德国欧盟专员为不当言论道歉

Günther Oettinger, Germany’s European commissioner, bowed to mounting public pressure yesterday and issued a grovelling apology for a speech last week in which he insulted the Chinese, women, gay people and the Belgian region of Wallonia.

昨日，德国的欧盟专员金特.厄廷格(Günther Oettinger)迫于越来越大的公众压力，对上周侮辱了中国人、女性、同性恋群体以及比利时瓦隆大区(Wallonia)的演讲发表了语气谦卑的道歉。

The move is an about-face from Mr Oettinger, who had previously tried to brush off the furore over his remarks, which included a reference to Chinese people with “slitty eyes” and “hair combed from left to right with black shoe polish”.

此举是厄廷格的幡然转变，此前他试图无视人们对他言论的愤怒。他的言论包括形容中国人“眯缝眼”和“用黑色鞋油把头发从左向右梳”。

In a statement published on Wednesday, he had acknowledged “that the words I used have created bad feelings and may even have hurt people . . . I would like to apologise for any remark that was not as respectful as it should have been”.

在周三发表的声明中，他承认“我使用的语言让人心情不愉快，甚至可能受到了伤害……我想为我的任何欠妥的、不够尊重的言论道歉”。

The scandal could not have come at a worse time for Mr Oettinger and his boss, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.

对厄廷格及其上司欧盟委员会(European Commission)主席让-克洛德.容克(Jean-Claude Juncker)来说，该丑闻发生的时机不能更糟糕了。

Last Friday, before the German’s remarks erupted into the open, Mr Juncker announced that he had selected Mr Oettinger to take over the European Commission’s coveted budget portfolio.

上周五，在厄廷格的言论引发哗然之前，容克已宣布他选择厄廷格接管欧盟委员会令人垂涎的预算投资组合工作。

Mr Juncker at the time lauded Mr Oettinger’s “professionalism” and his “good network of contacts”.

容克当时称赞了厄廷格的“专业性”及其“良好的关系网”。

The affair is the latest example of verbal self-destruction by Mr Oettinger, who has served as Germany’s EU commissioner since 2010.

该事件是厄廷格在言语上自毁的最新例子，他自2010年开始担任德国的欧盟专员。

Previous gaffes included a warning at the height of the Fukushima nuclear disaster that the reactor meltdown was out “out of control” — a remark that unleashed turmoil on the global financial markets.

他之前的失言包括，在福岛核灾难最紧急时警告称那场反应堆熔毁事故已经“失控”——该言论引发了全球金融市场动荡。

Flashpoints in his speech in Hamburg reportedly included a reference to Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium, as “a micro-region run by communists,” and a bizarre aside about “compulsory gay marriage”.

据报道，他在汉堡发表的那场演讲中的引发争议的言论包括，把瓦隆大区（比利时法语区）称为“由共产党人治理的微小地区”以及关于“强制性同性婚姻”的怪异笑话。

A commission spokesman said Mr Juncker spoke to Mr Oettinger on Wednesday about the matter and they would talk again today.

欧盟委员会一名发言人称，周三容克与厄廷格就该事件进行了谈话，他们今天还将再次谈话。

“The president would like also to have the commissioner’s explanations on what he actually said and how he put himself in a position that required a statement to be issued today,” the spokesman said.

“主席也想听专员解释他当时的原话是什么以及他是如何把自己置于今天不得不发表声明的境地，”该发言人称。

In an unusually contrite statement for a senior EU official, Mr Oettinger apologised three times in the space of four paragraphs.

在这份对于欧盟高级官员来说忏悔异常诚恳的声明中，厄廷格在四段话中道了3次歉。

“I was frank and open — it was not a speech readout, but ‘frei von der leber’ as we say in German,” he said. “Once again, apologies if my words caused negative feelings.”

“我当时是心直口快——不是照演讲稿说的，而是我们在德语中所说的‘有口无心’(frei von der leber)，”他称，“如果我说的话让人心情不愉快，我再次道歉。”