台灣將成為亞洲下一個整形聖地？ Is Taiwan Asia's Next One-Stop Plastic-Surgery Shop?

Is Taiwan Asia's Next One-Stop Plastic-Surgery Shop?

By Sarah Tung Friday, Jul. 16, 2010 

A woman gets facial laser treatment in a Taipei cosmetic-surgery clinic on Nov. 26, 2009

Patrick Lin / AFP / Getty Images

海外歸國的台灣人也許常被推薦到既香又美味多汁的路邊攤小吃，或是探索人聲踏雜的台灣夜市。但，也許他們最想去的卻是台灣整形手術或是皮膚專科診所。

Overseas Taiwanese who frequently return to the island might recommend savoring succulent street food or exploring Taipei's boisterous night markets. Or they may pass along the business card of a favorite plastic surgeon or dermatologist.

然而，當然要去！台灣有好一陣子已然成為海外移民返國的觀光醫療旅遊團目的地。由於台灣豐富的醫療照護設施，設備不但是新穎作工又精細。而且最重要的是，「價格」也成為一項最重要的考量。其中價差最大的「活體植入手術」 (liver-transplant surgery)，在台灣大約要價9.1萬，跟美國動輒要價30萬的高價比起來，還真是便宜不少！
And why not? Taiwan has long been popular with its expatriate population as a medical-travel destination. At Taipei's abundant health care facilities, the equipment is modern and sophisticated, and most importantly, prices are considered a steal. Some of the biggest savings are in liver-transplant surgery, which runs to around $91,000, compared with some $300,000 in the U.S. (Read about medical tourism in Latvia.)

像這樣的價格雖少，卻為台灣的手術旅遊市場帶來穩定的成長，況且這樣的價格，也是為了吸引更多的顧客。自從2008年中旬，中國大陸遊客來台限制緊縮，鄰近台灣海峽的各國鄰居都在無所不用其極的對台灣施加壓力。(這邊使用 making their way to the island for a nip or a tuck)現在，根據兩岸最新的一連串協議與讓步後，台北上周宣佈陸客將能獨自來台旅遊，這樣的結果，讓觀光醫療業者對相關產業發展相當樂觀。

Price tags like that have built a small but devoted following for Taiwan's niche medical-tourism market, and it's about to get a lot more customers. Taiwan's neighbors across the strait have been making their way to the island for a nip or a tuck since travel restrictions for Chinese tourists were lifted in mid-2008. Now, in the latest of a series of agreements and concessions between China and Taiwan, Taipei announced last week that Chinese tourists will soon be allowed to travel individually to the island — a development that many medical-tourism proponents are hoping will be a boon to their industry.

台灣現在的政策只允許陸客跟團來台旅遊，這也一併限制了陸客來台尋求醫療服務的多種可能性。「在陸客跟團來台旅遊的限制中，陸客被告知哪裡才能去，啥時才能去。他們被限制不能脫團行動。」台灣觀光醫療發展協會，同時也是整形外科醫師王篤行(David Wang) 說。「我聽說很多人用假名，或者以洽公的名義偷偷的來(作手術)。」「在我們這邊有很多陸客來台作整形手術行程，像是打『肉毒桿菌』(Botox)，割眼袋、割雙眼皮等等。」
Taiwan's current policy only permits controlled tour groups from the mainland, which limits options for Chinese who seek varied medical services. "Under group-travel restrictions, tourists are told where they can go and when. They can't deviate from the set itinerary," says David Wang, a plastic surgeon and chairman of the Taiwan Medical Tourism Development Association. "I've heard of a few people who will secretly come [for plastic surgery], perhaps under a fake name or by claiming they are here on business." Now, Chinese patients seeking operations can plan ahead and book Botox treatments and eye-bag or double-eyelid surgery at Wang's offices on their own schedule. (See the top 10 unusual medical treatments.)

相較於亞太地區的其他國家，台灣的醫療美容旅遊產業只能算是才剛起步。去年2009年這類外銷市場產值勉強上看2千萬美金，有鑑於其他像是新加坡、泰國等國家，在醫療美容產業上的投資，許多台灣醫療旅遊業者相信，未來仍有相當大的上揚空間。「相較於其他服務業，醫療美容業是投資率最高的。」雄獅旅遊陸客服務部的嚴子欽總經理說。雄獅旅遊是台灣最大的旅行社，去年花了一年半時間發展出專門的醫療旅遊服務中心。雄獅旅遊還和台灣最大的連鎖私人醫院機構──林口長庚醫院合作，並且將整個醫療美容包裝成一整個旅遊行程，向整個華人市場，甚至是全世界華人社會行銷。
Compared to those of its regional neighbors, Taiwan's medical-tourism industry is only in its infancy. Its output last year narrowly missed the $20 million mark, whereas revenue in more established Asian medical-travel industries, Singapore and Thailand, reached billions of dollars. Still, many enterprising people in Taiwan believe it has room to grow. "The dollar return per patient is the highest of any other business in the service industry," says Sammy Yen, general manager of Lion Travel's medical-tourism branch. Lion Travel, Taiwan's biggest travel agency, has spent the past year and a half building its medical-tourism services center. The company partnered with Chung Gung Medical Foundation, the largest private hospital chain on the island, and touts its newest business venture as the total package that caters to all hua ren, or members of the global Chinese community.(Comment on this story.)

陸客有潛力成為醫療旅遊市場的大宗。據台灣官方統計，2009年兩岸小三通，開放旅遊後，有超過92萬2千人的陸客來台手術。相較前幾年提高195%。此外，為促進兩岸交流貿易，上周中國航空官方宣佈，減少10%到15%的機場稅。預估今年將會有超過百萬的旅客造訪台灣，甚至陸客會爽快的掏空錢包，而這些錢將會進到台灣服務業者口袋中。

Mainland tourists could be a huge boost. According to Taiwan government statistics, just over 972,000 tourists from China journeyed to the tear-shaped island in 2009 — a 195% jump from the figure in the previous year, when the two sides made transit and tourism agreements. Further encouraging cross-strait exchanges, last month Chinese aviation officials announced a 10% to 15% reduction in airfares for flights between the two sides. With over a million projected to visit this year, even more mainlanders will be emptying their wallets into Taiwan's service sector.

王醫生，手術整形醫生。決定每個月到中國大陸旅遊，以精進他的手術技巧，而台灣像他這樣的醫生不只一個。。台灣許多野心勃勃的醫療美容業者，經常來返兩岸，希望能吸引更多陸客造訪台灣進行醫療美容旅遊。「不是很多人都知道台灣的健保制度的品質」台灣國際醫療網執行長吳明彥說。「我們的願望就是將台灣的服務業塑造成知名品牌，並且在國際間享有聲譽。」

Wang, the plastic surgeon, already travels to China about once a month to promote his practice, and he isn't the only one. Many enterprising proponents of Taiwan's medical tourism have been making the cross-strait journey in the hopes that they, too, might entice more mainlanders to seek medical care on the island. "Not many people know about the quality of Taiwan's health care system," says Richard Wu, CEO of Taiwan Task Force for Medical Travel. "It's our priority to first put out Taiwan as a brand name and then promote individual hospitals for services."

事實上，未來只有消費者到台灣是自助旅行，不是用跟團的方式，才能幫助台灣服務業發展。「沒有人會想要跟團，這表示要大剌剌的跟大家說你是來台灣作整形手術、或是作其他醫療的。」「但若是自助旅行，你可以很大方的跟鄰居說，你是來台灣渡假。」

The fact that these customers will now be able to travel to Taiwan solo will only help. "No one would join a group tour that lets everyone else know they are going for plastic surgery or other medical reasons," Yen says. "With individual travel, you can just tell your neighbor you are going to Taiwan for vacation."

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歐元英雄─多明尼克‧史特勞斯 卡恩 The Euro Hero: Dominique Strauss-Kahn

Photograph by Gueorgui Pinkhassov / Magnum for TIME

跟狗仔討論中國的經濟，就像兩個正向的磁鐵無法互相吸引一樣。除非，有著一個魅力無窮的巨星。所以當法國經濟部長7月16日在巴黎舉行「中法共同的挑戰」會議時，大批攝影記者湧向禮堂，摩肩擦踵地擠向講台前，他們訓練有素的一致將鏡頭瞄準──一頭灰髮、十分知名，鎮靜地將閃光燈視之無物，正像個搖滾巨星的IMF國際金融銀行主席─多明尼克‧史特勞斯卡恩。
Discussions on Chinese economic relations are hardly a magnet for paparazzi — unless, of course, they include a star speaker. So when France's Finance Ministry hosted a conference in Paris on June 16 about China and Europe's common challenges, dozens of photographers crowded into the auditorium, elbowing each other for a spot in front of the stage, where they trained their cameras on the short, gray-haired man at the podium: International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn. DSK, as he's widely known, ignored the flashbulbs with the sangfroid of a rock star.

一個法國的政治人物成為一個狗仔追著跑的名人，是這波金融風暴中最讓人驚訝的傳奇之一。喔，還有比這件更神奇的事，史特勞斯卡恩的死對頭──法國總統尼可拉斯‧沙維奇。經過2007年大獲全勝總統大選後，(那場選舉中史特勞斯卡未獲社會黨提名)沙維奇向當時身為法國經濟部長的史特勞斯卡恩，提出華府就任國際貨幣基金(IMF)主席職位。一些法國的好事評論家都揣測，IMF是個從組成之初就不斷被唱衰的組織，正顯示總統意欲將政敵外放的政治報復。就在史特勞斯到IMF的幾年間，全球股市全數崩盤，主要經濟市場也都變得一文不值。夾在經濟蕭條與各國國家首長之中，史特勞斯卡恩成為1930年代之後成立IMF，作為控制世界信債最後一道防線的重要人物。「在全球金融海嘯前，大家都有個想法『我們需要像IMF這樣的機構嗎？』」61歲的史特勞斯卡恩，坐在巴黎辦公室沙發上輕鬆說道。「這就好像平時沒有火災發生，卻能想到萬一出現緊急狀況時，也是需要消防員的。」(阿就「未雨綢繆」咩，我說外國人的比喻還是沒有中國成語簡單又貼切。)
How the French politician went from also-ran to celebrity is one of the more surprising tales to emerge from the global recession — no more so, perhaps, than for Strauss-Kahn's fiercest rival, President Nicolas Sarkozy. Flush with victory in the 2007 presidential election (in which Strauss-Kahn failed to secure his Socialist Party's nomination) Sarkozy put forward the former Finance Minister for the job of managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington. French pundits widely assumed the President was sending his nemesis into political exile, at an organization whose credibility had long since waned. But within a year of Strauss-Kahn's arrival at the IMF, the world's stock markets imploded and its major economies went into free fall. Darting between crisis meetings with heads of state, Strauss-Kahn became a key player in tackling the most severe downturn since the 1930s by casting the IMF as a lender of last resort in a world stripped of credit. "Before the crisis there was this idea, Do we need an institution like the IMF?" says Strauss-Kahn, 61, relaxing on a couch in his Paris office. "It was like wondering about the need for firefighters when you don't have a fire," he says.(See Dominique Strauss-Kahn in the TIME 100.)

史特勞斯卡恩花了好幾年時間撲滅金融風暴下的野火。從2009年4月開始，世界經濟開始被金融風暴席捲，G20的大國領袖們湊足了11億美金的救援方案，那是IMF的三倍多。這個救援方案強大了IMF的影響力，而史特勞斯卡恩，也因此能夠把這一大筆錢借給在金融海嘯中受難國，這是這次G20的核心任務，而在此時，世界的銀行業也在這次金融海嘯中紛紛垮台。
Strauss-Kahn has spent the past year extinguishing flames that threaten the global economy. In April 2009, with the world reeling from the crisis, leaders of the G-20 pieced together a $1.1 trillion rescue package and tripled the IMF's funds in the process. That hugely increased the IMF's power, and Strauss-Kahn's, by allowing the organization to lend big money to troubled countries — its core mission — at a time when banks were collapsing across the world.

因此今年四月，他在雅典(希臘首都)、柏林(德國首都)、布魯塞爾(比利時首都)之間奔走，說服歐盟官方、以及掌控歐洲最大經濟體─德國，首相安潔拉‧梅克爾，保護缺錢的希臘免於脫離歐元區。史特勞斯卡恩在這次歐洲遭受最嚴重的金融風暴中，對這次歐盟以及IMF價值10億美金的的共同救援方案達成雙方協議。這項協議使得歐元貨幣得以保全，就像史特勞斯曾在1990年代時身為法國財政部長時所作的一樣。(註：史特勞斯卡恩在1990年代任職法國經濟部長時，在1998年增加了30萬個工作機會，成功的降低失業率、公債，同時也提昇GDP)
Then in April of this year, he shuttled between Athens, Berlin and Brussels, persuading E.U. officials and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who heads Europe's biggest economy, to bail out cash-strapped Greece and prevent its dire economy from destabilizing the euro. Strauss-Kahn's bargaining resulted in a joint E.U.-IMF rescue package worth about $1 trillion for Europe's hardest-hit economies. The deal secured the euro, which Strauss-Kahn had, as French Finance Minister, helped usher in during the late 1990s.(Read: "Greece Asks for a Bailout, but at What Cost?.")

然而，歐元的困境尚未結束，而且即使史特勞斯的角色可能也無法解決。史特勞斯的孩童時期在摩洛哥(非洲西北岸的回教王國)以及摩納哥(歐洲西南部國家)度過，他可以說幾近流利的英文及德文，他堅信大部分的問題需要經由多方不同的方式解決，這也包括歐洲。他也指出，歐盟，27個國家裡頭缺乏一個經濟合作模式統整所有的組織，強制執行所有財務規定。而這些也是所有歐洲國家領導人爭論的點。「歐元的整合過程還沒結束。」他說，「你不能有單一貨幣，但卻沒有一個整合的經濟政策。」
Europe's troubles are not over — and neither, probably, is Strauss-Kahn's role in solving them. Having spent part of his childhood in Morocco and Monaco, and speaking near flawless English and German, he says he firmly believes in multilateral approaches to tackling most problems, including Europe. The E.U., he says, lacks economic coordination across its 27 countries and needs an overall institution to impose fiscal rules — a contentious issue for many European leaders. "The completion of the euro process is still not done," he says. "You cannot have a single currency and almost no coordination in fiscal policy."

正當財務政策要花幾年的時間去架構時，經濟學家說還有其他更為急迫難題，在史特勞斯前急需處理的「美國與中國之間的戰爭」史特勞斯還未來得及表達他的意志力。「這才能真的考驗他如何與這些狡猾的狐狸對戰，過去他一直未與美國人、中國人交手過。」前IMF官員，現在華府彼得森國際經濟研究所就職的莫里斯高登史丹這樣說道。就像許多的經濟學家，高登史丹認為，要是低估人民幣威力及美國赤字，將會使世界經濟達到二次探底。(7/21北京當局宣布人民幣匯率將採自由匯率跳動機制)
While that coordination could take years to build, there are other — some say more urgent — issues facing Strauss-Kahn: namely China and the U.S. There, say economists, Strauss-Kahn has yet to prove his mettle. "The real test is whether he can battle the big cats, and he has not taken the battle to the Chinese and Americans," says Morris Goldstein, a former IMF official who is now senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, D.C. Like many economists, Goldstein believes the undervalued Chinese currency, the yuan, and the record U.S. budget deficit could both derail the global recovery. (On June 21, Beijing announced it would make the yuan somewhat more flexible.) (See pictures of the global financial crisis.)

就在7/26史特勞斯飛往多倫多參加G20會議時，他是否會與這兩位經濟大國交手還未定。但他正在G20主要會員國中積極尋找能協助IMF的對象。即使要在有如狡詐狐狸的政客前周旋，特別是法國，眾多人都在揣測，在法國總統大選開跑前，距沙維奇2012年總統任期還有2年多時間，，他還會擔任多久的IMF主席。分別在2月、3月進行的兩個不同民調都顯示，若現在進行投票，史特勞斯將能輕易打敗沙維奇成為下任法國總統。當沙維奇的人氣開始走下坡，有些人表示，史特勞斯在IMF的種種作為顯示，他能足當法國政府領導者的角色。
Whether Strauss-Kahn will take on those two economic giants when he flies to Toronto on June 26 for the G-20 summit is uncertain, in part because he is looking to boost the contributions to the IMF by the G-20's major members. And even if he does confront the big cats, some politicians — especially in France — are already wondering how long he will remain in Washington before attempting another run at the French presidency. With less than two years to go before Sarkozy's re-election campaign in 2012, two separate polls in February and March found that Strauss-Kahn would easily beat the President if France were to hold the vote today. While Sarkozy's popularity has been slumping lately, some respondents said they felt Strauss-Kahn's IMF role gives him authority as a leader.

這樣的民調結果很吸引任何一個政治家，特別是像史特勞斯卡恩這樣一個有野心的政治家。但他仍舊保持一貫的靦腆態度：「我每天都花很大精力當好這個主席職位。」他說，「我唯一想說的就是，讓我做好現在的崗位吧。」
Poll results like those can be tempting to a politician, especially one as ambitious as Strauss-Kahn. But he remains coy about his intentions. "I think most people understand this job takes my focus every day," he says. "The only thing I ask is, let me work in doing what I have to do."

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中國罷工潮下的未來 What China’s Labor Unrest Means for Its Future

 

Factory girls Honda workers strike for better conditions   

Ariana Lindquist / New York Times / Redux

中國罷工潮下的未來

What China’s Labor Unrest Means for Its Future

By Austin Ramzy Monday, Jun. 28, 2010

工廠罷工只是中國工廠的平常生活的一景罷了，但在今年夏天的全球經濟中，中國工廠的罷工可就變得不一樣了。這個變化需要好幾年的時間，但是我們正在眼睜睜目睹中國這個身為世界血汗工廠的重要角色，即將功成身退地落幕。

Labor unrest is part of life in China's factory towns, and yet there is something different about this summer's strife that will have broad implications for the global economy. It will take years for the changes to take hold. But we are witnessing nothing less than the beginning of the end of China's role as the sweatshop of the world.

過去幾個月中，幾個重要的企業同意罷工的中國員工所提出的薪水。這些在廣東省佛山的員工，經由兩個禮拜的抗議示威中，迫使本田汽車將汽車變速器的價格提高至24%~34%間，這些罷工效法一個為本田工廠代工的上游廠商，以及另外一個為本田──這個日本汽車巨擘製造後照鏡、車鎖的代工廠。而富士康，這個為蘋果、HP、索尼以及其它企業製造電子零件的企業，在今年一連串員工跳樓自殺事件後，宣布調高基本薪資達一倍以上，而這樣的措施也讓台商企業緊張持續觀望中。
Over the past month, key foreign firms have agreed to hefty pay hikes for their Chinese employees. Workers at a plant in Foshan, Guangdong province, that makes transmissions for Honda won pay increases of 24% to 34% after going on strike for two weeks. That was followed with a walkout at an exhaust-parts factory partly owned by a Honda subsidiary and another strike at a plant that makes mirrors and lock mechanisms for the Japanese auto giant. Foxconn, which produces electronics for Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Sony and others, announced hikes totaling more than 100% of base pay after a series of worker suicides this year put the Taiwanese company under intense scrutiny. (See portraits of Chinese workers.)


過去，罷工被地方政府的法律訴訟，或是中央政府的大中國貿易聯邦工會所壓下來，完全排除在大眾關注之外。但是最近在中國媒體的批露下，罷工、調漲薪資頻頻成功。然而這些都還不夠，這些工人們因為中國高層的放話支持，罷工的意識更加激昂。中國總理溫家寶，對此罷工事件沒有正面回應，但六月十四日他在北京稱這些離家鄉工作的工人們為「珍寶」，而中國社會應該將之「視如己出」。

In the past, labor disputes were typically resolved out of public view with the intervention of local governments or the state-backed All-China Federation of Trade Unions. But the current strife and the successful wage increases obtained are all over the Chinese media — and that's not all. Workers' aspirations for better conditions appear to have the guarded support of the highest levels of the Chinese government. Without commenting directly on the strikes, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told migrant workers in Beijing on June 14 that their labor was "a glorious thing" and that society should treat them as "their own children."

因此，今年夏天中國各地的同樣罷工事件就更加的頻繁了，為當地企業及外商企業製造出源源不絕的額外支出。為了迎合這些工人的要求，今年，中國超過三十家地區、城市將提高最低工資起薪。雖然工資僅被提高一點點，但這同時，也意味著全球的消費者最終要為「中國製造」的商品多付一點鈔票了。(註：6/9 深圳核定基本工資上漲一成，到1,100人民幣。上海、北京今年也分別上調基本工資20%、16.7%，幅度為5年來新高  )
The likelihood of a summer of copycat strikes is thus high, creating the potential for a cascade of pay increases at foreign and locally owned enterprises. In an effort to head off worker demands, about 30 cities and regions in China are expected to raise minimum wages this year. Although price increases should be small, as labor comprises a fraction of the overall cost of manufacturing goods in China, this means consumers around the world will eventually have to pay more for Chinese products. (See pictures of China's internal migrants.)

其實這是件好事，想知道為什麼嗎？看看另一個促進經濟起飛的歷史轉戾點。1914年亨利福特決定將他工廠內生產線工人的薪水提高至兩倍，等於一天可以賺到五美元。那時他被稱為是個大善人，但是這個美國的工廠大亨有他自己的考量。他想要藉由增加可負擔福特汽車的消費者，進而達到汽車廠內人力的轉型。將近一世紀後，相同的加薪政策也能讓中國的藍領階級發展得更好。每個在中國本田工廠的工人雖然不能馬上買到本田汽車，但是他們有能力可以消費得更多，藉此能夠刺激國內景氣。這些對中國及世界市場都是件好事，當一個國家對出口的依賴越少，與美國、歐洲等貿易夥伴的摩擦也因此能消弭。(註：關於福特的作為，請參閱網址)

Look upon it as a good thing. To see why, consider another epochal shift in the development of a rising economic power. In 1914, Henry Ford decided to double the pay of rank-and-file workers in his factories to $5 a day. He was praised for his generosity, but the American industrial pioneer had some self-serving goals in mind. He wanted to reduce employee turnover while boosting the number of people who could afford Ford automobiles. Nearly a century later, similar pay increases will help China develop its own, more prosperous working class. Average workers at Honda's Chinese plants might not be able to buy Accords anytime soon, but they will be able to spend more, thus increasing domestic consumption. And that's positive for both China and the rest of the world. As the country becomes less reliant on exports for economic growth, frictions with trade partners like the U.S. and Europe should ease.

是什麼造成這波罷工潮？自從1980年代開始，中國工人的薪資就成為總成本重要的一部分，它降低了企業的利潤，而政府的稅收也因此增加。這個趨勢不甚穩定，而且中國新的一代無法忍受這個情況，這個新的一代中國工人，他們比他們的父母更意識到自己應得的權利。這一批年輕的工人，也更可望在工廠內的工作，也期望在下一個十年能翻轉局勢。當他們開始幹活時，他們也變的更加挑剔。

What's driving the shift? Since the 1980s, Chinese workers' wages as a share of the total economy have declined as corporate profits and government revenue have risen. It's an unsustainable trend, and one that won't be tolerated by a new generation of workers who have a higher sense of entitlement than their predecessors. The number of young people — those most desired for factory work — is also expected to fall over the next decade. They can be choosier when it comes to employers. 

去年秋天，我面談了好幾個工廠職員，作為中國工人的群像代表。其中一個還是2009年時代雜誌的年度人物。裡頭年紀最長的僅有36歲，但是在他的世代與年輕世代中最不一樣的其實很明顯。年輕世代被其他較年長的同事嚇唬，在工廠裡的日子如何的恐怖，充滿著汗水、高溫、昏暗的燈光，連續工作好幾周沒放一天假，這些辛勤的工作都只為了賺一點點的現金寄回家鄉。對西方人來說，這些年輕世代經歷的依舊是艱困的時刻，長工時，很少的休息，但當我問他們為什麼還願意前去這些像是深圳沿海的繁榮都市工作？他們全都說：「為了玩！」

Last fall, I interviewed several factory employees as representatives of the Chinese worker — one of the runners-up for TIME's 2009 Person of the Year. The oldest was just 36. But the difference between her generation and the teenagers just entering the workforce was marked. The youngsters listened in awe as older colleagues described life in sweatshops, enduring fumes, high temperatures and blinding lights for weeks without rest, all to save a little cash to send home. By Western standards the young workers still have it tough, with long hours and few rest days. But when I asked why they went to the coastal boomtown of Shenzhen for work, they invariably said, "For fun."

所以，那就也是中國製造業在這又長又熱的夏天會做出的這樣行為的部分原因。當今得這個世代希望能分到好利潤得更大一份羹。而且當局領導者也意識到這個趨勢。跟廉價玩具、牛仔褲、零嘴點心瞎攪和在一起的美妙中國已經結束了。要是這個世界強權想要滿足自己人民的需求，他就得將他的子民們從血汗工廠中提升出來，而這個旅程正要開始！

That, paradoxically, is part of the reason why China can expect a long hot summer of industrial action. The current generation of workers wants a greater share of the good times, and their leaders are beginning to understand that. Churning out cheap toys, jeans and sneakers has done wonders for China, but if the world's next superpower is to fulfill its real potential, it will have to lift its people out of the sweatshops. That journey starts now.

See pictures of the making of modern China.
See pictures of China at 60.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1997298,00.html#ixzz0sEKYNees

把影迷拋諸腦後的慾望城市2 Sex and the City 2 Leaves Fans Behind (1 of 2)

     

把影迷拋諸腦後的慾望城市2 

Sex and the City 2 Leaves Fans Behind 

By Mary Pols Wednesday, May. 26, 2010 

     

在慾望城市2中，「與大明星共舞」能在一個庸俗的電影裡看起來如此莊嚴無比，凱莉布雷蕭 (由莎拉潔西卡派克飾演)製造了一個令人難忘的新詞彙，這四名摯友坐在阿布達哈比的游泳池旁，但夏綠蒂 (克莉絲汀 戴維斯飾演)並沒有一起「渡假中」。根據凱莉的說法是，她需要「進入友情狀態」，才能忘掉在紐約的老公和兩個女兒，以及那個辣到不行，不穿內衣的愛爾蘭正妹保母。如此一來她才能和凱莉、莎曼珊，和米蘭達享受好友假期。

In Sex and the City 2, a movie gaudy enough to make Dancing with the Stars seem dignified, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) coins a memorable phrase. The four girlfriends are sitting around a pool in Abu Dhabi, but Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is not relaxing. According to Carrie, she needs an "inter-friend-tion" to make her forget about her husband and two daughters — back in New York City with their hot Irish nanny, whom the girls dub Erin Go Bra-less — so she can properly enjoy her vacation with Carrie, Samantha (Kim Cattrall) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon).

女孩們，讓我們一起回顧過去，回到1998年，當慾望城市以電視影集之姿在HBO頻道播出，想必妳一定很滿意這麼美好的影集內容，以及女孩們的友情。一般來說，我們覺得女孩隨時都應該有個美好時光，但是慾望城市第二集長達146分鐘，實在令人感覺壓迫。觀眾甚至不確定是不是應該這麼快又看到慾望2再度上映。在2008年的第一集電影，還有這系列影集中，慾望2討論了極具意義且糾纏不清的感情、友情，且以一針見血的剖析這些堪稱為美好時光的話題。 但慾望2這時卻將重點投向沙漠和文化衝擊的中東國家，整部電影看起來像Bob Hope的電影一樣令人感到不舒服。我們知道一起將這兩個平行敘述很不容易，但是就在俏皮話(例如「駱駝腳趾頭」)，和音樂劇碼 (海倫蘭蒂的「身為女人」卡拉OK版) 中，慾望2新電影開始轉向「末路狂花之阿布達哈比」。(註:Bob Hope，1993-2003，是美國著名歌手、主持人、諧星、另外也演出電影，他最為人所知的是為美國軍方製作專屬娛樂節目。是的！他活了100歲，算過確認後嚇到我了！)
Ladies, we go way back — all the way to 1998, when the TV series Sex and the City premiered on HBO — so presumably you'll appreciate our loving intent in staging an inter-friend-tion of our own. Generally, we consider any time with you a guaranteed good time, but Sex and the City 2 is a long 146 minutes. It feels forced, as if you weren't sure you should have invited us over again so soon. In the series and the 2008 movie of the same name, you managed to intertwine frivolous good times with significant and sometimes tart truths about love and friendships. Now you're running off to the Middle East for some sand dunes and culture shock in what seems uncomfortably like a Bob Hope movie. Drawing such parallels is upsetting, we know. But somewhere between the wordplay (like the one about having "camel toe" on a camel) and the musical number (a karaoke rendition of Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman"), your new movie starts turning into The Road to Abu Dhabi. (See pictures of movie costumes.)

雖然花了點時間才上路，電影以一場盛大的同志婚禮開場，這個史丹佛和安東尼的誇張婚禮在康乃狄克州舉行。由Lisa Minnelli當見證牧師，另外還非常值得的請她表演了碧昂絲動感歌曲──單身女郎(Single Ladies)  導演身兼編劇的麥可金派翠克為曼哈頓島塑造了個普遍形象，米蘭達代表標準的中年工作者，她們是個工作狂而且不被看重；夏綠蒂，她正被小孩的龐大壓力壓得喘不過氣來，而且還對保母可能引誘老公的窘境感到十分焦慮。(若以凱莉所說的巧妙雙關語笑話「猶太法」(裘德洛) 或許還能夠預防)  ；莎曼珊，現正為了逃過女人更年期而過度使用維他命和面霜。
(註：Lisa Minnelli是美國著名歌手、百老匯舞者，也曾拿過奧斯卡最佳女演員獎，並且致力於愛滋病防治，她也在石牆運動周年紀念演唱會獻聲，因而在此續集中請來作為同志婚禮牧師，被視為對同志友善的名人。)

It takes a while to get on that road, though. First there's a big fat gay Connecticut wedding for Stanford (Willie Garson) and Anthony (Mario Cantone), officiated by Liza Minnelli, who earns her keep with a divinely slurred, honking rendition of Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)." Writer-director Michael Patrick King gives the lay of the land, with all the classic middle-aged stuff: Miranda, you're overworked and underappreciated; Charlotte, you're overwhelmed by your tyrannical toddler and anxious that Harry (Evan Handler) will inevitably sleep with the nanny (in accordance with "the Jude law," as Carrie nicely puts it); Samantha, you're overdosing on vitamins and creams, hoping to stave off menopause.

至於凱莉，出版了一本談論婚姻的新書，叫作「I Do, Don't I?」 但是跟被稱為大人物的約翰一起生活依舊讓她不滿意，慢慢步入軌道的兩年婚姻生活開始顯得有點無趣。就像大人物說的，他已經花了30年的時間在紐約的花花世界裡頭閒晃，現在的他只想好好地坐下來翹著腳，看電視，吃外賣食物。他們決定不生孩子，那也就代表了，必須在接下來的餘生裡生活得非常燦爛有情趣，所以為了這樣的燦爛、有趣的生活，大人物建議，一周裡他到凱莉的舊公寓分居兩天。感謝紐約的萎靡房地產，這樣的一個舊公寓可以成為女人的單身聖地，而大人物也能重溫在床上看電視的懶男人壞習慣。觀眾都能了解大人物的想法；凱莉，我們一直都站在妳這邊，不過這次，妳已經有點中毒摟，還有什麼事情能讓妳滿意的？

As for Carrie, you have a new marriage book out, titled I Do, Don't I?, but life with John, a.k.a. Big (Chris Noth), is vaguely dissatisfying: two years of being settled is starting to feel staid. As Big points out, he spent 30 years going out in New York City, and now he'd like to put his feet up, watch TV and order in. You've decided to remain childless, which means, as you put it, you'll "have to work on the sparkle for the rest of our lives." So he suggests, as a means of keeping the sparkle alive, that he spend two nights a week in your old apartment — left unoccupied, thanks to the lousy real estate market, as a shrine to your single womanhood and a dubious plot device. There, he'll be able to indulge slothful male habits like watching television in bed. We can understand his thinking. Carrie, we've always been on your side, but the fact is, you're kind of a drag now. Will anything ever make you happy?

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好萊塢的血汗工廠 Hollywood's VFX Sweatshops (1 of 3)

Olivia Wilde and Garrett Hedlund in the upcoming Tron: Legacy  Douglas Curran / Disney

好萊塢的血汗工廠  ── VFX，繁華中的衰敗 (1 of 3)
Hollywood's VFX Shops: Trouble in Boom Times
By Rebeccca Keegan / Hollywood Monday, May. 31, 2010 


如果你想知道是誰讓好萊塢逐漸茁壯的，你得等到電影最後謝幕字卡(movie credit)出現。在謝幕字卡的最最最尾端，在演員及水電工名字後面，甚至在炸玉米餅的小販名字後面，才會出現特效藝術家的名字。他們就是讓超人飛上天空、讓城市掉入汪洋大海中的那一群人，他們讓像「阿凡達 」(Avatar)、哈利波特系列電影等這些依賴特效的電影能夠成真，他們──正是好萊塢中最龐大的印鈔機！
If you want to see the names driving Hollywood's growth, you have to stay for the movie's credits. The very end of the credits. After the actors and electricians — sometimes even after the people who serve the tacos on set — come the visual-effects artists. These are the people who make superheroes fly and cities fall into the ocean, and the effects-reliant films they work on, like Avatar and the Harry Potter franchise, are Hollywood's biggest moneymakers.

在謝幕字卡的位置正說明了這些特效藝術家在好萊塢渺小的地位。諷刺的是，就像他們獻出的頂尖創意、席捲電影票房強大吸金能力。這些特效公司正面臨著多災多難的一年。由於激烈的全球競爭，好萊塢的罷工事件仍宿醉未醒，以及跟其他工作室缺乏溝通，許多特效公司得關門大吉，或是邊減少支出邊載浮載沉地支撐著...。
Their place in the credits says something about visual effects (VFX) artists' place in the Hollywood pecking order. Ironically, just as they are peaking in creativity and propelling box-office hits, VFX companies are facing a crisis years in the making. Thanks to fierce global competition, the hangover from Hollywood labor unrest and a lack of negotiating power with studios, many VFX firms are closing up shop or outsourcing to stay afloat.

「基本上，特效是門爛生意。」詹姆斯‧柯麥隆在新書「預見未來的人：《鐵達尼號》《阿凡達》金獎導演 詹姆斯．柯麥隆的電影與人生」專訪中這樣說道。   「因為你賺不到什麼錢，最好的時候一年只有分到全部營利的5%。對！我們製作的雷聲大，但得到的利潤卻像雨點一樣小。」
詹姆斯卡麥隆在1998年協助創立了「Digital Domain」這家特效公司，這家特效公司也挾著鐵達尼號這部開創性電影的威勢，奪得奧斯卡金像大獎。卡麥隆後來在公司的人事鬥爭中辭去總監位子。自此之後，Digital Domain合併，並一舉成為好萊塢電影圈中特效公司的第一把交椅，與舊金山的喬治盧卡斯的「Industrial Light &Magic (ILM)」、紐西蘭威靈頓的彼得傑克森 (魔戒系列電影的導演) 所創立的「Weta Digital」，還有在洛杉磯的Rhythm & Hues工作室 (曾製作金鋼狼、鼠來寶) 、Sony Pictures Imageworks  (著名的作品為「蜘蛛人系列」、「愛麗絲魔幻仙境」等) 這四家視覺特效公司齊名。

註：世界五大特效公司繁多，結合TIME照片文字，整理如下表：
整理/製作：格主Hurley
 

Company	Founder	Films	Gross	Location
Digital Domain	James Cameron	Titanic, 2012,Transformers, The Day after Tomorrow	Transformers 2$836 m	Los Angeles
Industrial Light &Magic（ILM）	Gorge Lucas	Star Wars, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,Twister,Jurassic Park	HP 6’s $934 m	San Francisco
Weta Digital	Peter Jackson	Avatar, The Lord of the Rings trilgy,King Kong	Avatar 2.7 b	New Zealand
Rhythm &hues				Los Angeles
Sony Picture Imageworks		Alice’s Wonderland,Spiderman		Los Angeles

Fundamentally, visual effects is a crappy business," James Cameron told me when I interviewed him for my book, The Futurist: The Life and Films of James Cameron. "You don't make much of a margin. A good year for us was 5%. Sure, we were doing huge volume but at a low margin." In 1998, after the VFX company he helped start, Digital Domain, won an Academy Award for its groundbreaking work on Titanic, Cameron resigned amid dispute about its direction. Since then, Digital Domain has emerged as one of Hollywood's leading VFX shops, alongside George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) in San Francisco; Peter Jackson's Weta Digital in Wellington, New Zealand; and Rhythm & Hues and Sony Pictures Imageworks, both in Los Angeles.

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歐盟的抉擇 Europe's Choice (1 of 2)

歐盟的抉擇  Europe's Choice
By Josef Joffe Monday, May. 17, 2010 ,TIME


上週，希臘得到價值1.1億歐元(1.46億美元)疏貸方案因而獲救。那可真是一大筆錢，但可不是個好對策。希臘的經濟，就像電影「北非諜影」中，從亨佛萊鮑嘉在卡薩布蘭加借來的錢一樣──「一文不值」。(a hill of beans：在美國，豆子是非常便宜的．這也就是說，種在小山頂上的一大片豆子最多只值一、兩分錢。北非諜影中的卡薩布蘭加，因為成為歐洲國家難民往美國的中途站，在那裏，錢反而是最不值錢的東西)  大家都在問：「歐元還能繼續存活嗎？」
Last week, Greece was rescued with a package worth €110 billion ($146 billion) — for the time being. That's a lot of money. Yet in the greater scheme of things, the Greek economy is just a "hill of beans," to borrow from Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca. The momentous question is whether the euro will survive.

記者應該只能引用其他人的話，但是請原諒我這個作者一點點的自我陶醉。我曾在1997年紐約書評發表一篇名為「歐元：無法發揮效用的引擎」。文中內以比喻陳述貨幣的危機：不同政府各自行政下，使用相同貨幣政策；就像多頭火車頭，想要使用自己的動能，牽引著同一個列車，往不同的方向跑去。除非是同一個工程師，不然車鉤會壞掉，或者，多頭火車未來將駛離鐵軌。
Journalists should only quote others, so please forgive this author for a little self-indulgence. In 1997, I wrote an essay in the New York Review of Books titled "The Euro: The Engine That Couldn't." It laid out the current crisis by way of metaphor: a common currency without a common government is like "several locomotives, each running under its own power, strung together to make up a single train. Each engine must steam ahead at the same speed in the same direction at the same time." Unless all the engineers behave as one, "the couplings will break," or the "locomotives will go off the rails."(See pictures of the global financial crisis.)

「歐元整合」，這個美好的想像 (rosy assumption) 已然成為單一貨幣政策的致命缺失。為了硬將歐元整合，歐盟也硬是「導果為因」(put last things first)，在尖銳的煞車聲響起之前，竟也神奇地維持了十年之久。所有的引擎(國家) 有著完全不同的工程師 (政府)，而且他們也有著完全不同的興趣、文化。
德國人遵守著嚴格的財政原則，義大利人有著不斷通膨的經濟和快要垮台的里拉貨幣。荷蘭習慣自由貿易，法國擅長運用國際干預力量。當德國的出口比例高飛上揚，南歐正在失去競爭力，為了維持高生活水準而繼續借款借貸。這些都是因為沒有一個安全的貶值措施可實施的緣故。(safety valve of devaluation)
That rosy assumption of "all together now" was the deadly flaw of the single-currency project. By plunging into the euro, Europe put last things first, and it is a miracle that it took a decade before the wheels started to screech. All those engines (states) had their own engineers (governments), and they came with different interests and cultures. The Germans obeyed strict fiscal discipline, the Italians had grown fond of inflation and a sinking lira. The Dutch liked free trade, the French preferred state intervention. While German exports soared, Europe's southerners lost competitiveness, paying for their lifestyles with ever more debt. And all of this without the safety valve of devaluation.

當然，希臘的債務不應該發生。所謂的「穩定協定」，讓歐盟中的所有國家都被限制在降低「赤字」、「債務」，這樣的困境中。不過，哎呀！糟糕的是，所有的政府當局，都有像是贏得國內大選這樣的重要事要作 (had different fish to fry)。
    更糟糕的是，這樣的體制鼓勵不負責任的行為。像是希臘學他的南歐兄弟們一樣，沿用很低的利率。所以他們可以高興地走去當鋪借債度日。但現在，該是付賬單的時候了！
Of course, Greece was not supposed to happen. The so-called stability pact enjoined all members to stick to fiscal virtue — to keep deficits and debt down. Alas, the governments all had different fish to fry — like winning elections. Worse, the system encouraged irresponsibility, for suddenly profligates like Greece paid the similarly low interest rates as their northern cousins. So they happily went into hock, and now the bills have come due.(See how political delays drove up the cost of Greece's bailout.)

只有三個解決辦法：第一個，世間罪人自負後果；第二個，狀況比較好的國家繼續付錢；第三個，放任肇事份子全倒，就像2002年的阿根廷一樣貨幣暴跌。(而阿根廷這樣的國家，也是先前才將貨幣改為統一的單一貨幣制度。)
There are only three ways out: 1) the sinners mend their ways; 2) the better-off keep paying; 3) the worst offenders decouple, go into default and thence into brutal devaluation as did Argentina in 2002 — a nation that had previously chained itself to the dollar in a one-way monetary union.

隨著這個月急救方案的釋出，歐盟已經選擇了第一個 (罪人後果自負)、第二個方案 (其他國家繼續付錢)。歐盟也開始進行嚴格的財政控管，以及軟心腸的1.1億歐元緊急紓貸。當2010年5月3日股市開市，歐元完全不令人驚訝地貶值了！那些投資者們也許還記得阿根廷，阿根廷當年接受了好幾個協助貸款，但只有償還部分，那些債主最後只拿到借出的一小部份金額。
With the rescue package of this month, Europe has gone for options 1 and 2 — for the heavy hand of austerity and the soft heart of ¤110 billion in emergency loans. When the markets reopened on May 3, they were unimpressed, continuing to short the euro. The traders may have remembered Argentina. The country was given several injections of assistance only to default in the end, with creditors getting just a fraction of what they were owed.(See pictures of the violent protests in Greece.)

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The Orignal site of TIME magazine

把影迷拋諸腦後的慾望城市2 Sex and the City 2 Leaves Fans Behind (2 of 2)

 

把影迷拋諸腦後的慾望城市2 

By Mary Pols Wednesday, May. 26, 2010 

顯然，到阿布達哈比的免費旅行可以。這趟豪華旅程，由想要請莎曼珊作公關的阿拉伯王公全部買單。旅程能充滿吸引力，顯然是比影集還誇張浮華到不行的專屬僕人服務、專屬出遊司機。在以前，這四位女孩得為生活鑽進計程車後座捉襟見肘的生活著，而且觀眾們也很願意跟著在後座看遍紐約市生態。但是現在似乎已大大的不同了，她們一直都有著買奢華名牌鞋子的壞習慣，但是也很習慣處於房貸、小衣櫥經濟兩難中。她們穿得衣著體面、光鮮亮麗，但觀眾們同時也看得到素顏、脂粉未施的曼哈頓女孩兒。即使表面上看起來是一副樣子，但觀眾仍相信在靈魂深處底下她們是不一樣的。但，現在她們居然要從飛機上的經濟艙逃走。(註：這段寫得超好的，非常棒的評論技巧，象徵性的詞彙通論一件現象。)
Apparently, a free trip to Abu Dhabi will, sponsored by a sheik who wants Samantha to do some public relations work for him. The main attraction of this creepily opulent place seems to be the availability of servants, with chauffeured cars as plentiful as your cosmopolitans of yesteryear. In the old days, you four would have worked out your dilemmas in the back of a cab, and we would have happily joined you for the ride. But now we've grown apart. Sure, you always had extravagant shoe habits, but you also used to struggle with mortgages and small closets. You got dressed up and looked fabulous, but we saw you without your makeup too. Even if you had shallow tendencies, we still believed in your depths. Now you recoil at traveling coach. (See the best movies of the decade.)

成功光環已經完全改變這些女孩了嗎？慾望城市在以前，在美國探討挖掘性別議題，是如此的精明辛辣，但是這次卻保護般的討論文化衝擊，過分地將異國文化衝擊單純化了。(凱莉對於在阿拉伯聯合大公國的女人們戴著面紗，只是輕描淡寫的說「男人似乎不想要女人有發聲的權利」。)就在那時，慾望城市2並未替電影帶來任何令人激動的火花，取而代之的只是個荒謬可笑的現實。(在一場在沙漠中行走的片段，三名角色甚至換穿了面紗)  觀眾甚至來不及仔細看清楚服裝，就馬上又換下一套了。在那些華美到不行的飯店場景、商品中，都說明了一件事情。慾望城市2已經變得貪婪。
Has success changed you? In the past, your digs at American gender politics were astute, but your patronizing take on foreign cultures seems shockingly simplistic. ("It's like they don't want them to have a voice," Carrie says wonderingly of the women wearing veils in the United Arab Emirates.) And while none of you bring particularly scintillating emotional baggage to the dramatic arc of the film, you all bring a ridiculous amount of actual luggage. (For one trip into the sand dunes alone, there are three outfit changes.) We barely have time to register a dress before it's gone. And the copious product placements (Pringles and Suzanne Somers' hormone book Breakthrough? Seriously?) bolsters the sense that you've gotten greedy. (Comment on this story.)

觀眾並不會因此感到惱人。慾望城市2只是個時光，它提醒我們曾一起擁有過的歷史。金凱特蘿 (飾演莎曼珊) 是個常帶來驚喜，最令人喜愛的角色，她演出很多害羞的片段，提醒觀眾早已忘記的信念  (她甚至使出「我的阿拉伯勞倫斯王子」這句著名的台詞) 幸運地，場景接著跳到阿拉伯傳統市場裡，凱莉的前男友亞當身上，即使觀眾們都知道這段感情已經很久前就結束了。另一個場景是米蘭達鼓勵永遠都是成功角色的夏綠蒂。酒過三巡後，夏綠蒂終於承認她擔任母親的角色十分辛苦。母親，這個話題通常不在慾望城市討論之內。「這真的非常難熬」夏綠蒂最後在米蘭達的點頭支持，以及要她放鬆的每一口雞尾酒下坦承她的內心煎熬。最後，她大聲的說出「女人身邊怎麼能沒有一個好幫手？」最後觀眾被這句台詞喚回現實。凱莉、莎曼珊、米蘭達、夏綠蒂，下次再一起歡聚吧，但別太急，我是說真的，另外拜託別再有駱駝了。

Don't Call Us, We'll Call You

We're not implying it was all agony. There are moments in Sex and the City 2 that remind us of our history together. Cattrall is an unexpected favorite, charging ahead with such admirable conviction that we stop noticing how potentially humiliating many of her scenes are. (She even pulls off the line "Lawrence of my labia.") It's nice to bump into Carrie's former flame Aidan (John Corbett) in an Arabian market, even though we know that romance was put to bed long ago. A scene in which Miranda encourages the ever endearing Charlotte, over cocktails, to confess to struggling with motherhood is a glimpse of the old, less entitled Sex and the City. "It's so hard," Charlotte finally admits as Miranda nods and urges her to take another sip. Then she wonders aloud, "How do the women without help do it?" and knocks us right back out of sync. Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte, let's catch up again sometime — but really, no rush. And please, no camels.

See the top 10 movie bromances.
See the best TV shows of the decade.

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Read more ?


The other film commments
‧The Guardian： Carrie and friends head to the Middle East in a misjudged and incredibly boring sequel

‧The Times：The four smart New Yorkers of the television series have metamorphosed into lobotomised tourists in this misjudged sequel

‧The New York Times：Operation Desert Togs

歐盟的抉擇 Europe's Choice (2 of 2)

Europe's Choice  歐盟的抉擇
By Josef Joffe Monday, May. 17, 2010 ,TIME 


可以肯定的是，希臘是一個很小的經濟體，小到只有德國的十分之一。所以儘管希臘政府的債務不樂觀，歐洲仍能承擔，並且讓希臘能夠走在經濟正軌上。但，希臘只是最嚴重的例子之一，後頭還有葡萄牙、西班牙、義大利  (歐洲四豬國 PIGS)  。西班牙和義大利才是規模較大的經濟體。以上這些情形引申出第四種方案：這個方案曾在聯盟初建之時實施：一個經濟共同體，必須按時程一步步地等速前進。
Greece, to be sure, is a small economy, about one-tenth the size of the German one, so other Europeans can afford to keep Greece on track even if its government will not risk death by pleasing its creditors. But Greece is just the most egregious problem. Next in line is Portugal, followed by Spain and Italy — and these latter two are economies of real size. All of which implies a fourth solution, which should have been imposed in 1999 when monetary union took off: a system of economic governance that keeps speeds and timetables in sync.

理論上，只有一個方法可以防止未來走向希臘。但政治與理論可不能相提並論。哪個理論學說可以處理這樣的金融體制呢？是德國堅持要用財政訓練的方法？或是法國一直斥責德國沒有同情心，要犧牲出口盈餘來刺激國內公共需求，讓所得可以提高的方法？「停下腳步來，讓後面其他人可以跟上」不再是句口號，而是會全面在莫爾克島上實施。 (編按：德國總理為Angela Merkel，這邊的「Merkel  Land」非歐洲大陸上地名，猜想是作者以「莫爾克之島」來指稱德國。)
Logically, this is the only way to prevent future Greeces. But logic is not the same as politics. Whose rules would govern such a system? Germany's, with its insistence on fiscal discipline? Or those of France, which demands more vice from the Germans, that is, to sacrifice their export surpluses by stimulating domestic demand and letting wages creep up? "Slow down so that others may keep up" is not a slogan that will go over well in Merkel Land.(See whether the Greek bailout will be a savior for the euro.)

歐盟不會讓單一個工程師開動一整台火車，它會繼續混亂下去。沒必要成為一場災難，但歐盟寧可從這些事情中重新整理振作起來。所以，也許希臘災難會是一聲「有益的」響鐘：不可能在同個經濟體中，卻沒有監督者以及緊急危機處理措施。歐盟對希臘其他各國的情況了然於心很多年了，但，卻選擇了「忽視」，放任讓他們自己解決問題。
Europe will not choose a single engineer to run the entire train. It will continue to muddle through. That is not necessarily a disaster, but rather the way Europe was built, with disaster followed by renewal. So the Greek calamity, which is far from over, may be a salutary wake-up call. You can't have monetary union without a system of supervision and crisis-control. The E.U. has known what Greece and others have been doing for years, but it chose not to notice, let alone to intervene.

所以歐洲將會利用這次緊急貸款的機會，在可允許的時間內導入嚴格的規定。就像銀行如何對付那些帳戶透支卻又濫用特權的客戶一樣，必須讓一個機構在旁糾正錯誤，以便防止債務不斷擴大。經過這次的疏貸方案石沉愛琴海後，糟糕到任何事都可能發生的歐洲將會恐慌性償債，而這個代價將更加昂貴，到時候將帶領歐元走向大潰退。
So Europe might use the time afforded by the emergency loans to install a rigorous early-warning system — just as banks do when their clients abuse their overdraft privileges. It should be flanked by a mechanism for an orderly default that keeps contagion from spreading. The worst of all possible worlds is a panicky default after a few more rescue packages have sunk in the Aegean. It will be a lot more expensive, and the run on the euro may turn into a stampede.






Joffe  為德國時代週報(Die Zeit)編輯、國際j關係研究協會、史丹佛大學胡佛研究所研究員
Joffe is editor of Die Zeit and a fellow of the Institute for International Studies and of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University

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The Orignal site of TIME magazine

好萊塢的血汗工廠 Hollywood's VFX Sweatshops (3 of 3)

好萊塢的血汗工廠 ── VFX，繁華中的衰敗
Hollywood's VFX Shops: Trouble in Boom Times (3 of 3)
By Rebeccca Keegan / Hollywood Monday, May. 31, 2010
Hollywood's  VFX  Sweatshops


科技越來越便宜，這個產業的入門門檻也越來越低，一家小型的特效公司就能購買得起兩萬美元的硬體和軟體，也能輕鬆操作自如。另外，07持續到08年的編劇罷工，和09年一直芒刺在背的演員大罷工，讓能夠在新電影中使用的綠能節能 (Green-Lighting) 技術發展緩慢。這些困境讓某些特效公司一直難以從經濟海嘯中復甦。
「我們面臨更多激烈的競爭，而且越來越難以生存。」羅斯說。
As technology got cheaper, the barriers to entry fell: a small shop can get up and running with $20,000 worth of hardware and software. The 2007-08 Hollywood writers' strike and the threat of an actors' strike in 2009 slowed the green-lighting of new films — a blow from which some companies haven't recovered. "We're starting to see even more dire competition, and it's getting harder to keep shops open," says Ross.

VFX的購買商以及工作室面臨到最主要的困難點在於：「訂單任意更改。」
當導演定要修改他理想心目中的一幕時，這就代表了好幾個月的工作進度全都白費了。(這我也懂，堪「欲哭無淚」四字可比擬) 在現今的運作模式中，大部分的特效工作室只能自行吸收額外的花費，唯有如此，它們才能維持與電影公司、電影工作者的良好生意關係。
A major point of contention between VFX shops and studios is the issue of change orders. When a director revises what he wants to see in a shot, it can mean months of lost work. Under the current system, most VFX houses feel they have to eat the costs to maintain their relationships with studios and filmmakers.

特效公司只想要為最優渥的價錢工作。
「我們是那個唯一為電影花大錢、創意發想、甘冒這個風險的人。」華納兄弟電影公司的數位動畫特效製作部副執行總裁克里斯‧迪法拉，在三月舉行的VFX產業線上會議 ( online town hall) 這樣說道。
Studios are simply getting the best work for the best price. "We're the ones that spend the money, demand innovation, take the risk," said Chris deFaria, executive vice president of digital production, animation and visual effects at Warner Bros., at an online town hall in March for the VFX industry. "We're the ones deeply invested in a thriving VFX environment."

這個線上會議由曾當過編劇、特效動畫家的李‧史特納翰召開，李‧史特納翰可算是這個產業中的Norma Rae人物 (註：Norma Rae是1979年的美國電影，探討勞工權益問題，獲得當年奧斯卡最佳女主角及最佳原創歌曲等大獎。詳細內容可看Wiki百科介紹)  在他發表在Huffington Post (美國著名政治類部落格)  的一篇著名文章「一封給詹姆斯卡麥隆的公開信」，史特納翰稱這些特效公司為「地球上最有趣也最高科技的血汗工廠。」
The town hall was organized by writer and former effects artist Lee Stranahan, who has become something of a Norma Rae for the industry, thanks to the widely read "Open Letter to James Cameron" he wrote for the Huffington Post. In it, Stranahan called effects shops "the most fun and high-tech sweatshops on earth."

傳統的好萊塢外包像是動畫和佈景都有工會組織，但像VFX特效藝術家卻沒這麼容易做到。VFX成為全球化的產業之勢已不能改變。(作者使用被動語態暗示VFX的無奈，顯示現今潮流之勢銳不可擋) 各家公司能夠請到最便宜的勞工上工。在美國，VFX藝術家的薪水起薪在五萬美金(160萬台幣) 以上，並且還能輕易往上攀爬達到十萬位數。而其他海外的只能賺到美國人的一成零頭不到。(16萬台幣) 
Traditional Hollywood trades such as animation and set building are unionized, a status VFX artists aren't likely to achieve, given that VFX is a global business. Companies will simply hire the cheapest labor force that can do the job. In the U.S., VFX artists' salaries start at $50,000 and can quickly reach the low six figures. Artists overseas earn as little as 10% of that.

對VFX族群來說，將來可能會是最具好萊塢戲劇性的結局。隨著蝙蝠俠系列第四集、魔戒前傳‧哈比人歷險記、Thor (雷神托爾)、Green Lantern (綠燈俠) 的出現，對於特效的需求將會強過這些特效產業的分歧。這些需求的自然力量也將會改變現今的權力平衡：例如，一個天才型的設計師比一個熟稔各種技巧的設計師來得重要。亞倫‧蘭斯基說。「當一部電影因為不足的特效技術而延後上映時間，你就會看到許多關於產業的有趣改變即將就此展開。搞不好哪天，特效藝術家將會取代電影明星，成為電影的宣傳強打喔！誰知道？」 
(全文完，原文取自TIME雜誌，轉載歡迎，但註明出處，歡迎批評指教)
For VFX houses, there may be a dramatic Hollywood ending. With effects-heavy movies like the forthcoming Batman sequel, The Hobbit, Thor and Green Lantern coming down the pike, the demand for VFX may overwhelm the industry's diminished capacity. The changing nature of the work could alter the balance of power too: being a gifted designer is becoming more important than being a technical whiz. Says analyst Alan Lasky: "The minute you see one of these movies not make its release date due to this capacity crisis, then you'll start to see some interesting changes in the industry." Who knows? Maybe someday an effects artist will even get star billing.

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The original site of TIME magazine

好萊塢的血汗工廠 Hollywood's VFX Sweatshops (2 of 3)

The Night Knight, VFX by DOUBLE NEGATIVE VISUAL EFFECTS, located at London

好萊塢的血汗工廠 ── VFX，繁華中的衰敗
Hollywood's VFX Shops: Trouble in Boom Times (2 of 3)
By Rebeccca Keegan / Hollywood Monday, May. 31, 2010


正當全球特效產業還沒開始分裂，喬治盧卡斯長達35年的影視帝國，正化作僅為開張幾個月的工作室，分布在中國及印度各地。Digital Domain公司的前CEO，同時也是ILM的總經理史考特羅素，估計VFX每年產業總值在13.5億美金左右，五大特效公司就佔了其中的8千到1億美金(市占率74%)，而其他的小特效公司拿很少很少的一百萬美金。除了電影特效之外，還有電視節目、電腦遊戲、商業廣告、音樂錄影帶等，這些特效公司不斷地雇新員工，資遣員工，全視當時手上有多少案子。(所以說標題定的sweatshops ，就是在於這VFX產業除了被大公司壟斷之外，財務來源嚴重不穩定，也是被稱為「血汗工廠」的原因之一...poor artist... )
Yet the global VFX industry has been fragmenting. It encompasses everything from Lucas' 35-year-old state-of-the-art empire to months-old shops in India and China. Scott Ross, a former CEO of Digital Domain and general manager at ILM, estimates that VFX is a $1.35 billion industry, with the big five shops each pulling in $80 million to $100 million a year and the many smaller shops taking in as little as $1 million. Effects companies work on movies, TV shows, video games, commercials and music videos and are constantly hiring and firing, depending on their project loads.

但VFX特效產業應該還是會繁榮興盛。
2009年，全球十個最賺錢的電影裡頭，就有9個嚴重依賴特效視覺效果。這些讓特效成為好萊塢比「大明星制度」更耀眼核心。好萊塢的工作室就將賺到的辛苦錢，2~3億美金的三分之一，這麼多的血汗錢押寶在特效預算中。
「電影中在意的，再也不是湯姆克魯斯或是湯姆漢克了」羅素說：「我們在意的是，大水淹沒紐約市，或是製造藍衣人。」 (特效演員演出時多穿藍色緊身衣，方便電影後製時加上特效。)
The VFX business should be thriving. Nine of the 10 highest-grossing movies worldwide in 2009 relied heavily on special effects, making the industry more central to Hollywood's business model than movie stars are. As much as a third of the budget of the $200 million — to — $300 million movies that are the foundation of Hollywood studios' earnings are devoted to special effects. "It's no longer about Tom Hanks or Tom Cruise," says Ross. "It's about flooding New York or creating blue people."

但在過去15個月當中，包括在加州的迪士尼數位電影影像公司，多倫多的C.O.R.E數位影像公司，以及其它散落在舊金山的孤兒特效公司等等，都遭遇到一個困境。
「這就像這個圈子裡頭公開的秘密──做特效是為了「名聲」，是為了一場美麗的雙人舞，為了讓旗下的藝術家們開心；但是，它無法讓你賺錢。」《浮華世界》(Variety) 一期以VFX作為封面故事，助理專題編輯大衛‧科翰這樣說道：「如果你夠幸運，你會因為它們而破產，但如果你不夠幸運，你會因為它們而一蹶不振！(out of business)」
But in the past 15 months, companies including Disney's ImageMovers Digital in Novato, Calif.; C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures in Toronto; and the Orphanage in San Francisco have shuttered. "It's pretty much an open secret in the business that you do feature-film visual effects for prestige — to get a great reel, to keep your artists happy — but they don't make money," says David Cohen, an associate features editor at Variety who covers the VFX industry. "If you're lucky, you break even on them. If you're not lucky, you're out of business."

最根本原因就在於VFX產業的組成。大部分的公司都在欣欣向榮的1990年代成立，那是一個錢多到淹腳目，導演和藝術家被像高科技沙箱 (sandbox，一種高級音響設施) 珍貴對待的年代。1993年，Digital Domian公司以1,500萬美金之姿創立了。占有一半股權的大股東IBM，還提供了每個價值五萬美元的圖像工作站給Digital Domain公司使用。
The root of the industry's problems is in how the companies were formed, most of them in the go-go 1990s, when cash was plentiful and shops were treated like high-tech sandboxes for directors and artists. In 1993, Digital Domain was founded with $15 million, and 50% partner IBM provided dozens of $50,000 graphics workstations — a VFX company's costliest investment.

過去三年中，經濟的流動打壞原本的劇本。更優惠的稅率政策刺激VFX產業外流，它們傾巢而出到更便宜的地方，像是加拿大、歐洲、澳洲、紐西蘭，。同一時間，美國的公司也開始向外面像是中國、印度等地方對外發包，像是清除鋼絲 ( wire removal，演員若吊鋼絲飛起來，一種專門將鋼絲在畫面上清除的動畫技術)、轉描機技術 ( rotoscoping )這種吃力不討好的產業代工。
In the past three years, economic mobility spoiled that script. Generous tax incentives in Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand siphoned off much of Hollywood's VFX work and drove down prices. At the same time, U.S. companies began outsourcing the grunt work — unglamorous tasks like wire removal and rotoscoping (an animation process) — to India and China.

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