調查顯示作家羣體對政府監控深感憂慮

A survey of writers around the world by the PEN American Center has found that a significant majority said they were deeply concerned with government surveillance, with many reporting that they have avoided, or have considered avoiding, controversial topics in their work or in personal communications as a result.

美國筆會(PEN American Center)在全球作家當中做了一項調查，結果絕大多數人都表示，他們對政府的監控深感關切，許多人也因此報告說他們在作品或者私下交流中一直在迴避、或者想過要回避敏感話題。

The findings show that writers consider freedom of expression to be under significant threat around the world in democratic and nondemocratic countries. Some 75 percent of respondents in countries classified as “free,” 84 percent in “partly free” countries, and 80 percent in countries that were “not free” said that they were “very” or “somewhat” worried about government surveillance in their countries.

這些調查結果表明，無論是在民主國家還是非民主國家，作家們都認爲言論自由正面臨嚴重威脅。在“自由”國家類別下的調查對象中大約有75%的人，“部分自由”類別下84%的人，以及“不自由”國家類別下80%的人，都表示他們“非常”或者“多少有些”擔心他們所在國家的政府監控行爲。

The survey, which will be released Monday, was conducted anonymously online in fall 2014 and yielded 772 responses from fiction and nonfiction writers and related professionals, including translators and editors, in 50 countries.

這份2014年秋天線上進行的匿名調查報告，將於週一發表；調查共計收到來自50個國家的虛構類、非虛構類作品的作家，以及包括翻譯和編輯在內的相關職業人士的答覆，共計772份。

Smaller numbers said they avoided or considered avoiding writing or speaking on certain subjects, with 34 percent in countries classified as free, 44 percent in partly free countries and 61 percent in not free countries reporting self-censorship. Respondents in similar percentages reported curtailing social media activity, or said they were considering it, because of surveillance.

表示會迴避或者考慮迴避特定創作題材或話題的人數則相對要少一些，在“自由”國家類別下34%的調查對象、在“半自由”國家類別下44%的調查對象和“非自由”國家類別下61%的調查對象，都提到存在自我審查的現象。還有差不多比例的調查對象提到，因爲監控而對社交媒體行爲加以約束，或者表示考慮加以約束。

The survey included only writers affiliated with PEN, the writers’ group emphasizing freedom of expression, and others the group was able to contact, and did not necessarily reflect the views of all writers. But the executive director of the PEN American Center, Suzanne Nossel, said that the findings, taken together with those of a 2013 PEN survey of writers in the United States, indicate that mass surveillance is significantly damaging free expression and the free flow of information around the world.

這份調查僅包括筆會（PEN，這是一個喚起民衆對言論自由關注的作家團體）的成員作家，以及該團體可以聯絡到的其他人，並不一定代表所有作家的觀點。但美國筆會的負責人蘇珊娜·諾塞爾(Suzanne Nossel)說，參照筆會在2013年對美國作家的一項調查，可以看到大規模的監控對於言論自由以及信息在世界自由流動的損害。

“Writers are the ones who experience encroachments on freedom of expression most acutely, or first,” Ms. Nossel said. “The idea that we are seeing some similar patterns in free countries to those we’ve traditionally associated with unfree countries is pretty distressing.”

“作家是對言論自由的損害最爲敏感的羣體，或者說是最早感受到的羣體，”諾塞爾女士說，“我們正在自由國家看到一些似曾相識的模式，傳統上它們是與非自由國家聯繫在一起的，這讓人感到相當不安。”

The results of the survey, which was conducted by the nonpartisan research firm FDR Group, arrive amid continuing debate over the data collection programs of the National Security Agency, as well as increased broader concern about the erosion of privacy in the wake of various leaks and hacks, including the recent cyberattack on Sony.

由超黨派研究機構FDR集團進行的這項調查的結果公佈之時，正值國家安全局的信息蒐集計劃引發持續辯論之際，各種泄露和黑客行爲導致的對隱私的侵犯亦引發了越來越廣泛的關注，比如不久前對索尼的網絡攻擊。

The British novelist Hari Kunzru, a member of English PEN currently living in New York, said fears of government surveillance were a significant concern, even if the information being gathered was not necessarily being put to improper use by officials.

英國筆會成員、現居紐約的英國小說家哈里·孔茲魯(Hari Kunzru)表示，雖然官方蒐集的信息未必是作不恰當用途，但對政府監控的憂慮依舊令人不安。

“The feeling that the Internet is looking over your shoulder is now universal,” he said. “But it’s the government that has the techniques and tools to look in at will.”

“現在，互聯網嚴密監視着你是一種普遍的感覺，”他說，“但政府有各種技術各種方法，隨心所欲地進行窺探。”

He added, “We are really putting into place a system that might be used by more tyrannically inclined governments in the future.”

他又補充，“我們正在把有着更爲專制傾向的政府未來可能會採用的一種體系付諸實施。”

The survey found that mass surveillance by the United States government had damaged its reputation as a defender of free expression, with some 36 percent in other “free” countries and 32 percent in “less free” countries saying freedom of expression had less protection in the United States than in their nations.

調查還發現，美國政府的大規模監控行爲，損害了它作爲言論自由捍衛者的聲譽，在“自由”國家類別下大約36%的調查對象、“部分自由”國家類別下32%的調查對象表示，美國對於言論自由的保護不及自己所在的國家。

The 2013 PEN survey of American writers provoked some comment that writers’ fears were overblown, and there was little evidence that the American government took particular interest in the communications of writers.

2013年美國筆會在美國作家中所做的調查，也引發一些評論，認爲作家的擔憂誇大了，沒有什麼證據表明美國政府對於作家間的交流有着特別的興趣。

But Ms. Nossel said that subjective perceptions of surveillance matter, particularly among those who rely on freedom of expression as “their lifeblood.”

但諾塞爾女士表示，對於監控的主觀感受事關重大，尤其是在那些視言論自由爲“命根子”的人當中。

“Just the fact that so many writers say they are deeply concerned and are actually changing their behavior is significant,” she said. “Whether we consider it justified or not, it isn’t something that should be ignored.”

“事實上有這麼多的作家聲稱他們對此深表關切，而且有那麼多人因此而變得謹慎，”她說道，“不管我們認爲這合不合理，它都不應該遭到忽視。”