近日，美国《华尔街日报》一篇关于中国的评论文章，在网络上引起了强烈的争议。

 

就在中国正全力抗击新冠肺炎疫情之时，这篇文章却借疫情“唱衰”中国经济前景。更令人难以置信的是，文章还用了一个十分恶毒的标题——“中国是真正的亚洲病夫”。

 

此文激起了海内外网民的怒火，很多人驳斥原文作者充满无知和偏见的观点，还有数万网民白宫请愿要求报社道歉→《华尔街日报》妄称中国是“亚洲病夫”，APAC新闻网主编发文驳斥

 

近期，就连《华尔街日报》内部员工也忍无可忍了。该媒体在华53名员工向高层发表联名信，敦促报社修改歧视性标题，并向受到冒犯的人道歉。信中还写道：

 

“这个标题是一个错误的选择，它深深地冒犯了许多人，不仅仅是中国人。”

 

"It is about the mistaken choice of a headline that was deeply offensive to many people, not just in China," 53 members of the Wall Street Journal's China staff and colleagues involved said in an email asking the WSJ to do the decent thing to apologize and correct the headline.

 

"China is the real sick man of Asia" written by Walter Russel Mead in a WSJ opinion column was published on Feb.3, and the commentary was not on the outbreak of coronavirus but on China's financial markets.

 

 

据《华盛顿邮报》报道，这封联名信于本月20日通过《华尔街日报》中国分社社长郑子扬的电子邮箱发出。收信人分别是该报发行单位——美国道琼斯公司首席执行官刘易斯，以及道琼斯所属的母公司——新闻集团首席执行官汤姆森。

 

联名致信者包括此前被中国外交部吊销记者证的3名记者——李肇华、邓超及温友正，但不包括郑子扬，他只负责代发邮件。

 

 

那么，《中国是真正的亚洲病夫》一文作者沃尔特·罗素·米德（Walter Russel Mead）是何许人也？

 

公开资料显示，他是美国保守派外交学者、巴德学院教授。米德不仅是《华尔街日报》的专栏作者，还是《美国利益》杂志的总编辑，老本行是外交战略政策研究。

 

针对报道辱华的行为，米德不仅没有采取正确的行动，还甩锅给编辑。

 

他在社交媒体上发文称，“文章内容有问题可找作者，但若标题有争议，烦请去找编辑理论。”

 

 

The writer, Walter Russel Mead didn't take up his responsibility, but left it to the editor.

 

"Apropos of nothing in particular, a word to my new Chinese followers: at American newspapers, writers typically do NOT write or approve the headlines. Argue with the writer about the article content, with the editors about the headlines," Mead said on his twitter.

 

这种不负责任的解释显然没有任何逻辑可言，连《华尔街日报》自己的员工都看不下去了。

 

他们在信中写道：“我们认为，‘冒犯行为不是故意的’这一说法并不令人信服——应该有人知道，这样做会引起广泛的被冒犯感。如果他们不知道，那么他们犯了一个严重的错误，应该改正并道歉。”

 

This irresponsible explanation clearly lacks any logic.

 

"We find the argument that no offense was intended to be unconvincing: Someone should have known that it would cause widespread offense. If they didn't know that, they made a bad mistake, and should correct it and apologize," wrote the email.

 

任何读过中国历史的人都应该知道“东亚病夫”这个词，这个充满西方殖民色彩的专有名词，清晰地折射出了具有种族主义色彩的优越感。

 

“东亚病夫”是什么内涵？不仅中国人十分清楚，作为学者的米德也应该心知肚明。即便米德不知道，见多识广的《华尔街日报》编辑们难道也不知道吗？

 

As anyone who has read history about China should know, this particular appellation was used by the western invaders during their colonial rule, which was clearly a racist phrase.

 

It is not only the Chinese who would feel offended by the phrase "sick man of Asia," a responsible journalist should also be aware of the inappropriate wording in this historical context.

 

 

在2月19日的外交部网上例行记者会上，发言人耿爽称中方决定从即日起，吊销《华尔街日报》三名驻京记者的记者证。耿爽透露，《华尔街日报》一直推诿、搪塞，既未公开正式道歉，也未查处相关责任人。

 

记者证被吊销后，美国国务卿蓬佩奥发表声明称，对中方“驱逐”《华尔街日报》三名记者表示“谴责”，并称中方不应限制言论自由。

 

耿爽20日回应称，“请问蓬佩奥先生，如果你认为《华尔街日报》有张口辱骂别人的自由，被辱骂者有没有还击的权利？”耿爽强调，中方依法依规处理外国记者事务。那些公然发表辱华言论、宣扬种族歧视、恶意抹黑攻击中国的媒体，必将付出代价。

 

《华盛顿邮报》报道说，蓬佩奥自己最近还把美国国家公共电台（NPR）的一名记者赶下了他的媒体专机，这显然是为了报复，因为此前NPR的另一名记者采访他时问了他不喜欢的问题。

 

The Chinese Foreign Ministry had already announced it was revoking the press credentials of three of the journal's reporters in Beijing over the article on February 19, 2020.

 

After the revocation, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, "Mature, responsible countries understand that free press reports facts and expresses opinions. The correct response is to present counter arguments, not restrict speech," a statement which it seems did not really apply to him.

 

"Pompeo himself recently booted a reporter from NPR off his media plane in apparent retaliation for questions he didn't like in an earlier interview with another NPR journalist," reported the Washington Post.

 

A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry Geng Shuang asked: "Mr. Pompeo, if you think the Wall Street Journal is free to name-call others, does the person being called names have the right to fight back?"

 

"China handles the affairs of foreign journalists in accordance with law and regulations. Those media that openly insult China promote racial discrimination and maliciously smear and attack China will pay the price," Geng said.

 

The story is still on the Wall Street Journal's page.

 

《中国是真正的亚洲病夫》一文目前仍然挂在《华尔街日报》官网网站和社交账号上。

 

道琼斯公司的发言人22日证实，公司高层已收到联名信，并声称：“我们理解我们的员工及其家人在中国面临的‘极大挑战’，并将‘继续推动’恢复三名记者的签证。”同时，《华尔街日报》也并未就歧视性标题致歉，相反他们还不断为此辩解、开脱。

 

 

在2月24日举行的中国外交部例行记者会上，新任外交部发言人赵立坚就《华尔街日报》拒绝为辱华标题道歉一事表示：

 

第一，面对恶意侮辱、抹黑，中国不做“沉默的羔羊”。

 

第二，该报以新闻报道和评论相对独立为由，百般推诿，没有道理。《华尔街日报》究竟谁来负责任？谁出面道歉？既然有骂人的嚣张，为什么没有道歉的勇气？世界上只有一份《华尔街日报》，该报既然一意孤行，就应当承担相应的后果。

 

China's foreign ministry Monday reiterated its stance on canceling the visas of three journalists working for The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), saying it should take responsibility for what it has published.

 

"Why did the WSJ publish an article that smears China and Chinese people? Why did it choose a headline with obvious racial discrimination, and why has no one come forward to apologize so far?" Zhao Lijian, the ministry's new spokesman, asked at a daily press briefing on Monday.

 

"China won't be a silent lamb," Zhao said.