Note 7餘波不斷 三星被指區別對待中國消費者

TIANJIN, China — Zhang Sitong was saving a friend’s phone number on his Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone when it started to vibrate and smoke.

中國天津——張思童正要把朋友的電話號碼存到自己的三星Galaxy Note 7智能手機上去，突然手機開始震動，後冒煙。

He threw it on the ground and told his friend to start filming.

他把手機扔到地上，並讓朋友進行拍攝。

Two employees from Samsung Electronics showed up at his house later that day, he said, offering a new Note 7 and about $900 in compensation on the condition that he keep the video private.

張思童說，三星電子的兩名員工在當天晚些時候出現在他的住所，要給他一部新的Note 7手機，以及約合6000元人民幣（約900美元）的賠償，條件是他不公開視頻。

Mr Zhang angrily refused.

張思童憤怒地拒絕了。

Only weeks before, even as Samsung recalled more than two million Note 7s in the United States and elsewhere, the company had reassured him and other Chinese customers that the phone was safe.

就在幾周前，雖然三星已在美國和其他地方宣佈召回逾200萬部Note 7手機，公司卻仍在向張思童和其他中國客戶保證，國行版的手機是安全的。

They said there was no problem with the phones in China.

他們說，中國出售的手機沒有問題。

That’s why I bought a Samsung, said Mr Zhang, a 23-year-old former firefighter.

這是我爲什麼買了三星的原因，23歲的張思童說，他曾經當過消防兵。

This is an issue of deception.

這是一個欺騙的問題。

They are cheating Chinese consumers.

他們在欺騙中國消費者。

Samsung, already reeling from its embarrassing and expensive decision last week to kill the Note 7, has a particularly vexing problem in China.

三星上週做出了令其尷尬且損失重大的決定，停止生產Note 7，這已經讓公司受到重挫，而公司在中國則面臨着尤其令人煩惱的問題。

On Tuesday, China’s powerful state-run broadcaster, China Central Television, or CCTV, criticized the way Samsung tested its phones and asked whether its claims that the phones were safe and reliable were fabricated falsehoods.

週二，中國強大的官方媒體中央電視臺批評了三星檢測手機的方法，並責問公司，聲稱手機安全可靠是不是虛假捏造。

If Samsung continues to violate the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese consumers and continues to refuse to make public the samples used in its testing process as well as the process itself, who would be able to help Chinese consumers find the truth? the CCTV report said.

央視報道問道，如果三星繼續侵害中國消費者的合法權益，繼續拒絕向中國消費者公開其檢測過程和樣品，誰又能幫助中國消費者找到真相呢？

The South Korean company is paying a price for treating China differently.

這家韓國公司正在爲區別對待中國市場付出代價。

Samsung initially said the Chinese version of the Note 7 had a different battery and was safe.

三星最初曾說，國行版Note 7用不同的電池，是安全的。

But last week, after reports in China of phones catching fire, it finally recalled the Note 7 there before it scrapped the phone globally.

但上週，在中國出現了手機着火的報道之後，三星終於決定召回中國市場上的Note 7，並在那以後宣佈，在全球報廢這款手機。

The brand has been damaged already, said Di Jin, research manager in China for IDC, a technology research firm.

公司品牌已經受到損害，技術研究公司IDC的中國研究經理金迪說。

It will be really hard for Samsung to regain its market share in the near future.

三星將很難在不久的將來恢復其市場份額。

In a statement, Samsung said it would like to apologize for any misunderstandings this may have caused the Chinese consumers due to an unclear communication in the process.

三星在一份聲明中表示，由於我們沒有對產品安全性進行細緻的說明給大家帶來的不解，我們向廣大消費者表達真誠的歉意。

It said its quality control was the same in all countries.

聲明說，三星的質量控制在所有的國家都一樣。

To Samsung, China is one of the most important markets and a crucial destination for foreign investment, it said. Samsung never holds a double standard against them.

三星電子非常重視中國市場，從未且永遠不會對中國採用雙重標準，聲明說。

Samsung was once the top phone maker in China, which is now the world’s largest smartphone market.

三星一度是中國市場上最大的手機制造商，中國目前有世界上最大的智能手機市場。

It enjoyed a reputation for quality in a country weary of cheap products, as well as the benefit of a Korean name in a country that adores Korean pop music and culture.

在一個厭倦了廉價產品的國家，三星享有高質量的聲譽。韓國流行音樂和文化也在中國深受歡迎，讓這個韓國名字的公司受益。

But Samsung has become the latest global brand to get hit by rising Chinese rivals that compete on quality as well as price.

但是，三星已經成爲在中國市場受到挑戰的最新全球品牌，其中國對手在質量和價格上都有競爭力。

Samsung has lost market share in China to Huawei Technologies, Xiaomi, Oppo Electronics and other local companies making competitive gadgets with advanced features.

三星在中國的市場份額已受到華爲、小米，以及廣東歐珀移動通信有限公司(Oppo Electronics)等本地公司的侵蝕，這些公司都製造具有先進功能的競爭產品。

The South Korean company’s market share dropped to less than 7 percent in the second quarter of this year from nearly 19 percent in 2013, according to IDC.

據IDC統計，三星在中國的市場份額從2013年的近19％下降到今年第二季度的不到7％。

The treatment of Chinese consumers by foreign firms is an issue that resonates in a country where nationalistic sentiment runs deep.

中國人的民族主義情緒很高，外國公司對待中國消費者的問題在這裏能產生深厚的共鳴。

The state news media has vilified foreign brands such as McDonald’s, KFC, Apple and Starbucks for what they perceive as unequal treatment of Chinese customers.

官方新聞媒體曾斥責過諸如麥當勞、肯德基、蘋果和星巴克等外國公司，認爲它們對中國客戶有不平等的待遇。

Foreign companies who appear to employ any less favorable policy for the China market can quickly find themselves waist-deep in a P.R. quagmire, said Mark Natkin, the managing director of Marbridge Consulting, an advisory firm based in Beijing.

看似對中國市場採取了任何不太優惠政策的外國公司，都很快會陷入一種公關困境，總部設在北京的邁博瑞諮詢有限公司(Marbridge Consulting)的執行董事馬克•納特金(Mark Natkin)說。

Those who have navigated the Chinese market most successfully are the companies that have understood they can’t win every battle, he said, and that sometimes, to maintain a happy relationship, it’s better just to say: ‘I’m sorry.

處理中國市場問題最成功的公司，是那些明白它們不可能贏得每場戰鬥的公司，他說。有時，爲了維持一種愉快的關係，最好只是說‘對不起。

I love you.

我愛你。

The official news media in China has become increasingly critical of both foreign and domestic companies as China’s consumer culture has grown.

隨着中國消費文化的發展，中國的官方新聞媒體對國內外的公司也有越來越多的批評。

The push culminates each year in March, when CCTV takes on companies for their practices as part of Consumer Rights Day in a prime-time special complete with song-and-dance routines.

批評聲在每年3月達到高潮，在每個消費者權益日，中央電視臺都會在黃金時段播放批評公司做法的特別報道，還伴有歌曲和舞蹈。

Foreign brands have a mixed track record dealing with attacks from the official Chinese news media.

外國品牌在應對來自中國官方新聞媒體的攻擊上做法各異。

Apple apologized after CCTV criticized its warranty policies but went on to enjoy strong sales in the following years.

蘋果在央視批評其中國保修政策之後馬上道歉，從而在接下來的幾年裏繼續在中國市場享有強勁的銷售。

Starbucks continues to move lattes there at a brisk pace despite CCTV’s criticism of its pricing three years ago.

星巴克的拿鐵生意在中國依然紅火，儘管央視三年前曾批評其咖啡售價過高。

But KFC’s parent, Yum Brands, took a hit after CCTV scrutinized its suppliers.

央視對肯德基的母公司百勝(Yum Brands)的供應商做了調查報道後，百勝的中國業務受到了打擊。

Mr Zhang, a salesman in the city of Fushun, in northeastern China, was a Samsung loyalist.

張思童是中國東北地區撫順市的一名推銷員，他曾是三星的忠實用戶。

He has owned four smartphones made by the company, in part because of the pen-type stylus that comes with its Note models.

他擁有四款三星生產的智能手機，部分原因是他喜歡三星Note手機的手寫筆。

After he rejected the offer from Samsung, Mr Zhang quit his job and hit the road.

張思童拒絕了三星的賠償之後，辭去了工作，走上了尋找真相的道路。

He joined up with Hui Renjie, another man who said his Note 7 had also blown up, to visit laboratories to figure out the problem with their phones.

他與一位回先生一起，爲了弄清他們手機的問題，去了幾家檢測機構，回先生說自己的Note 7也爆炸了。

The trip and the testing were paid for by CCTV, which featured the two in Tuesday’s report.

他們的旅行和檢測費是央視支付的，央視週二的報道主要是關於他們的。

In the report, CCTV said an independent lab could not determine the cause of the fire that consumed Mr Zhang’s phone.

央視在報道中說，獨立實驗室無法推定張思童手機的起火原因，因爲手機毀壞嚴重。

It said an external heat source was not responsible for the fire that destroyed Mr Hui’s phone.

報道還說，外部熱源不是回先生手機着火的原因。

Mr Hui said Samsung had declined his repeated requests to conduct an investigation into the cause of his phone catching on fire in his presence and had ignored his calls.

回先生說，三星多次拒絕當着他的面檢測手機着火原因的要求，也不回他打過去的電話。

According to Mr Hui, a representative from the e-commerce site , where he had bought his phone, told him that Samsung had offered to compensate him for his burned phone and laptop, which he had ruined after throwing his phone on it.

回先生說，他的手機是從電子商務網站京東買來的，京東的一名代表告訴他，三星已表示要賠償他燒壞的手機和筆記本電腦，電腦受損是因爲手機掉落其上。

Mr Hui, in response, said, I told JD to pass this message to Samsung: ‘Go to hell.’

對此，回先生說：我讓京東轉告三星：‘見鬼去吧。

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