Mchan的離別感言

Earlier this week, I left China after five years as an Al Jazeera English correspondent following the decision by the government to revoke my press credentials. At a subsequent Foreign Ministry press briefing, spokesman Hong Lei did not provide a public explanation, only saying that "foreign journalists should abide by Chinese laws and regulations」. But I have not broken any laws. And I believe I have tried to cover China as honestly and equitably as one can. As I say goodbye to China, I think back to some of the issues and people we've covered.

本周早期， 在（中國）政府決定吊銷我的記者採訪證件之後 我離開了在那裡作為半島電視台英語記者 工作了五年的中國。 在其後外交部的記者會上， 發言人 HONG LEI沒有給出解釋， 只說， 外國記者應該遵守中國的法律法規。 但是我沒有違反任何法律。 我相信我盡了最大的努力真實全面地報道中國。 在此跟中國說再見之際， 我在這裡回顧一下以前報道的事件和任務。

I'd like to start with a good memory of China. It was late morning in the autumn of 2009, and our team was on our way to an interview out in the countryside north of Chongqing in central China. We'd driven through many villages before, but something about the bustle of this village compelled us to slow down our car and hop out for a look. Everyone seemed so happy. There was a festive atmosphere, as if it was Chinese New Year.

想從對中國好的記憶開始。 那是2009年秋季的一個早晨， 我們的採訪組正在前往中國中部城市重慶北面的鄉村去做一個採訪。 我們以前也開車路過很多鄉鎮， 但是這個鄉鎮的人來人往熙熙攘攘， 我們不得不減速， 跳下車來看看。 每個人看上去都很幸福。 看上去有過節的氣氛， 和過春節一樣。

People were gathered outside their doors, chatting away after their breakfasts. A woman cooked noodles at a small stand, steam enveloping her face. One family sold new baby chicks on the street side, while another group hawked duck eggs. Someone drew up a wagon of hand-woven wicker baskets, and I bought one for 20 yuan (the equivalent of $3), strapped it to my shoulders, and wandered around with the rest of the crowd.

吃過早飯人們都站在門外聊天消磨時光。 小攤子上， 一位女人正在煮麵， 蒸汽包圍了她的面孔。 一家在街邊賣小雞， 另一邊一伙人圍在一起搶購鴨蛋。 有人拉來一車竹編筐， 我花20塊錢買了一個， 條帶搭肩背在背上， 和別的人一樣轉來轉去。

This was quintessential China - the daily proceedings of hundreds of millions, going about their business and working to create better lives for themselves. The place was at once traditional and modern, farmers on their mobile phones and an unbroken line of trucks pushing their way along the main street, heavy with construction material for new buildings in the old village. You could somehow sense that everyone was excited for the future, that things were changing, and that this was the little town that could. That may have been whimsical thinking on my part, but it was very much how I felt at the time.

這就是真真實實的中國。 每天幾億人忙忙碌碌， 為更好的生活勤勤懇懇工作著。 這個地方既有傳統 也很現代， 農民用著手機 如流的卡車不停地穿過村裡的主街， 拉著要把古老村莊翻新的建築材料。 你能感覺到 每個人都為未來感到振奮， 情況都在改變， 這個小鎮也在其中。 這些也可能是我那是的臆想， 但它的確是我當時的想法。

Sad memory

A sad memory of China came later on the same day. Our team met and interviewed Yi Dade, a fisherman who had managed to do very well for himself. That was not the case for many other farmers, many of whom have been increasingly left behind by China's economic development. So there was much for Mr. Yi to be thankful for. Unfortunately, his successful fisheries business had caught the attention of local gangs, who bribed officials, and proceeded to seize his property on the banks of the river.

關於中國的悲傷記憶來自於同一天的稍晚時候。 我們的採訪組找到了和採訪了漁民 YI DADE（易大德）， 他過得很不錯。 其他的農民則過得不好， 他們一點點被中國的經濟開發拉在了後面。 易先生有很多的東西要感恩。 不幸的是， 他那個很成功的捕魚（或者養殖）生意引起了當地黑幫的注意， 黑幫給官員們行賄， 正要搶奪他河岸邊的產業。

The showdown took place during a birthday party for one of Mr. Yi's sons. Two boatloads of men armed with machetes, poles, and axes drew up, jumped ashore, and attacked family and friends. In 15 minutes, Mr. Yi's fortunes had changed. His second son was dead, and his fourth had severe blows to the head that meant permanent brain damage. This was lawlessness in China, a land where some officials look the other way.

易先生的一個兒子的生日會上，大戲開場了。 兩船的男人， 帶著看到 棍棒 斧頭， 跳上岸來，見人就打。 15分鐘后， 易先生的大運翻轉了。 他的二兒子被打死， 他的四子腦袋被打， 永久傷及大腦。 這個就是中國的無法無天， 官員們不聞不問。

Yi Dade told me his tale while his wife sat next to him, weeping quietly and whispering repeatedly to herself, "My son was just a child." Incredibly, someone had thought to take pictures as evidence in the aftermath of the attack, and I examined the photographs of the stunned victims, the bright red of fresh blood pouring from their heads, confused expressions on their faces. Their bewildered looks seemed to ask, "How could this possibly happen to us? How could our government allow something like this to happen?"

易先生跟我講他的故事， 他的太太一旁無聲地哭泣， 低低地自語， 『』我的兒子還是個孩子「 。 難以置信的是有人在打后的現場拍了幾張照片， 我看了那些照片， 看到驚呆了的被打者， 鮮紅的鮮血從他們的頭上留下來， 滿臉是困惑的表情。 疑惑的面孔似乎在問， 」這個事情怎麼會發生在我們身上？ 政府怎麼會允許他們這樣干？「

China is a country of contradictions. One minute you marvel at the speedy transformation, the new wealth, the great hope of many. Another minute, and in this case powerfully felt because it can all happen in one day, you're disgusted by the corruption, the systemic problems of a one-party authoritarian state, and the trampling of individual human rights and dignity.

中國這個國家充滿了矛盾。 前一分鐘 你可能驚奇， 這麼快的變化， 這麼多的新富， 很多人充滿了希望。 下一分鐘， 就和這件事情一樣， 任何一天都可能發生， 你會討厭由一黨專制引起的系統的腐敗和對人權尊嚴的踐踏

Millionaires to paupers 

百萬富翁到貧民

That is what I have tried to capture in my five years crisscrossing the country. For a couple of years there, our team was on the road somewhere in China every week. We've spoken to everyone from millionaires to paupers. 

這就是過去5年來在中國東奔西跑試圖捕獲的場景。 有兩年的時光， 我的採訪組每周都在旅行。 我們採訪的人從百萬富翁到貧民一應俱全。

Along with manmade news and happenings, there have also been major natural disasters, most notably the 2008 Sichuan earthquake which killed 70,000. But there was also the lesser-known high altitude Yushu earthquake on the Tibetan plateau. That hit in 2010, and I remember Tibetans from the time telling us how admirably hard the People's Liberation Army soldiers had worked during rescue efforts. There was real respect for the Han Chinese soldiers, many of them from poor backgrounds themselves. 

有些是人為的新聞和事情， 也有的是廣為人知的特大自然災害， 特別是2008年奪取7萬人生命的四川大地震。 但也有鮮為人知的西藏高原高海拔區的玉樹地震， 它發生在2010年， 我記得， 藏民們告訴我們，人民的解放軍戰士在搶險中多麼令人欽佩的努力。 那個時候對漢族士兵是發自內心的尊重，士兵們不​​少也是來自貧困背景。

The local Tibetans had been won over a fair bit, but the government missed the opportunity to build bridges when reconstruction efforts flailed, funds for survivors were siphoned off by corrupt officials, and authorities lapsed to their hardline selves. Today, Yushu is yet another place off-limits to foreign journalists, part of a huge area placed under lockdown following a string of self-immolations by Tibetans protesting China's rule. From the initial excitement of witnessing how the ethnic divide could be narrowed, the story of Yushu had turned bitter, and relations between Tibetans and Han Chinese there are at a new low. 

當地藏民已經贏得了一個公平的地位，但是重建活動一波接一波到 政府錯過了機會 來搭建交流的橋樑.  給生還者的資金被貪官污吏濫用，當局又重回強硬的老路。今天，玉樹是又一個外國記者的地方禁地； 有很大一個地區因為一系列藏人抗議中國統治的活動而封鎖。 最初人們看到種族的鴻溝在縮小而興奮， 後來，漢藏兩族關係再度惡化； 現在處於低谷。

Missed opportunities

It is precisely these sorts of conflicts, of good and bad decisions, of missed opportunities, that the country needs to take a hard look at in this critical political year. They've played out locally in the stories I have examined, but issues such as corruption and the rule of law weave from the fisherman, Yi Dade, through to the Tibetan victims of the Yushu earthquake, and all the way up to the country』s political leadership.

Melissa Chan Reports

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In Beijing it plays out on the grand scale, with the Bo Xilai scandal or the recent Chen Guangcheng case. But all of it is related, and it will be up to the Communist Party to make the leap. By that, I mean that the party needs to establish real rule of law and an independent legal system. The corruption problem solves itself once the law is worth more than the paper it is printed on. Many of the stories I've worked on over the years have simply spun around the fact that the laws, presumably passed by some officials who believed in them, have not been enforced.

The only way to do any of this will take audacity, because the party would have to place itself and its members under the same independent and impartial system. Leaders are not unaware of this dilemma - that's why things have been so rocky and commentators, both inside and outside the country, have talked about what kind of institutional reforms need to start taking place.

China has a lot going for it, and that is especially felt when you've spent so much time talking to the people there. They can be incredibly resilient, despite the fact that some have definitely received the short end of the stick. Like any country, people also worry and complain, and like journalists on any beat, I've looked at those worries and complaints. It's part of the process of making a place I love a better one for its people.

I hope to be back in China one day, sooner rather than later. As for the government's decision to revoke my press credentials, I'd like my final note not to sound bitter or angry, because I don't want to look back a few years from now and read this piece and see myself having been like that. I don't deny I've been both at some points in recent days, but those sorts of feelings are best left to fade away, rather than stick around for the record.

After all, one expulsion cannot take away the incredibly fun, instructive, heart-breaking and heart-warming five years of almost 400 reports I've filed. That's a lot of stories on a lot of subjects from a lot of places in the country. And I'm grateful to have had this life-changing opportunity.