经济学人读译Slamming_on_the_brakes.doc

2013.01.12 Slamming on the brakes 交通灯新政猛踩刹车 The politics of traffic lights交通灯新政Slamming on the brakes猛踩刹车Drivers push back against a government directive司机们逼退政府指令Jan 12th 2013 | BEIJING | from the print edition Stop. Nogo!停车？别过！MANY fascinating and oft-repeated “facts” about China and its history are apocryphal. The Great Wall is not visible with the naked eye from space. Zhou Enlai did not tell Henry Kissinger, nearly two centuries after the French Revolution, that it was still “too soon to say” what it really meant. But another talethat during the Cultural Revolution, Red Guards sought to switch the meaning of traffic lights so that green meant stop and red meant gois true.许多人们经常提到的关于中国及其历史的传奇“故事”都是杜撰的。长城在太空中用肉眼是看不到的。法国大革命过去近两个世纪之后，周恩来并没有跟亨利基辛格说过，对其意义下定论仍“为时尚早”【注1】。但有个故事是真实的：在文革期间，红卫兵要求修改交通灯颜色的定义，改为“红灯行、绿灯停”。This year, Chinese politics and the colour of traffic lights have intersected once again. On January 1st the authorities required drivers to stop at yellow lights, regardless of speed or proximity to the crossing. Drivers running yellow lights were to be punished just like those running red ones. The penalty for both offences was doubled from three points to six; drivers accumulating 12 points in a year forfeit their licences until they complete a week-long course and pass an onerous exam.今年，中国政治再次遭遇交通灯颜色。 1月1日，政府要求司机遇黄灯停车，无论当时速度多快或离路口有多近。闯黄灯和闯红灯将受到同样的处罚，而且都加重了一倍，从原来的扣3分改为扣6分。一年内累计满12分，司机驾照将被扣留，直到他们完成为期一周的学习并通过一项艰难的考试。【注2】The yellow-light provision was one of many tough changes in national traffic regulations. Others included prohibitions on drivers using mobile phones or smoking. But it was the yellow-light rule that caused the biggest uproar. Online comments recounted tales of screeching brakes and rear-end collisions. Others berated officials for ignoring Newtonian physics, and making Chinas roads even more dangerous (no mean feat, considering the 62,000 road deaths recorded in China in 2011).全国交通规则中许多规定都变严厉了，黄灯只是其中之一，其它还包括禁止司机使用手机或吸烟等，但黄灯规则引起了最大的争议。网上的评论中描绘了刺耳的刹车声和追尾事故，还有的怒斥官员无视牛顿定律，把中国的道路变得更加危险（考虑到2011年中国交通事故死亡人数高达62000，这可不容易）。The official response to the uproar was prompt and surprisingly conciliatory. On January 6th the public-security ministry shifted into reverse, announcing that in the light of public opinion, it was suspending enforcement of the yellow-light rule while it re-examined the idea. For now, violators will be “educated” rather than punished. The announcement even thanked the “broad masses” for speaking up.官方及时地回应了争议，并令人惊讶地进行了安抚。1月6日公安部改弦易辙，宣布根据公众意见，暂停黄灯规则的执行并重新进行审议。现在，违反者将被“教育”，而不是惩罚。公告甚至感谢“广大人民群众”发表意见。On non-political issues, the urban populace is ever less shy about challenging officialdom. But it is still rare for Chinese officials, especially the police, to yield to public opinion. Whether the episode heralds more significant shifts in the relationship between Chinas rulers and ruled, it may be too soon to say.在非政治问题上，城市民众比以往更敢于向官方挑战。但中国官方，特别是警察，向公众舆论让步的情况仍属罕见。这一幕是否预示着中国统治者与被统治者之间的关系将发生更显著的变化呢？对这个问题下结论仍“为时尚早”。【注1】 外国政界和知识界人士在写文章、做演讲的时候很喜欢引用来自中国的名言警句，以显示自己的文化素养和幽默风趣。比如孔子的“既来之则安之”、毛泽东的“纸老虎”、邓小平的“白猫黑猫”都是外国人常常挂在嘴边、中国人也耳熟能详的名句。可是，周恩来的这句“下结论为时尚早”在国外流传甚广，在国内却鲜为人知。有关这句话的典故有几种不同的说法，但是流传最广的版本是1972年美国国务卿基辛格访华期间，询问周恩来总理对发生在300年前的法国大革命的历史作用的看法。据说周恩来总理沉吟了一下，然后回答说：“下结论为时尚早”。不论这段“轶事”的真伪如何，但是却成为了西方人在审视历史、解读现实时最常引用的一句“周恩来语录”。/zh_cn/history/all/11025807/20090212/15321251.html【注2】 机动车驾驶证申领和使用规定（公安部令第123号） 第五十八条 机动车驾驶人在一个记分周期内累积记分达到12分的，公安机关交通管理部门应当扣留其机动车驾驶证。机动车驾驶人应当在十五日内到机动车驾驶证核发地或者违法行为地公安机关交通管理部门参加为期七日的道路交通安全法律、法规和相关知识学习。机动车驾