《华盛顿邮报》记者惨遭杀害 独裁扼杀民主之声

 

10月2日，华盛顿邮报撰稿人卡舒吉（Jamal Khashoggi）进入沙特在伊斯坦布尔的领馆办理结婚手续，他的未婚妻等在门外。但他毫不知情的是，就在当天有两架私人飞机从利雅直飞伊斯坦布尔。飞机上载的是一个暗杀行动组，其中包括情报官员，士兵，刑侦专家和验尸官等。卡舒吉被控在领馆内遭到暗杀并被肢解。

On Oct. 2 Jamal Khashoggi，Washington Post columnist entered Saudi Consulate in Istanbul to arrange for a marriage certificate, while his fiancé was waiting outside. Unbeknown to him, two separate private planes from Riyadh took off for Istanbul on the same day, with the assassination squad on board that included intelligence officers, soldiers, forensic officials, and autopsy expert. Khashoggi has never been seen again and was allegedly killed and dismembered inside the Consulate. 

作为华盛顿邮报的撰稿人，卡舒吉曾对沙特王储MBS 进行抨击。如果这场预谋良久的恐怖谋杀事件一旦被证实，它便揭露了独裁势力不顾一切扼杀异见之声的残酷现实，显示自由言论和新闻从业人士在这种新恶劣环境下处于越来越危险的境地。

A As a contributor to Washington post, Khashoggi was critical against Saudi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The well- planned horrific murder, if proven, highlights the growing trend of autocratic regimes in resorting to whatever tools available to silence critical voices, and underscores the vulnerability of freedom of speech and the danger of journalists who practice it.

 

不断揭露领导层黑暗面的独立新闻媒体给权力机构造成威胁，是专制政府的最强劲敌。虽然自由言论是民主制度的基石，它却处于专制系统的铁蹄之下，是独裁政府的扼杀目标。近年来，有越来越多的新闻记者在世界各地遭监禁，被判刑，甚至遭暗杀。

 

Independent journalism, which often reveals the dark side of a leadership is the greatest enemy of authoritarian state as it poses threat to the stability of the ruling government. While free press is the pillar of a democratic society, it is in the crosshair of the totalitarian regimes, leaving a growing number of journalists being detained, criminalized and assassinated worldwide. 

据媒体监察机构无国界记者（RSF）称，2017年有65名新闻记者在全球遭杀害，326名遭拘禁，54名作为人质遭劫持。

According to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), 65 journalists were killed worldwide in 2017, while 326 detained, and 54 held hostage.

在欧盟两名记者被杀害后，一名调查记者在保加利亚被强奸。一名自由撰稿人士成为ISIS砍头杀人狂的受害者；而在安纳波利斯，数名美国新闻记者在一场大型枪杀案中惨遭杀害。

An investigative reporter was raped and killed in the city of Ruse, following the death of another two in the EU in the past year. A freelance reporter became the target of Islamic State-inspired beheading; And in an Annapolis newsroom, American journalists were killed in a mass-casualty shooting.  

毋庸置疑，中国是言论自由和独立媒体的人间地狱。据无国界记者信息，2016年有103名新闻记者遭关押，比号称全球最大的记者监狱的土耳其所关押的100名新闻从业人员还多。最耸人听闻的该数言论自由捍卫者刘晓波和博客者杨同彦，他们双双在狱中服刑期间死于癌症晚期。

Press freedom met its worst predator in China, and the country is a hell for journalists. According to Reporters Without Borders, 103 journalists are being detained in the country in 2016, exceeding 100 in Turkey, “the biggest prison” for journalists. The most shocking incidents would be the mistreatment and abuse against freedom writer Liu Xiaobao and blogger Yang Tongyan, whom both died from terminal-stage cancer while serving their jail sentences.

在国内使用暴力和高压政策打压异见人士的同时，中国在海外施以软策略封批评人士的嘴，扼杀反对之声。从非洲到加拿大，中国政府利用其强大经济实力向海外媒体从业人员和学者挥舞政治棍棒，扩张淫威。

While using violence and heavy-handed measures to quell dissidents domestically, China has resorted to soft strategies to gag critics overseas and to crackdown independent voices abroad. Tapping into its vast financial resources, it has increasingly flexed political muscle on media professionals and scholars in foreign countries – from Africa to Canada. 

中国向非洲提供的$600亿财政贷款后便对非洲各国进行大规模媒体审查，彻底摧毁了当地自由媒体之声。南非一家大报记者在对中国虐待穆斯林问题上提出置疑后遭到解雇。一位肯尼亚学者计划发表抨击中国演说后被拒于中国大门之外。

China’s US$60 billion in financing has allowed it to start its media censorship machine across the African continent and destroyed the press freedom in the region. A columnist lost his job at a major South African newspaper chain after he challenged China’s treatment of the Muslim minority. The Chinese authority banned a prominent Kenya scholar from entering the country who planned to deliver a speech critical of China.

加国华裔社区新闻记者也被迫为中国政府进行正面宣传，而不屈服于压力者则会受到种种经济制裁。据主流媒体报道，2015年，多伦多一家华文报纸因发表令中国政府不满之文章而在中国使馆的压力下被迫将作者解雇。而在来自中国的经济威胁面前，许多刊物都拒绝刊登批评中国政府的文章。

Journalists in the Canadian Chinese community are under increasing pressure to promote the interest of the Chinese government, and the defiant few who dare to refuse would face economic mistreatment and abuse. In 2015, a Toronto Chinese language newspaper reportedly fired its chief editor for running articles offending Beijing, under the pressure of Chinese consulate. Publications that bend to China’s financial threat rejected columns critical of China.

在这场向自由言论发起的全球战争中，每当一名记者被谋杀，遭监禁或封嘴，全球便会进一步远离民主而向独裁体系迈进。但独立媒体却面临一个更为黑暗的现实，那就是在物欲日益增长的今天，民主早已被抛到九霄云外了！

In this global war against press freedom, every time a journalist is murdered, jailed or gaged, a piece of democracy dies, and the world moves one more step towards autocrats. However, free press faces its an even more dark reality today as growing materialism throws democracy out the window.