时事新闻:中国军官殴打空姐遭鄙视

Even close ties to the military can't shield boorish Chinese officials from being called out for behaving badly in the age of social media.

在社交媒体时代，即使跟军方有着密切的关系，行为不检的中国官员也免不了被人拉出来点名。

China's state-run Xinhua news agency on Saturday issued a report largely confirming the account, originally published on Sina Corp.'s Weibo microblogging service, of a China Southern Airlines flight attendant who said she was bullied by a Chinese official and his wife in a conflict over carry-on luggage during a flight on Aug. 29.

中国官方媒体新华社上周六发表一篇报道，基本上证实了中国南方航空公司一位乘务人员最初发表在新浪微博上的说法。这位空姐说，8月29日的一次飞行期间，她与一位官员及其夫人因行李摆放问题产生冲突，被对方欺负。

The official is identified in the Xinhua report as Fang Daguo, a member of the Communist Party Standing Committee in the Yuexiu district of the southern metropolis of Guangzhou. Mr. Fang is also political commissar for the Yuexiu Armed Forces Department.

新华社认定这位官员是广州市越秀区委常委方大国。他同时也是越秀区武装部政委。

Internet users had earlier helped identify Mr. Fang after the flight attendant, whose own identity remains unclear, posted an account of the attack on the microblogging service that quickly went viral.

之前，这位空姐通过新浪微博发表关于这次事件的描述、并很快在网上流传开来。此后，网民曾帮助确定了方大国的身份。这位空姐的身份仍然不明。

The conflict occurred on a China Southern flight from the eastern city of Hefei to Guangzhou. According to accounts from the flight attendant, a co-worker and passengers interviewed by Xinhua, it began when Mr. Fang and his wife, the latter smelling strongly of alcohol, called the flight attendant after failing to find space above their seats to store their carry-on bags.

冲突发生在一架从合肥飞往广州的南航班机上。据空姐、她的一位同事以及新华社采访的乘客说，先是方大国及其散发着强烈酒气的夫人发现座位上方没有位置存放他们随身携带的行李，于是叫空姐过来。

When the flight attendant suggested the couple store their bags elsewhere, Mr. Fang grew suddenly angry and grabbed the flight attendants' arm. 'If it weren't for us, you wouldn' t even have food to eat,' his wife yelled, according one passenger account cited by Xinhua.

空姐建议夫妇俩把行李放在别的地方，方大国突然发作，抓住了空姐的手臂。据新华社引述的一位乘客的说法，当时方大国的妻子叫道：如果没有我们，你连饭都没有的吃。

The flight attendant's co-worker wrote that Mr. Fang at one point attacked the flight attendant with his luggage while his wife threatened her, saying 'Aren't you just a flight attendant? I know your boss!'

空姐的一位同事写道，方大国一度用行李砸她，同时方夫人威胁她说：不就一个乘务员吗？我认识你们老总！

That post was accompanied by a series of photos showing a torn flight attendant's uniform and a woman's scratched and bruised arm.

这条微博附带了一系列照片，显示一件空乘制服被撕裂，一名女子的手臂有抓痕和淤伤。

A preliminary investigation by the Yuexiu District Armed Forces Department found that Mr. Fang did not assault the flight attendant, according to Xinhua, though it did find that 'pushing and shoving occurred between the flight attendant and one of his family members.' Xinhua quoted the department's investigation in denying allegations from the flight attendant that Mr. Yang had called military trucks to the airport in an effort to intimidate her.

据新华社报道，越秀区武装部经过初步调查，认为方大国并未殴打空姐，但其家属与空姐发生过“拉扯”。空姐声称方大国曾叫军车到机场威胁她；而据新华社引述上述调查称，越秀区武装部否认这一说法。

Mr. Fang apologized to the flight attendant 'of his own volition,' Xinhua quoted the department as saying.

新华社援引越秀区武装部的话报道说，方大国已经主动向空姐表达了歉意。

Attempts to reach Mr. Fang through the Yuexiu district government on Sunday were unsuccessful. The flight attendant has not updated her Sina Weibo feed since Friday.

记者上周日试图通过越秀区政府联系方大国，但没有成功。这名空姐上周五之后就没有更新过微博。

Prior to the release of the preliminary investigation results and the Xinhua report, the incident had produced a torrent of angry responses online, including one posted on the verified Weibo account of Xinhua's own bureau in Guangzhou on Friday.

在初步调查结果和新华社的报道发布之前，这起事件在网上引起了大量愤怒的回帖，其中包括新华社广州分社上周五在认证微博账户上发布的一条微博。

'According to the usual practice, there are no official reports about the political commissar assault incident,' read the post, which was later taken down. 'Even more ridiculous, media microblog accounts have also been forced to stay silent on this. A reminder: This sort of protection doesn't just harm individuals, it also harms the entire organization. Because one is secure in the knowledge that he has backing, so he acts brazenly and without scruples.'

这篇微博写道，像往常一样，没有关于这名政委打人事件的官方报道。更可笑的是，媒体的微博账户被迫保持沉默。请记住，这种庇护不仅会危害到个人，也危害到整个机构。因为如果一个人认为自己有了靠山，他就会更加有恃无恐。这条微博后来被删除。

Xinhua's Guangzhou bureau declined to comment on the intent of the post or why it was later deleted.

新华社广州分社拒绝评论这条微博的意图以及为何这条微博后来被删除。

While other members of China's ruling class have been exposed and eviscerated in public for much worse offenses , this is a rare instance in which someone with connections to China's powerful military has had his misdeeds mentioned in the state-run press following a social media outcry.

尽管有其他中国官员曾因为更加恶劣的行为被曝光和唾弃，但与中国军方有关的人因不当行为在社交媒体上引起关注，之后又被国有媒体报道，这样的情况并不多见。

'Innumerable incidents prove that under the gaze of Internet users, no truth stays hidden forever,' Xinhua wrote on its official Sina Weibo feed on Saturday shortly after publishing its report on the incident.

在发布了对该事件的报道后不久，新华社上周六在新浪微博的官方账户上写道：无数事件证明，网友众目睽睽之下，没有永远窖藏的真相，只有围观推进的力量。

Not everyone was ready to declare victory, however.

不过，并非每一个人都做好了庆祝胜利的准备。

'An apology and it's all over?' wrote one dissatisfied Sina Weibo user. 'At the very least, he should be dismissed. Or are military people exempt?'

一名不满的新浪微博用户写道，道歉就完了吗？至少应该撤职。难道军人就可以免于处分吗？

Another argued that the online outcry over the flight attendant's story, far from signaling progress, was instead cause for concern. 'It's precisely this kind of case that proves how far China is from enjoying rule of law,' the post read. 'How many people are there in this country who, because their misfortunes don't attract the attention of Internet users, are forced to remain victims of power abuse?'

另一名网友则认为，空姐挨打的遭遇在网上引起轩然大波并不代表着进步，相反，这值得人们担忧。他说，就是这样的案例证明了中国离法治有多么遥远。这个国家里还有多少人的不幸遭遇没有得到网友的关注，只能继续充当权力滥用的受害者？