北京暴雨死亡人數備受質疑

Beijing faced criticism after the devastation of deadly floods over the weekend as well as some doubts around the official death toll.

在北京郊外的房山區，一艘救援船在一條被淹沒的路段上。在北京週末致命洪災造成破壞之後，政府飽受批評，一些人對官方死亡統計數字也表示質疑。

Saturday's floods, the result of the heaviest rain the city has seen in six decades, led to more than 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) in damages, state media reported. As of Monday night, the official toll of flood-related deaths remained at 37, unchanged from Sunday.

週六北京市遭遇60年來最大暴雨，據官方媒體報道，暴雨帶來的洪災造成了超過100億元（合16億美元）的損失。截至週一夜間，官方的洪災因災死亡人數仍爲37人，與週日一樣。

Although that number initially struck many as high for a city that prides itself on world-class infrastructure, the scale of damage in areas outside the city center, combined with persistent doubts among some Internet users about the veracity of Chinese disaster statistics, led to some speculation that the actual death toll is higher.

一位李（音）姓男子在檢查一輛白色小轎車，他哥哥被淹死在車裏。對於一座以世界級基礎設施爲榮的城市來說，這麼高的數字讓很多人感到不可思議。但考慮到市中心以外某些地區的損失程度，以及一些網民對中國災害統計數據真實性的持續懷疑，一些人仍然猜想，實際死亡人數可能更高。

In contrast to the city center, which appeared almost back to normal on Monday, parts of hard-hit Fangshan district on the southern outskirts were still struggling to dig themselves out on Monday.

市中心在週一似乎已經基本恢復正常，但同一天在南郊受損嚴重的房山區，某些地方一時仍然難以恢復。

In the mountains above the town of Zhoukoudian, roughly 60 kilometers southwest of downtown Beijing, floodwaters had washed away several bridges, taken out long stretches of road, and turned a previously dry riverbed into a frothy stream littered with chunks of concrete, dead pigs and the chewed-up husks of at least seven cars. Photos of similar or worse devastation in nearby towns circulated online.

北京市中心西南方向約60公里處的周口店鎮上方的山區，多座橋樑被洪水沖走，長長的路段被淹沒，原先乾涸的河牀變成了一條充滿浮沫的河流、混凝土塊散落其中，死豬和至少七輛遭到毀壞的汽車外殼。網上流傳的照片顯示鄰近村鎮也遭到同樣破壞，甚至還更嚴重。

'The death toll is definitely higher [than 37],' said a man surnamed Li who was found standing by the side of the road in Shuangma Zhuang village next to a white sedan, its shape twisted by the waters. Mr. Li, who declined to provide his given name, said he was called to Shuangma Zhuang to identify the body of his older brother, who had been discovered inside the car when police pulled it out of the water on Monday afternoon.

在拴馬莊村，一位站在馬路邊的李（音）姓男子說，死亡人數肯定高於37人。他的旁邊是一輛白色小轎車，已經被洪水衝得變了形。這位拒絕透露名字的男子說，他被叫到拴馬莊去辨認哥哥的遺體。遺體是警方在週一下午將轎車從水中拖出的時候發現的。

As Mr. Li pointed to where police had sawed through the metal to remove his brother's body, a friend standing nearby also cast doubt on the official number. 'The government says 37 died. It's probably more like 370,' he said.

相關報道:在李姓男子指向警察鋸開金屬結構取出其兄長遺體的地方時，一位站在旁邊的友人也對官方數字提出質疑。他說，政府說有37人死亡，或許更像是370人死亡。

A short way up the road, Wang Jinlei was pleading for help in locating his 25-year-old nephew, whose minivan he'd found abandoned higher up in the mountains. 'More than a dozen members of my family are out searching for him. We've looked everywhere,' Mr. Wang, from Laishui county in nearby Hebei province, said while trying to convince an excavation crew to help him in his search.

沿着馬路不遠處，王金磊（音）正在請求人們幫他尋找25歲的侄子。他之前發現侄子的微型麪包車被拋棄在山上更高處。來自河北省淶水縣的王金磊在請求一支挖掘隊幫他尋找侄子的時候說，我們家十幾口人都出來找他，四處都找遍了。

Skepticism surrounding the death toll comes as the Beijing city government is already fielding criticism from residents and Internet users who are asking how a city that spent billions building facilities for the 2008 Olympics could struggle so in dealing with a thunderstorm. Urban areas of Beijing were hit with roughly nine inches of rain over 16 hours, causing lakes to form at intersections-some several meters deep-as the sewers were overwhelmed.

在死亡人數受到質疑的時候，北京市政府已經飽受市民和網民的批評。他們在問，一座爲2008年奧運會斥巨資建設各類設施的城市，在應對一場暴風雨的時候怎麼如此狼狽。在16個小時的時間裏，北京城區降雨量達到225毫米左右。由於下水道不堪重負，很多路口積水，有些地方深達數米。

Reached by phone Monday, the city's spokeswoman, Wang Hui, said she agreed with Internet users' comments that Beijing's sewer system wasn't equipped for the storm and said the city will work to improve it. 'We need to strengthen this area going forward,' she said.

記者週一致電北京市政府新聞發言人王惠，她說自己同意網民的觀點，即北京的下水道系統無力應對這場暴雨，並說市政府將努力改進。王惠說，將來我們要加強這方面的工作。

Beijing municipal propaganda authorities didn't immediately respond to a separate request for comment about the accuracy of the death toll.

記者另外請求北京市宣傳部門評論死亡人數的準確性問題，暫未獲得回覆。

State-run Xinhua news agency put the death toll from rain storms in the rest of China at 39, which appeared to mark Beijing as the region hardest hit by floods.

新華社報道說，中國其他地區因暴雨死亡的人數爲39人。如此看來，北京似乎是受暴雨侵襲最嚴重的地區。

Ms. Wang said microblogs played a 'crucial' role in dealing with the floods over the weekend. But even as she praised social media, flood-related posts that were critical of the government were disappearing online, the apparent victims of online censors.

Stringer/Reuters圖片：北京暴雨致數十人身亡王惠說，微博客在上週末應急處理暴雨的過程中發揮了關鍵作用。但就在王惠讚揚社交媒體的時候，與洪災有關、批評政府的微博不斷消失，可能是被網絡審查人員刪除了。

Among their targets: a widely shared list of more than two dozen recent disasters, including fires and coal mine explosions, in which 37 people had died -put forward as evidence of a theory that Chinese officials deliberately report death tolls less than 40 to avoid reprimand from central authorities. Its not clear whether any such death-toll threshold actually exists.

被刪微博之中，有一份大量轉發的名單，列舉了二十多起最近發生、死亡人數均爲37人的災難，其中有火災，也有煤礦爆炸事故。這被用來證明一種假說：地方政府官員爲免受中央政府斥責，有意將死亡人數報爲低於40人。尚不清楚這個40人的門檻是否真的存在。

Controversy over the flood arrives at a sensitive time for Chinese authorities, who are trying to maintain social stability in the face of a slowing economy and looming leadership handover.

有關這場暴雨的爭論發生在中國政府的一個敏感時期。在經濟增速放緩、領導層即將換屆之際，中國政府正努力維持社會穩定。

That such disruption is hitting Beijing is particularly problematic, as the capital is assumed by many to be country's most advanced and best protected city.

這種破壞發生在北京尤其有問題，因爲在很多人看來，首都應該是全國最先進、防備最好的城市。

Beijing authorities attempted to head off criticism online, with Ms. Wang using her verified account on Sina Corp.'s Weibo microblogging service to post messages about people helping strangers cross flooded streets. She also responded to complaints that police were leaving tickets for abandoned vehicles.

北京市政府試圖先發制人地打消網上的批評。王惠通過新浪微博實名認證賬戶，發出有關人們幫助陌生人走過積水馬路的信息，同時迴應了網民關於警方對受困車輛貼罰單的抱怨。

'All such tickets will be made invalid,' she said.

她表示這些罰單將會作廢。

The more pressing issue for many, however, was the city's sewer system, which consistently gets overwhelmed by heavy rainfall. 'Beijing built its sewage system based on the model of Soviet Union,' said Ming Jiang, director of environmental and ecological planning in China for Aecom, a technical and management-support services company. 'The main problem here is that the design standards were not up to scratch, which is made worse by lack of maintenance and upgrades.'

但在很多人看來，更緊迫的問題是北京的下水道系統。每逢暴雨，北京的下水道總是不堪重負。技術和管理支持服務公司Aecom中國區環境與生態規劃總監蔣明說，北京的下水道系統是依照前蘇聯模式建成的，主要問題是設計標準不行，然後又缺少維護和升級，讓問題雪上加霜。