Microsoft founder Bill Gates said Monday that obeying local laws is a prerequisite for doing business in a foreign country, joining in the ongoing spat between Google and China over alleged cyber attacks a day after Beijing spoke out to defend its Web policy.
周一微软创始人比尔盖茨针对google和中国就黑客袭击一事说:“在一个国家开办业务就要遵守该国家的相应法律法规,这是一个前提。”
In an interview Monday with ABC television, Gates calLED the row a "complex issue."
在ABC电视台周一的访谈中,比尔盖茨称google和中国政府的这次摩擦为”非常复杂的事情“。
Different countries have different rules on censorship, Gates said, adding that Germany forbids pro-Nazi statements that would be protected as free speech in the United States.
"And so you have got to decide, do you want to obey the laws of the countries you are in or not. If not, you may not end up doing business there," he said.
"The Chinese efforts to censor the Internet have been very limited. It's easy to go around it," Gates said.
盖茨说:“不同的国家有不同的审查权。”,另外,他还说,“德国禁止任何有关纳粹主义的言论,而这在美国却是受法律保护的自由言论。因此,你可以有权力选择遵守这些法律或者不遵守。如果不遵守的话,那么你在这个国家的业务可能就要被扫地出门。现在中国针对网络的审查已经非常有限,遵守这些法规也很容易做到。”
The remarks came two weeks after Google said it would stop censoring its Chinese website, Google.cn, even if that means it has to leave the country. The company said it was alarmed by attacks by hackers from within China.
google宣布他们可能会停止对中国网站 google.cn 搜索结果的审查,即使这意味着他们将退出中国。google公司说他们受到了来自中国黑客的攻击。 盖茨的上述言论就是在google宣布这一结果之后的两个星期说的。
Google's complaints have received backing from the Obama administration.
google的抱怨已经得到了来自奥巴马政府的支持。
Some foreign media immediately attacked Gates' comment, saying he did it for his own interest.
而一些国外媒体针对盖茨的言论立刻发起攻击,认为他说这些话的目的只不过是为了自己的利益而已。
The Daily Telegraph Beijing correspondent wrote on his blog, "If internet censorship in China is really so ‘limited,' Mr Gates should ask himself why Google arrived at that decision, and why his own government has risked souring relations with its largest trading partner over the issue?"
北京每日电讯报记者在他的博客中这样写道:“如果中国针对互联网的审查真的如盖茨所言,那么盖茨就应该反问自己,为什么google会做出这样的决定,为什么美国政府会为了这件事而冒着有可能会僵化中美关系的危险。”
The article also quoted observer Douglas A McIntyre, who sees Gates' comments as "a shameless attempt to curry favor with Beijing at a time when Microsoft's Bing search engine is eyeing up Google's probably soon-to-be vacated share of the Chinese search market."
这篇博文同时也引用了观察员Douglas A McIntyre的一些评论。Douglas A McIntyre认为盖茨的这番言论不过是为了使微软的bing搜索引擎抢占google退出中国后的市场而厚颜无耻的拍中国政府的马屁而已。
"He is taking the public opportunity to tell the Chinese that he is their ally and that Google is not," McIntyre wrote according to the article.
McIntyre在他的文章中也写道:“盖茨不过是想利用这次公众机会向中国政府套近乎,告诉中国微软才是中国的伙伴,而google不是。”
The Guardian also criticized Monday that Gates' remarks were meant to brush aside accusations that Microsoft has helped filter the Internet, and it's a setback to his recent charity moves to rebuild the software giant's global image.
这位观察员同时还指出,盖茨周一的这番言论不过是想扫除人们对微软是帮助过滤互联网的元凶的指责。而这一指责为微软试图重塑微软巨人的全球形象蒙上了一层阴影。
Shi Yinhong, director of the Center of American Studies at the Renmin University of China, said Gates' remarks were candid in displaying the willingness of US companies to stay in China and continue their business operations.
人民大学美国研究中心主任石姻红说,“盖茨的这番言论表明了美国公司想留在中国,继续他们的业务。 “
"The White House's bold interference (in the Google issue) faiLED to win applause, as it was against the interest of US enterprises," Shi said
美国白宫针对google事件进行的鲁莽干涉不会赢得掌声,因为这种做法违背了美国企业的利益。
"Washington's stance only ends up in mounting pressure for its enterprises in China, putting them in a dilemma. The US government would find its efforts to hype this issue in vain because its multinationals know their positions," Shi said.
白宫的这种姿态只不过会给美国的在华企业增加压力,将它们置于进退两难的境地。美国政府对这件事的大肆渲染是徒劳的,因为美国的这些跨国公司都知道他们的处境。
Pan Yue, a professor at the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, said Google's intention to withdraw from China might be exploited by the US government.
"Google now is holding back. It doesn't want to confront China. But the situation is beyond its expectations. The US government takes advantage of such a chance to entangle it with other issues, including Internet security, trade frictions and technology transfer," Pan said.
复旦大学美国研究中心教授Pan Yue认为,“google试图退出中国市场这一举动可能会被美国政府所利用。google现在正在退出中国,但是情形未必是他们所预想的那样。美国政府可能会利用这个机会把其它的事情也纠缠进来,包括网络安全,贸易摩擦以及技术转让等问题。”
But for Google, Pan added, it is a strategic consideration whether the company would be willing to give in to the White House attempt.
"One thing is for sure, both sides (Google and the Chinese authorities) are crystal clear on the importance of keeping the friction controllable," Pan said.
Pan Yue继续说,“对于google来说,他们的策略就是应该考虑一下是否应该屈服于白宫。有一样事情是可以肯定的,两边(google和中国政府)都试图将这一摩擦控制在可掌握的范围内。”
Liu Dan, an Internet industry analyst, said the level of how localized foreign-invested Internet companies operate in China can become a decisive factor in their business prospects.
"Baidu, a joint-venture search engine, has the cutting edge in government relations, and Microsoft, which entered China in 1992, has a relatively deep understanding of the Chinese market," Liu said.
网络产业分析者Liu Dan认为,“外资互联网企业的本土化程度因该成为这些企业指定战略决策的一个因素。合资企业,百度,在对政府的关系中就打了一个擦边球。而在1992年就进入中国的微软,对中国的市场就有一个深入的理解。”
"Google is a company that has a strong personality. It doesn't seem to have learned how to cooperate with Chinese authorities. But at the same time, there is the possibility that Google orchestrated this pullout (as a) public relations event on purpose. Still, it's hard to say if Google can get what it had expected," Liu said.
Liu Dan说:“google是一个很有个性化的公司,他好像没有学会如何和政府打交道。而同时,google有可能将他的退出中国一事有意公众化。当然,很难说google是否达到了他们的预期目的。”
"The Chinese government will definitely make no concession, while Google will stay, eventually," Liu predicted.
Liu 预言,最后的结果可能会是“中国政府不会作出让步,而google扔将继续留在中国。”
A mid-level manager at Oracle China, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the "withdrawal threat by Google offended the Chinese government and would cast a shadow on its future operations in the country. "
一位中国Oracle不愿透露姓名的中层管理者说,“google的这种退出威胁可能会惹恼中国政府,从而可能会为google在中国的未来发展蒙上一层阴影。”
The top management of Google was not familiar with the conditions in the Chinese market, the development of the Internet industry or relevant laws and regulations, the Oracle China manager said.
这位Oracle管理者还认为,google的高层管理者可能对中国的市场情况,互联网产业的发展以及相关的法律法规不太熟悉。
"It's a lesson for Google. It has to learn how to strengthen its cooperation with Chinese authorities, how to express itself while ensuring understanding," the source said, adding that the crisis is due to "immaturity" and that it will only obstruct Google's development.
据内部人士说,“这件事给google上了一课。google应该从这件事中吸取教训,学会如何与中国政府打交道,如何在保证充分理解的情况下表达自己。”,另外,他还说,“这次危机完全是由于不成熟所致,并将会给google的发展带来阻碍。”
Despite the current impasse, Google is in "delicate negotiations" with the Chinese government to keep in China its research center, an advertising sales team that generates most of the company's revenue in the country and a fLEDgling mobile-phone business, the AP reported Tuesday, quoting a person familiar with the company's thinking.
美联通讯社周二报道引用一位据说非常熟悉google公司思路的人说,尽管已陷入僵局,但是google仍旧与中国政府进行谈判,试图保留中国研发中心,为其带来大部分收入的广告销售团队以及刚刚起步的移动手机业务。
But that won't happen if the management believes its decision to stop censoring search results will jeopardize employees in China, according to the source, the AP said.
美联社根据内部消息认为,如果google的管理者们认为他们停止对搜索结果审查的决定会将他们的中国员工置于不利地位的话,那么他们试图保留中国业务的预想不可能实现。
In another development, three US oil companies, including Marathon Oil, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhil-lips, were believed by the FBI to have suffered hacking attempts in 2008. Some were said to have been orchestrated from China, the Christian Science Monitor reported Monday.
基督教科学箴言报(Christian Science Monitor)周一报道说,而在另一方面,美国美国联邦调查局认为他们的三大石油公司,Marathon Oil, ExxonMobil 和 ConocoPhil-lips在2008年都受到了黑客的攻击,有些被认为是来自中国的精心安排。
There was no immediate comment from the Chinese government
而针对这些,中国政府还没有作出回应。
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