德國歐盟專員為不當言論道歉

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，德國的歐盟專員金特•厄廷格(Günther Oettinger)迫于越來越大的公眾壓力，對上周侮辱了中國人、女性、同性戀群體以及比利時瓦隆大區(qū)(Wallonia)的演講發(fā)表了語氣謙卑的道歉。

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”.

此舉是厄廷格的幡然轉變，此前他試圖無視人們對他言論的憤怒。他的言論包括形容中國人“瞇縫眼”和“用黑色鞋油把頭發(fā)從左向右梳”。

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”.

在周三發(fā)表的聲明中，他承認“我使用的語言讓人心情不愉快，甚至可能受到了傷害……我想為我的任何欠妥的、不夠尊重的言論道歉”。

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

對厄廷格及其上司歐盟委員會(European Commission)主席讓-克洛德•容克(Jean-Claude Juncker)來說，該丑聞發(fā)生的時機不能更糟糕了。

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，在厄廷格的言論引發(fā)嘩然之前，容克已宣布他選擇厄廷格接管歐盟委員會令人垂涎的預算投資組合工作。

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

容克當時稱贊了厄廷格的“專業(yè)性”及其“良好的關系網(wǎng)”。

The affair is the latest example of verbal self-destruction by Mr Oettinger, who has served as Germany’s EU commissioner since 2010. 該事件是厄廷格在言語上自毀的最新例子，他自2010年開始擔任德國的歐盟專員。

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，在福島核災難最緊急時警告稱那場反應堆熔毀事故已經(jīng)“失控”——該言論引發(fā)了全球金融市場動蕩。

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”.

據(jù)報道，他在漢堡發(fā)表的那場演講中的引發(fā)爭議的言論包括，把瓦隆大區(qū)(比利時法語區(qū))稱為“由共產黨人治理的微小地區(qū)”以及關于“強制性同性婚姻”的怪異笑話。

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

歐盟委員會一名發(fā)言人稱，周三容克與厄廷格就該事件進行了談話，他們今天還將再次談話。

“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.

“主席也想聽專員解釋他當時的原話是什么以及他是如何把自己置于今天不得不發(fā)表聲明的境地，”該發(fā)言人稱。

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

在這份對于歐盟高級官員來說懺悔異常誠懇的聲明中，厄廷格在四段話中道了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.”

“我當時是心直口快——不是照演講稿說的，而是我們在德語中所說的‘有口無心’(frei von der leber)，”他稱，“如果我說的話讓人心情不愉快，我再次道歉。”