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The Philippines has revoked the registration of an influential online media group known for its tough coverage of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, in a move the company and its supporters decried as an attack on press freedom.
菲律宾吊销了一家以批评总统罗德里戈?杜特尔特(Rodrigo Duterte)而闻名的、颇具影响力的网络媒体集团的牌照。该集团及其支持者把此举称为对新闻自由的攻击。
The country’s Securities and Exchange Commission said Rappler, a digital start-up launched in 2012, had violated restrictions on foreign ownership of the media because the Omidyar Network, a fund created by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, was an investor. The ruling was dated January 11 and emailed to reporters on Monday.
菲律宾证券交易委员会(SEC)表示，2012年创立的数字初创企业Rappler违反了对外资持有媒体股份的限制，因为eBay创始人皮埃尔?奥米戴尔(Pierre Omidyar)创立的基金“奥米戴尔网络”(Omidyar Network)是Rappler的投资者。吊销牌照的裁定是1月11日做出的，并于本周一通过电邮发给了记者们。
Rappler has been both a frequent critic and target of Mr Duterte, who in his state of the union address last year claimed the company was “fully owned by Americans”.
Rappler经常批评杜特尔特，同时也是后者的眼中钉。在去年的国情咨文中，杜特尔特称该公司“完全由美国人持有”。
The SEC investigation began in 2016, after Mr Duterte came to power, when the solicitor-general’s office asked it to investigate securities known as Philippine depository receipts sold by Rappler to two foreign investors, including Omidyar, the previous year.
杜特尔特上台后，SEC于2016年启动了对Rappler的调查，副总检察长办公室要求SEC调查Rappler在前一年出售给两家外国投资者（奥米戴尔网络就是其中之一）的名为菲律宾存托凭证(PDR)的证券。
The depositary receipts held by Omidyar have now been voided by the SEC, which has also ordered the revocation of certificates of incorporation for both Rappler and its holding company.
奥米戴尔网络持有的存托凭证现被SEC宣告无效。SEC还下令吊销了Rappler及其控股公司的公司注册证书。
“The SEC’s kill order revoking Rappler’s licence to operate is the first of its kind in history, both for the commission and for Philippine media,” Rappler said in response.
“SEC吊销Rappler经营牌照的绞杀令是史上首项此类命令，无论是对该委员会还是对菲律宾媒体而言都是如此，”Rappler回应称。
“What this means for you, and for us, is that the commission is ordering us to close shop, to cease telling you stories, to stop speaking truth to power, and to let go of everything that we have built — and created — with you since 2012.”
“这对你们、对我们来说意味着，该委员会命令我们关门、停止报道、不再对权力讲真话、放弃2012年以来你们与我们一起建立和创造的一切。”
Rappler said it would continue to operate as it appealed against the decision. The company maintains it is 100 per cent Filipino-owned, and that the depositary receipts owned by foreign parties make them investors, not shareholders.
Rappler表示，在它就上述裁定提出上诉期间，它将继续运营。它坚称，自己百分之百由菲律宾人持有，外方持有的是存托凭证，因此其身份为投资者，而不是股东。
Risa Hontiveros, an opposition senator, said the move to revoke Rappler’s registration was “pure harassment and a clear attack on press freedom” and “Marcosian” — a reference to Ferdinand Marcos, the late Philippine dictator. “I urge the public and all media practitioners to defend press freedom and the right to speak truth to power,” she said.
来自反对党的参议员里莎?翁蒂韦罗斯(Risa Hontiveros)表示，吊销Rappler牌照是“对新闻自由的十足骚扰和明显攻击”，是“马科斯做派”——此处指的是已故菲律宾独裁者费迪南德?马科斯(Ferdinand Marcos)。她说:“我敦促公众和所有媒体从业人员捍卫新闻自由和面对权力讲真话的权利。”
Harry Roque, Mr Duterte’s spokesman, rejected the criticism, saying the issue at hand was compliance with the constitution’s requirement of “100 per cent Filipino ownership and management of mass media”. He continued: “No one is above the law. Rappler has to comply.”
杜特尔特的发言人哈里?罗克(Harry Roque)拒绝接受这一批评，称当前的问题是遵守宪法中有关“大众媒体须百分之百由菲律宾人持有和管理”的规定。他接着说:“谁也不能凌驾于法律之上。Rappler必须守法。”
