieving this while maintaining economic growth won't be easy—but when dealing with a problem so palpable, the Chinese Communist Party has no other choice.
在這種半被迫的透明化情況下，中國政府知道解決中國的環境問題道路漫漫。上個月，一名政府高官說，中國必須減排50%，方能在清潔空氣上取得一些看得見的成績。既要環保，又要保持經濟發展的速度不是容易的事情——但是問題顯而易見，中國政府別無他選。
