美国该烧掉"中国制造"的奥运队服吗?

Burn them or wear them?

烧掉它们，还是穿上它们？

That's the question swirling around the Team USA uniforms for the 2012 Olympics after U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) responded unfavorably to an ABC World News report that the uniforms, designed by Ralph Lauren, had 'made in China' labels on them.

最近，上述有关2012美国奥运代表团队服的问题正引起热议。此前，美国广播公司(ABC)“世界新闻”(World News)节目的一则报道引发了参议院多数党领袖里德(Harry Reid，来自内华达州的民主党参议员)对这些队服的批评。该报道称，美国2012奥运代表团的队服由拉尔夫・劳伦公司(Ralph Lauren)设计，衣服上有“中国制造”的标签。

'They should take all the outfits, put them in a big pile and burn them and start all over,' Mr. Reid said at a press conference last week, apparently angry that Ralph Lauren had chosen not to throw the business at the U.S.'s struggling textile industry. 'If they have to wear nothing but a singlet that says USA on it, painted by hand, that's what they should wear.'

里德在上周的一次新闻发布会上说，人们应该收回全部的队服，将其堆做一堆，付之一炬，然后从头到脚换新的。显然，里德对拉尔夫・劳伦公司没有把这些服装的生产任务交给美国举步维艰的纺织业感到恼怒。他说，如果运动员们只能穿手绘“美国制造”字样的背心参加奥运会，他们也应该这么做。

On Monday, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency fired back with a commentary condemning the 'narrow nationalism and ignorance' displayed by U.S. politicians who oppose the Chinese-made uniforms and citing the importance of 'the Olympic Spirit, which has nothing to do with politics' but is instead about 'mutual understanding and fair play.'

周一，中国官方媒体新华社(Xinhua News Agency)在一篇评论文章中对里德的态度进行了反击，文章谴责美国政客在反对中国制造的奥运队服时表现出的“狭隘民族主义心态”和“无知”，文章提到了奥运精神的重要性，指出奥运精神倡导的是相互理解和公平竞争，应该与政治分开。

This is not the first time Ralph Lauren has outsourced production of the Team USA uniforms to China. Nor, it would seem, is China the only controversial country-of-origin for Olympic clothing.

拉尔夫・劳伦把美国代表队队服的生产工作外包给中国已经不是第一次了。中国似乎也不是唯一一个因为生产奥运服装而引发争议的国家。

One issue, of course, is money. Unlike in many other countries, the United States' Olympic Committee receives no government funding, relying instead on private contributions and corporate sponsorships. As WSJ's Elva Ramirez has noted (see video above), the extra expense of producing the uniforms in the U.S. would have likely doubled their cost.

当然，钱是一个问题。与许多其他国家不同，美国奥委会不会得到政府的资助，它依靠的是私人捐款和企业赞助。正如《华尔街日报》的拉米雷斯(Elva Ramirez)指出的那样，在美国生产队服所产生的额外花费很可能会让队服的成本加倍。

But politics is another consideration. As Xinhua rightly notes, unemployment is a burning issue for the U.S. in this election year, and neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have been shy about fingering China as a culprit in the fading away of the American factory worker.

但是，政治同样是一个纳入考虑的因素。新华社说的没错，在今年这个选举年里，就业已经成了美国国内一个十分紧迫的问题，民主党人和共和党人都将中国视作美国工厂工人失业的罪魁祸首，毫不留情地对中国加以指责。

On Monday, Ralph Lauren bowed to the pressure, releasing a statement promising that all future Team USA uniforms will be manufactured in the U.S.

周一，拉尔夫・劳伦迫于压力发表了一份声明，承诺未来美国奥运代表队的队服将由美国制造。

Were Mr. Reid and other critics of the company right in demanding that patriotism trump cost considerations?

里德和其他批评拉尔夫・劳伦的人士要求把爱国主义放在高于成本考虑的位置上，这样做对吗？

Or are they guilty of trampling on the Olympic spirit for political gain?

或者，他们是否为追求政治利益而践踏了奥林匹克精神？