中國對外國技術的疑心病

BEIJING — Since China opened to the West three-and-a-half decades ago, foreigners, foreign companies, and foreign technology have oftentimes been suspect in the eyes of some government factions. Chinese reformers have had an uphill battle in overcoming these deeply rooted cultural fears.

北京——自從30多年前中國向西方開放以來，外國人、外國公司和外國技術常常受到一些政府派系的猜疑。爲了戰勝這些根深蒂固的文化恐懼，中國的改革派付出了艱辛的努力。

The authorities’ paranoia is at the heart of the 1985 Chinese film “The Black Cannon Incident.” In the picture, the lead character, Zhao Shuxin, is a capable and competent German-speaking engineer in a state-owned mining company that seeks to obtain West German technology. Mr. Zhao is an avid player of Chinese chess and when he finds one of his chess pieces missing — the black cannon — he sends a telegram to a hotel that he previously stayed at requesting the hotel’s help in finding it: “Missing black cannon. 301. Search for Zhao.”

官方的這種過度猜疑正是1985年的中國電影《黑炮事件》所反映的主題。影片的主角趙書信是一家國有礦業公司的工程師，會說德語，工作能力出色，他所在的這家公司希望得到西德的技術。趙書信十分喜歡中國象棋，有一天，他發現少了一顆棋子——黑炮——於是就給之前待過的旅館發了一封電報，要求幫忙尋找，電報的內容是：“丟失黑炮301找趙”。

The ambiguously worded telegram arouses the interest of security authorities and the police detain Mr. Zhao, believing he is spying for foreigners and involved in an illicit arms deal. The chess piece is finally found and Mr. Zhao is cleared, but the factory Communist Party chief chastises him for sending the telegram anyway.

這封措詞模糊的電報引起了安全機關的注意，警方把趙書信抓了起來，認爲他替外國人從事間諜工作，參與非法武器交易。這枚棋子最終被找到，趙書信也洗脫了罪名，但工廠的黨委書記還是批評他發了這封電報。

“The Black Cannon Incident” reflects how innocuous communications can be misinterpreted as something sinister and as a threat to national security — and it’s also a not-so-subtle attack on the overreaching and paranoia of the authorities. The reformers in the government in 1985 allowed this political satire to be shown in limited release to send the nation a message that people should be more trusting of foreigners to encourage foreign direct investment and the introduction of new technology.

《黑炮事件》反映出，無關緊要的溝通也可能被解讀成帶有惡意的內容，並被視作國家安全威脅。這部電影也以不那麼含蓄的口吻，批評了當局的過度監管和無端猜疑。1985年，政府中的改革派允許這種政治諷刺電影在有限的範圍內放映，從而向全國發出這樣的信息：爲了鼓勵外國直接投資和新技術的引進，人們應該更加信任外國人。

Fast forward to 2015 and there is a worrying trend involving a series of policy initiatives that could restrict the flow of foreign goods and services in the information communications technology sector.

然而時間到了2015年，一系列政策措施卻呈現出了一種令人擔憂的趨勢，因爲在信息通信技術領域，這些措施可能會限制外國商品和服務的流動。

Such restrictive policies could put the country and its companies at a significant disadvantage in the global marketplace. Indeed, one unfortunate consequence of overbroad antiterrorism and national security policies would be to isolate China technologically from the rest of the world, and the end result of that could be to limit the country’s access to cutting-edge technology and innovation.

這類限制性政策可能會導致中國和中國企業在全球市場處於十分不利的地位。實際上，過於寬泛的反恐和國家安全政策帶來的不利後果之一，就是在技術上把中國和世界其他地區隔離開，這種情況導致的最終結果可能就是限制了中國接觸尖端技術和創新的途徑。

For example, the proposed antiterrorism law — which is under consideration at the National People’s Congress currently meeting in Beijing — contains requirements for any information communications technology suppliers in the China market to provide in-country data storage and to alter or modify their products or services to assist in the “counterterrorism” work of the authorities. Under the law, telecom and Internet operators will be required to install intercept support and decryption capabilities in their systems prior to the use or sale in the Chinese market.

比如，目前在北京召開的全國人民代表大會，正在審議反恐法草案。該草案的相關條款要求，中國市場上的所有信息通信技術供應商，應在中國境內提供數據存儲，並對產品或服務進行變更和調整，以協助當局的“反恐”工作。根據這項法律，電信和互聯網運營商將被要求在各自的系統中設置監聽支持和解密功能，才能在中國市場上使用或銷售。

China also adopted new banking guidelines in December that outline security criteria for technology products to be considered “secure and controllable” for use in the financial sector. To attain such certification, source codes in operating systems and database software produced abroad or domestically must be registered with the government. The submission of source codes and other information creates significant intellectual property risks for information-tech companies. The China Banking Regulatory Commission provided notice to banks to submit compliance plans by March 15.

中國還在去年12月通過了新的銀行業指導意見，提出了用於金融行業的技術產品應被認爲“安全可控”的安全標準。爲了取得認證，國內外生產的操作系統和數據庫軟件的源代碼，都必須在政府註冊。提交源代碼和其他信息，給信息技術企業造成了重大的知識產權風險。中國銀行業監督管理委員會向各銀行發出了通知，要求在3月15日之前提交合規計劃。

Similarly, in recent months, as the government tries to get control over the dissemination of information, there has been an uptick in the blocking of foreign websites, a noticeable slowdown in Internet speed and a denial of virtual private network services. A recent business climate survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce China found that 83 percent of its member companies were negatively affected by Internet censorship by the Chinese government.

同樣，最近幾個月，隨着政府試圖控制信息傳播，封鎖外國網站的行動力度加大，網速明顯變慢，虛擬專用網絡(virtual private network)服務受到了屏蔽。中國美國商會(American Chamber of Commerce China)前不久開展的一項商務環境調查發現，83%的成員企業受到了中國政府審查互聯網的不利影響。

At a minimum, the proposed antiterrorism law and the banking rules will create additional intrusive regulatory challenges for information-tech providers and their customers. The unfortunate result of excessive control over email and Internet traffic is the slowing down of commerce.

反恐法草案和銀行業新規，至少會給信息技術供應商及其消費者，帶來更多侵擾性的監管挑戰。過度控制電子郵件和網絡流量的不幸後果就是，商業活動放緩。

Rather than creating restrictive security policies, the Chinese government should take a more rational approach to security issues and give equal attention to the healthy development and global integration of China’s information-tech sector. This is especially important as Beijing struggles to maintain economic growth levels and rebalance the economy.

中國政府不應該頒佈限制性的安全政策，而是應該採取更理性的方式應對安全問題，並對中國信息技術產業的健康發展，以及與全球的融合，給予同等的關注。隨着北京竭力維持經濟增長水平、實現經濟再平衡，這一點顯得尤爲重要。

Yet 30 years after the release of “The Black Cannon Incident” we are still living in a time in which trust appears to be in question, foreign technology is deemed to be suspect, and paranoia over security interests prevails.

然而，《黑炮事件》上映30年後，在我們生活的這個時代，信任仍然受到猜忌、外國技術仍然受到懷疑，對安全利益的偏執還是佔了上風。