2015-10-07
福斯汽車執行長文德恩因空汙檢驗作假宣布辭職。 圖／美聯社
A Car Scandal Shoves Berlin Off High Ground
As Germany has emerged as the dominant actor in Europe, it has lectured Greece and other debtor nations on the virtues of thrift and lately wagged its finger at countries that balk at receiving a share of refugees from the killing fields of Syria. Its right to lead, based on a narrative of self-sacrifice and obedience to rules, was generally acknowledged.
That is one reason the Volkswagen scandal has shaken the country's very core. More than just a tale of corporate misdeeds, the disclosure of systematic cheating by one of Germany's most iconic companies has delivered a sharp blow to its conception of itself as an orderly nation and tarnished its claim to moral leadership of the Continent.
德國在歐洲已經成為主導角色，曾以節儉美德教訓希臘及其他負債國家，最近並對迴避收留一定比例來自敘利亞殺戮戰場難民的國家大搖手指。德國建立在自我犧牲與服從規則的論述上的領導權，普為世人所公認。
這是福斯醜聞撼動這個國家核心的一個原因。德國極具指標性的一家公司有系統的造假遭到揭發，這不只是個企業行為不當的故事，它對德國自認是個有秩序國家的概念更是一記重擊，也讓德國以歐陸道德領袖自居的說法蒙塵。
It was perhaps inevitable that Volkswagen's chief executive, Martin Winterkorn, would quickly step aside on Wednesday after disclosures that the company deceived regulators over emissions from its diesel cars. But the effects on Germany are likely to play out for some time, even as it copes with a huge influx of migrants attracted by its reputation as Europ's beacon of opportunity and as it continues to find its footing as an often-ambivalent global power.
Further, the timing puts Germany in an awkward spot ahead of the global climate conference in Paris in December, where it had hoped to hold out its transformation as an industrial power reliant on a lower-carbon energy system as a model to the world.
福斯汽車在柴油車廢氣排放檢驗上欺騙主管單位被揭露後，執行長馬丁．文德恩周三（九月廿三日） 迅速請辭，或許是不可避免的。但此事對德國的影響可能還會持續相當時日，而此際德國正在處理受其歐洲機會燈塔美譽吸引而大量湧入的難民，並持續探求作為一個經常舉棋不定的全球強權的立足點。
況且，全球氣候會議將於12月在巴黎召開，此事發生的時間點也讓德國處境尷尬，德國原本盼望在會議上推介自己成為依賴低碳能源系統的工業強權的轉變，作為世人的一個典範。
In the immediate aftermath, Germany's leaders scrambled to distance themselves from the scandal and to mitigate the damage to the auto industry, which accounts for one in seven German jobs.
“The damage that a few people have caused for the firm and its workers is huge,” said Sigmar Gabriel, Germany's vice chancellor and economy minister,as he toured the annual auto show in Frankfurt on Wednesday. But, “we must take care that doesn't unleash a whole debate about the auto industry in Germany or the German economy,” he continued.
德國領袖的立即反應是，爭相和醜聞保持距離，並設法減輕此事對汽車業的傷害。德國汽車業提供了七分之一的工作機會。
德國副總理兼經濟部長希格瑪．嘉布瑞爾周三參觀法蘭克福年度車展時說：「少數幾個人對於公司和公司員工造成的傷害相當巨大。」他接著說：「我們必須注意的是，不能讓德國汽車工業或德國經濟備受議論。」
In fact, it may be too late for that. Germany is very closely aligned with its auto industry. Indeed, the state of Lower Saxony, where Volkswagen is headquartered in Wolfsburg, owns about 20 percent of the company. Any governor of that state is deeply involved in the company's affairs.
“The saying is, when Wolfsburg has a sniffle, the whole state gets sick,”said Rebecca Harms, a prominent deputy for the Greens in the European Parliament, who grew up in Lower Saxony. Now “its reputation is really damaged. This is a catastrophe, not just for Lower Saxony but for a global enterprise” with 600,000 employees, she said.
事實上，可能已經太遲了。德國與其汽車工業連結非常緊密。其實，下薩克森邦政府握有福斯20%的股權，福斯將總部設於此邦的沃夫斯堡市。該邦歷任邦長都深度介入該公司事務。
歐洲議會中代表綠黨的知名議員蕾貝卡．哈姆斯在下薩克森長大，她表示：「有這麼個說法，沃夫斯堡打噴嚏，整個邦就感冒。」她說，現在「它的名譽確實受損了，這是場災難，不只是對下薩克森，對這家有60萬員工的全球企業也是如此。」
So far, there is no evidence the government knew about the deception, though it was aware there could be deviations between emissions on the road and in the laboratory. But the matter is not just about jobs, market share or corporate and bureaucratic reputations.
The scandal captures Germany at a moment when it has been trying to hold onto values it always saw as defining, but that have become increasingly difficult to maintain as it becomes drawn into the messy problems of Europe and the world.
目前為止，並無證據顯示政府對欺騙一事知情，雖然它察覺道路排放和實驗室結果可能有落差。但問題不只關乎就業機會、市占率或企業和政府機構的聲譽而已。
這起醜聞纏繞德國之際，德國正在繼續努力堅守它一向認為至為重要的一些價值，卻由於被扯進歐洲和世界的麻煩問題，而使得維護這些價值日益困難。
Perhaps even more harmful in the long run, the Volkswagen scandal also comes at a time when Germany is trying to set an example for the rest of the world on lowering carbon emissions. Its ambitious policy of shifting away from carbon-based fuels to alternative energy like wind and solar has driven up costs for German business and consumers. Yet Germany has stayed its course.
As the immediate shock has subsided, Germans have sought a way to explain the Volkswagen chapter.
“The biggest problem of VW is that this giant concern has become ungovernable,” Sueddeutsche Zeitung, the German newspaper, wrote Wednesday.“VW is led centrally from Wolfsburg. Just a few people have a say -- everyone else just receives orders. Doubts or, even, resistance, are unwanted.”
長期而言也許傷害更大。在德國試圖為世界其他地方樹立降低碳排放的範例之際，冒出了福斯醜聞。德國從碳基燃料轉向風力和太陽能等替代能源，充滿雄心的政策已讓德國企業和消費者負擔加重。然而德國仍不改其志。
事發當時引起的震驚已逐漸平息，德國人想要找到解釋福斯事件的說法。
南德日報周三報導：「福斯最大的問題在於，這個巨大公司已變得難以節制。福斯受沃夫斯堡中央領導，只有少數人可以說話－－其他人只能接受命令。懷疑甚或抵抗，是不受歡迎的。」
（Alison Smale, 紐約時報 莊蕙嘉譯）
說文解字看新聞
《孫子兵法．行軍》：「凡軍好高而惡下……」是說大凡駐軍喜好高處而厭惡低處，這裡的「高」意指高處、高地，英文通譯為：All armies prefer high ground to low.其實High ground最初為軍事用語，例：taking the high ground；引申為占上風或優勢，特別指道德方面。天主教教宗方濟各談論社會正義、氣候變遷等議題時每每引起廣大回響，與他擁有the moral high ground有關。
標題說德國被福斯汽車造假的醜聞趕下神壇（shoves Berlin off high ground）。導言第一句裡的幾個單字塑造德國在道德層面的領導地位（moral leadership），由抽象到具象，安排十分巧妙。
作者先用dominant（主導的，居高臨下的）描述德國在歐洲的龍頭地位。接著用lectured（訓斥）形容德國對希臘和其他負債國的態度，也是上對下。再以wagged its finger表達對部分歐盟國家拒收難民的非難。已故功夫巨星李小龍在《猛龍過江》中對義大利黑幫老大比過這個手勢，警告他別再動併吞中餐廳的歪腦筋。（結果警告無效，但也正因如此，才有李小龍與世界空手道冠軍羅禮士在古羅馬競技場的經典對決。）
狄更斯在小說《Little Dorrit》（小杜麗）中調侃自視甚高的家庭教師General太太時寫道：Mrs General, who had always occupied high ground, felt in a condition to keep it, and began by putting herself up at a very high figure.
High ground前面可搭配 has / take / grab / gain / hold / seek / seize / claim / assert / capture / occupy / contest / 或 lose / damage 等動詞。後面接議題時介系詞用on，接對手時用over或against。
慣用霸氣十足的Volkswagen, Das Auto當廣告結尾的福斯汽車爆出醜聞，紐時說是more than just a tale of corporate misdeeds，而是損害德國整體形象。這種「由小見大」的寫作方式，讓報導更有廣度。
（張佑生）
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