中國紀錄片講述“殭屍國企”重生記
A film about the near-death experience of a state-owned enterprise in China is being screened in the latest attempt by regulators to build public support for a new round of painful restructuring.
一部講述一家中國國有企業“浴火重生”的電影正在上映，這是監管機構爲新一輪艱難國企改革爭取公衆支持的最新嘗試。Despite the popularity of films about the undead in China this production about a corporate ‘zombie’ is no blockbuster. Instead, a retired civil servant is proMoting A Harsh Transition, a sober documentary that makes the case that bankruptcy may not be so bad after all.
儘管殭屍題材電影在中國很受歡迎，但這部關於“殭屍企業”的電影絕對稱不上大片。一位退休公務員正在爲這部名爲《絕境求生》(A Harsh Transition)的嚴肅紀錄片進行宣傳，該片要告訴人們的是，破產可能並不那麼糟。“After bankruptcy a company can live again, like a phoenix,” Zhou Fangsheng, the documentary maker, declared to journalists after a screening this week in Beijing. “Look at Donald Trump. He’s said himself he’s declared bankruptcy four times and look at him now. Isn’t he doing well? He’s the US president!”
“一家企業破產後可以像鳳凰一樣涅槃重生，”紀錄片製作人周放生本週在北京一次放映後對記者們宣稱，“看看唐納德?特朗普(Donald Trump)。他說自己已經四次宣佈破產，再看看現在的他。他現在不是很好嗎？他當上了美國總統！”
It is a case that the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Mr Zhou’s former employer, is struggling to make. China’s economy is encumbered by thousands of indebted so-called zombie companies that are kept on life support by local governments fearful of job losses and bad debt.
破產沒那麼糟，這一點正是周放生此前供職的中國國務院國有資產監督管理委員會（SASAC，簡稱：國資委）正極力要向人們表明的。中國經濟受到了成千上萬負債累累所謂“殭屍企業”的拖累，這些企業靠着擔心失業和壞賬的地方政府苟延殘喘。In spite of brave talk of state-owned enterprise reform, state-engineered rescues are still the norm. Rising debt levels have evoked comparisons to the late 1990s, when China restructured the state-owned sector and recapitalised its banks. Tens of millions of people were thrown out of work when the “iron rice bowl” of job security was shattered.
雖然國企改革的口號喊得很響，但政府牽頭進行救助仍是常態。不斷攀升的債務水平讓人聯想起上世紀90年代末的情形，當時中國重組了國有部門，並對銀行進行資本重組。數千萬人被迫下崗，所謂的“鐵飯碗”被打破。Enter Mr Zhou and his film, which is being screened to about 10,000 people, mainly SOE workers, government officials, journalists and students. “A lot of people have lived through this experience, so they feel very moved,” Mr Zhou said.
周放生這部紀錄片已有約上萬人看過，主要是國企職工、政府官員、記者和學生。“很多人都有切身經歷，所以他們感觸非常深，”周放生說。The film documents the travails of CNNC Hua Yuan Titanium Dioxide, a formerly secret nuclear plant in the desert of northern Gansu province. By 2009 the factory had switched to producing titanium dioxide but could not compete against dozens of private groups. Morale was low, plant equipment was scavenged and unpaid workers had rioted.
這部影片記錄了中核華原鈦白股份有限公司（CNNC Hua Yuan Titanium Dioxide，簡稱：中核鈦白）破產重組過程中經歷的種種陣痛，該企業的前身爲一家位於中國西北甘肅省沙漠地區的祕密核工廠。到2009年，該廠轉型生產鈦白粉，但難以與數十家民營企業在市場上競爭。職工士氣低落，工廠設備被盜賣，拿不到工資的工人不斷鬧事。Sasac chose the company as a pilot for bankruptcy reform, after two failed attempts to get private businesses to buy in. On their third try, regulators persuaded Li Jianfeng, a private entrepreneur, to revive the business and recruited Mr Zhou to document the process, warts and all. In the end, it was a success, the film concludes, but it was not easy — the plant’s management mistrusted Mr Li, local officials tried to sabotage his efforts and he suffered a physical collapse during one particularly intense confrontation.
在兩次嘗試由民營企業收購中核鈦白都失敗後，國資委選擇將該公司作爲破產改革試點。在這第三次嘗試中，監管機構說服了民營企業家李劍鋒來重振中核鈦白，並聘請周放生實事求是地記錄這一過程。在影片結尾，破產改革最終取得了成功，但這一過程並不容易——工廠的管理層不信任李劍鋒，當地官員處心積慮破壞他的努力，在一次特別激烈的對峙中，李劍鋒病倒了。
Nonetheless, it could have been worse for Mr Li. Around the same period the representative of the private steel conglomerate that was attempting to restructure Tonghua Steel in northeastern China was beaten to death by a crowd of upset workers.
儘管如此，李劍鋒遭遇的情況還不算最糟。差不多同一時期，在中國東北，試圖重組通化鋼鐵(Tonghua Steel)的一家民營鋼鐵集團的代表被一羣憤怒的工人圍毆致死。The reception to his film has been positive, Mr Zhou says. But it has also created an unexpected stumbling block to the cause of bankruptcy reform in some quarters: “Some private entrepreneurs see this and think, ‘Wow, it’s going to be that difficult?’ So they back out.”
周放生說，影片受到了肯定。但它也給某些領域的破產改革事業製造了意想不到的絆腳石：“一些民營企業家看了會想，‘哇，竟然會這麼難？’然後就心生退意。”
