China’s leading microblog is developing systems to simplify the control of content and make the wildly popular social media tool less of a risk to social stability, its chief executive has said.

　　中國(guó)領(lǐng)先微博服務(wù)商的首席執(zhí)行官透露，公司正在開發(fā)相關(guān)系統(tǒng)，以簡(jiǎn)化內(nèi)容管控，降低這個(gè)極具人氣的社交媒體工具對(duì)社會(huì)穩(wěn)定構(gòu)成的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。

　　“Over the past two to three months, we have been looking into how to establish a trust system,” said Charles Chao, chief executive of Sina Corp which runs Sina Weibo, the country’s most active microblog. He cited the way vendors on e-commerce websites get rated by their customers as a potential model.

　　新浪(Sina)首席執(zhí)行官曹國(guó)偉(Charles Chao)表示：“新浪在過(guò)去的幾個(gè)月里，也在著力地研究，想形成一套在微博體系上的信用體系。”新浪微博是中國(guó)最活躍的微博。曹國(guó)偉提到，可能會(huì)借鑒電子商務(wù)網(wǎng)站由買家給賣家評(píng)分的做法。

　　Mr Chao’s unusually forthright remarks confirm that tighter regulation is on the cards for China’s microblogs following a series of incidents where the outlets became forums for fierce criticism of the government.

　　曹國(guó)偉異乎尋常的率直言論證實(shí)了一點(diǎn)：在連續(xù)發(fā)生數(shù)起事件使微博成為民眾激烈批評(píng)政府的平臺(tái)后，中國(guó)的微博可能面臨更加嚴(yán)格的監(jiān)管。

　　After a high-speed rail crash which killed 40 people in July, live witness reports and comments from the crash site via Weibo repeatedly forced the authorities to adjust their handling of the accident, including the rescue effort and compensation of victims’ families.

　　7月份發(fā)生一起導(dǎo)致40人死亡的動(dòng)車事故后，新浪微博(Weibo)上發(fā)自撞車現(xiàn)場(chǎng)的目擊報(bào)道和評(píng)論多次迫使當(dāng)局調(diào)整其事故處理方式，包括救援措施和對(duì)遇難者家庭的補(bǔ)償。

　　Last month, Weibo was used to organise a large-scale demonstration in the northeastern city of Dalian against a toxic petrochemical plant, which subsequently forced the authorities to promise a relocation of the factory.

　　上月，大連市民通過(guò)新浪微博組織了一次大規(guī)模示威活動(dòng)，抗議一座有毒的化工廠，最終迫使當(dāng)局承諾遷移該工廠。

　　Earlier this month, the 15-year-old son of an army general attacked a couple after a traffic dispute, and threatened bystanders not to call the police. Spread nationwide via Weibo, news of the incident triggered outrage over the arrogance of the country’s wealthy and powerful, and the young man was swiftly arrested, tried and sentenced last week to a year in a juvenile correctional facility.

　　本月早些時(shí)候，一位少將的15歲兒子因交通糾紛毆打一對(duì)夫婦，并警告旁觀者不許報(bào)警。該消息通過(guò)新浪微博傳遍全國(guó)，激起民眾對(duì)權(quán)貴之驕狂的憤慨。這位年輕人旋即被逮捕歸案，并于上周被判處收容教養(yǎng)1年。

　　Such incidents have fuelled debate within the authorities over how to regulate the microblogs, with one camp demonising them as a forum for evil rumours and another stressing their beneficial functions in promoting transparency.

　　這些事件在當(dāng)局內(nèi)部引發(fā)了關(guān)于如何管理微博的爭(zhēng)論，一個(gè)陣營(yíng)把微博妖魔化，斥之為滋生惡意謠言的平臺(tái)，另一陣營(yíng)則強(qiáng)調(diào)微博在提高透明度方面的有益作用。

　　Zhan Jiang, a journalism professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said efforts by Wen Jiabao, China’s premier, to push transparency and information disclosure within the government had produced a certain momentum that could not easily be undone by more conservative forces, such as the Communist party propaganda apparatus.

　　北京外國(guó)語(yǔ)大學(xué)新聞學(xué)教授展江表示，溫家寶總理在政府內(nèi)部推動(dòng)信息公開、透明的努力已經(jīng)形成了一定勢(shì)頭，不會(huì)輕易被中共宣傳部門等保守勢(shì)力瓦解。

　　Still, Mr Chao said the microblogs posed a “very serious challenge” for the government’s efforts to filter information and control society, and that many rumours spread through the services created “huge damage” to individuals and to the government.

　　不過(guò)曹國(guó)偉也表示，微博對(duì)政府過(guò)濾信息和控制社會(huì)的努力構(gòu)成了“非常大的挑戰(zhàn)”，很多通過(guò)微博散播的謠言對(duì)個(gè)人、對(duì)政府都造成了“巨大的傷害和損失”。

　　“We will hand out different degrees of punishment to those who spread malicious rumours,” Mr Chao said, adding that the more prominent and widely respected microbloggers could act as a moderating force within the blogosphere, if complemented by a more reliable regulatory regime.

　　“對(duì)惡意的造謠者我們會(huì)有不同的懲罰措施。”曹國(guó)偉還補(bǔ)充道，知名、廣受尊敬的微博主可以作為微博圈內(nèi)的一支自我調(diào)解力量，同時(shí)還應(yīng)實(shí)施一套更加可靠的監(jiān)管機(jī)制。

　　Analysts see Sina’s moves as the clearest sign yet that pressure on the operators is rising. But most play down fears of a shutdown of the microblogs, and two years after the start of Sina’s microblog, the regulatory regime for this segment is maturing.

　　分析師認(rèn)為，新浪這些舉措是迄今最清晰的信號(hào)，表明微博運(yùn)營(yíng)商面臨的壓力正在上升。不過(guò)大多數(shù)人都認(rèn)為微博不會(huì)被關(guān)閉，而在新浪微博運(yùn)營(yíng)兩年后，相關(guān)監(jiān)管機(jī)制也日趨成熟。

　　“I think it’s impossible that [the authorities will] shut down the microblogs,” said Mr Zhan.

　　展江表示：“我不認(rèn)為（當(dāng)局）會(huì)關(guān)閉微博。”

　　Most industry experts agree that there is a broad consensus within the authorities that the net effect of allowing the internet to grow is positive to the regime and to the country.

　　大多數(shù)行業(yè)分析師都一致認(rèn)為，當(dāng)局內(nèi)部存在一種廣泛的共識(shí)，認(rèn)為允許互聯(lián)網(wǎng)發(fā)展對(duì)體制和國(guó)家具有正面的凈效應(yīng)。

　　“We have found a Chinese way of having news portals and blogs, and we will find a Chinese way of having microblogs,” said a Communist party propaganda official.

　　一位宣傳官員表示：“我們已經(jīng)找到一種有中國(guó)特色的新聞門戶網(wǎng)站和博客運(yùn)營(yíng)方式，對(duì)于微博，我們也會(huì)找到一種有中國(guó)特色的解決之路。”

　　Part of this solution with Chinese characteristics is that Twitter is blocked in China and those microblogs that are allowed are operated by companies that have long proved their willingness to help the authorities filter content and tame users.

　　這套具有中國(guó)特色的解決方案的內(nèi)容之一就是，推特(Twitter)在中國(guó)遭到封鎖，而獲準(zhǔn)開通的微博都隸屬長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)已證明愿意協(xié)助當(dāng)局過(guò)濾內(nèi)容和管控用戶的運(yùn)營(yíng)商。

　　Since central, provincial and local authorities share responsibility for internet monitoring with the private companies that host content, microblog censorship has been as inconsistent as that of other parts of the internet.

　　由于中央、省和地方各級(jí)政府與提供內(nèi)容的民企共同承擔(dān)互聯(lián)網(wǎng)監(jiān)控責(zé)任，微博審查與針對(duì)互聯(lián)網(wǎng)其它領(lǐng)域的審查一樣時(shí)緊時(shí)松。

　　But overall, controls are tightening, says Cheng Yizhong, founder and former editor-in-chief of Southern Metropolis Daily and one of China’s most respected journalists. In a famous microblog post earlier this year he ridiculed social inequality and curbs on freedom of speech.

　　不過(guò)，《南方都市報(bào)》創(chuàng)始人及前總編、中國(guó)最受尊敬的新聞工作者之一程益中表示，總體而言，對(duì)微博的控制正在加強(qiáng)。在今年早些時(shí)候發(fā)布的一條著名微博中，程益中對(duì)社會(huì)不平等和限制言論自由的現(xiàn)象進(jìn)行了嘲諷。

　　Apart from regularly having his posts erased, he recently found that his posts were delayed, remained hidden from other Weibo users unless searched explicitly, and that some other Weibo users were stopped from following him.

　　除了發(fā)布的微博會(huì)定期被刪除以外，程益中最近發(fā)現(xiàn)，他的微博會(huì)被延遲發(fā)布，而其他微博用戶除非進(jìn)行明確搜索，否則看不到他的微博，有些用戶對(duì)他的關(guān)注甚至被無(wú)故取消。