赞中国批美国，美著名环保组织遭共和党议员质疑

HONG KONG — Two House Republicans have questioned a prominent American environmental group, contending that by praising China’s efforts to reduce pollution while criticizing American shortcomings it could be working as an agent of Chinese influence.

香港——两位共和党众议员对一个著名的美国环保组织发起了质疑，认为它赞扬中国在减少污染方面的努力，同时批评美国的缺点，因而可能成为中国影响的代理人。

A June 5 letter from two leading Republicans on the House Committee on Natural Resources to the nonprofit environmental group, the Natural Resources Defense Council, requested documents on its relationship with the Chinese government and answers to questions on whether it should register as a foreign agent.

两位众议院自然资源委员会(House Committee on Natural Resources)的共和党领袖于6月5日致信自然资源保护协会(Natural Resources Defense Council，下称NRDC)，要求该非盈利环保组织提供有关其与中国政府关系的文件，并回答关于是否应当注册为外国代理机构的问题。

The N.R.D.C., which was founded in 1970 and now has about 2.4 million members, has fought efforts to scale back environmental protections in the United States, suing the Trump administration about once every 10 days, according to N.R.D.C. officials. The group has also worked for years in China to improve the country’s air quality and reduce carbon emissions.

NRDC成立于1970年，现在拥有约240万名成员，该组织官员称，他们一直在努力与美国缩减环境保护措施的行为做斗争，大约每10天就要对特朗普政府提起一项诉讼。该组织在中国工作多年，努力改善该国的空气质量并减少碳排放。

The letter, from Rob Bishop, a Utah Republican and chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, and Bruce Westerman, an Arkansas Republican and chairman of the panel’s subcommittee on oversight and investigations, suggested the difference between the group’s aggressive stance in the United States and a more moderate tone in China meant it was serving Beijing’s interests. The letter was addressed to Rhea Suh, the N.R.D.C.’s president.

这封信来自犹他州共和党人、众议院自然资源委员会主席罗布·毕肖普(Rob Bishop)和阿肯色州共和党人、该委员会下属监督和调查小组委员会主席布鲁斯·韦斯特曼(Bruce Westerman)，信中声称，该组织在美国采取强硬姿态，而在中国使用更温和的语气，这意味着它在为北京的利益服务。这封信是寄给NRDC总裁雷娅·苏(Rhea Suh)的。

“The committee is concerned about the N.R.D.C.’s role in aiding China’s perception management efforts with respect to pollution control and its international standing on environmental issues in ways that may be detrimental to the United States,” the letter said.

信中写道：“在中国污染控制及其环保方面的国际形象管理上，NRDC所提供的协助令委员会感到担忧，认为其方式可能对美国不利。”

At a time when foreign influence in American politics, particularly from Russia, is a subject of widespread national debate, the lawmakers’ attack on the N.R.D.C. could expose the group to criticism for differences in its approaches to working in China and the United States.

如今，外国势力对美国政治的影响已成为全国广泛讨论的话题，特别是来自俄罗斯的影响，立法者们在这个时候对NRDC的攻击，可能令该团体因在两国的工作方式差异而受到批评。

China is the world’s biggest source of carbon emissions and its air quality problems are well known, making cleanup efforts there a key goal for international environmental groups. Universities, energy and technology companies and state and local governments have all sought to work with China on curbing pollution.

中国是世界上最大的碳排放源，空气质量问题亦是众所周知，因此中国的环境清理工作是各国际环保组织的重要目标。各种大学、能源和科技公司乃至州和地方政府都试图与中国合作遏制污染。

But China’s authoritarian government is sensitive to criticism and has barred foreigners who have been vocal in exposing shortcomings. Groups that operate in the country and want to influence Chinese policy often have to tread carefully and refrain from the full-throated critiques more common in the United States.

但是中国的威权政府对批评非常敏感，会将那些发声暴露中国缺点的外国人拒之门外。在该国运作并希望影响中国政策的团体通常必须谨慎行事，避免做出在美国更常见的高声批评。

The letter said that the N.R.D.C. appears to “practice self-censorship, issue selection bias, and generally refrains from criticizing Chinese officials.”

信中说，NRDC似乎“实行自我审查，发布选择性偏见，并且通常避免批评中国官员。”

“The N.R.D.C.’s relationship with China has many of the criteria identified by U.S. intelligence agencies and law enforcement as putting an entity at risk of being influenced or coerced by foreign interests,” the letter added.

信中还说：“NRDC与中国的关系，在很多方面符合美国情报机构和执法部门制定的‘可能受外国利益影响或胁迫的实体’标准。”

It said the N.R.D.C. had sued the United States Navy over sonar testing and its potential harm to marine life, but had not raised similar criticisms with the Chinese military. The environmental group has never condemned China’s extensive work building artificial islands in the South China Sea and praised reforms to its domestic fisheries months after a 2016 Greenpeace study that said Chinese commercial fishing was a threat to fish stocks around the world, the congressmen wrote.

它说，NRDC曾就声纳测试及其对海洋生物的潜在危害向美国海军提起诉讼，但没有对中国军方提出类似批评。两位国会议员写道，该环保组织从未谴责中国在南海建造人工岛屿的大量工作，并且称赞中国渔业的改革——就在几个月前，绿色和平组织(Greenpeace)刚刚发布2016年度报告，称中国商业捕鱼对全球鱼类资源构成威胁。

The Republican lawmakers’ letter faced criticism that they were ignoring the difficulties of working in China. Some said their effort echoed Senator Joseph McCarthy’s red-baiting in the 1950s, and was a ploy to undermine legitimate criticism of American environmental policy.

两位共和党立法者的信件遭到批评，认为他们无视在中国工作的困难。一些人说，他们的做法与1950年代的参议员约瑟夫·麦卡锡(Joseph McCarthy)生拉硬扯的反共姿态颇为相似，而且是一种破坏对美国环境政策合法批评的策略。

“As a former senior attorney working in this program, I can tell you that this is patently ridiculous,” Alex Wang, an assistant law professor at U.C.L.A. who was formerly an N.R.D.C. senior attorney in Beijing, wrote on Twitter. “N.R.D.C. has been trying to hold a Republican administration accountable for weakening environmental measures.”

“作为这个项目的前高级律师，我可以告诉你这显然是荒谬的，”加州大学洛杉矶分校的法律副教授王立德(Alex Wang)在Twitter上写道，他曾任NRDC驻北京高级律师。“NRDC一直努力在环保措施被削弱一事上向这届共和党政府问责。”

Bob Deans, the environmental group’s director of strategic engagement, said its work to protect the environment was a promotion of American goals and values.

该环保组织的战略接触总监鲍勃·迪恩斯(Bob Deans)表示，NRDC保护环境的工作是对美国目标与价值观的促进。

“As the most populous country on Earth, China has much to do with the kind of world the next generation will inherit, in our country and around the world,” he said in a statement. “We’re proud of our work, in China and elsewhere, helping to create a more sustainable future for everyone.”

“作为地球上人口最多的国家，中国同下一代将要继承的这个世界有很大关系，对于我们的国家和全世界来说都是如此，”他在一份声明中表示。“我们的工作是在中国和其他地方提供帮助，为所有人创造更加可持续的未来，我们为此感到自豪。”

N.R.D.C. officials “look forward to discussing that work with Chairman Bishop and the committee,” he added, referring to the Utah lawmaker.

NRDC官员“期待与毕肖普主席和委员会讨论这项工作，”毕肖普指那位犹他州议员。