泰國護膚品廣告涉嫌種族歧視遭批

It's hard to imagine anything more blatant than this.

很難想象還有比這更明目張膽的事。

A new Thai beauty ad claiming white skin is the key to success has unleashed a storm of criticism in Thailand, especially online, where people complain the ad perpetuates damaging, racist ideas.

一則泰國護膚品廣告宣稱白皮膚纔是成功的關鍵，遭到了公衆暴風雨般的批評，特別是在網上，人們抱怨這則廣告充滿破壞性和種族主義色彩。

"Just being white, you will win," says Cris Horwang, a smiling pale-skinned actress, in the 50-second spot by Seoul Secret, a Thai beauty company.

一家名叫“首爾的祕密”的泰國美容公司日前發佈了一則50秒的廣告，廣告中膚色白皙的女演員克麗絲·霍旺微笑着說：“擁有白皙的皮膚，你就能贏。”

On screen, the actress' expression turns despondent as her skin is digitally altered to turn black.

屏幕上，隨着女演員的皮膚被處理成黑色，她的表情看起來也很沮喪。

Horwang promises that the product, called Snowz, "will help you not to return to being dark." "Eternally white, I am confident," she adds.

霍旺在廣告中承諾，她代言的這個叫Snowz的品牌“將使你的肌膚不再變黑。” 她還補充說，“皮膚會永遠白皙，我有這個自信!”

On Friday evening, Seoul Secret pulled the video from its online platforms and issued a statement.

星期五晚上，“首爾的祕密”從它的網上平臺撤下了這條廣告，併發布了一個聲明。

"(We) would like to apologize for the mistake and claim full responsibility for this incident. Our company did not have any intention to convey discriminatory or racist messages," it said.

該聲明表示：“（我們）想對這個錯誤進行道歉，並對這一事件負全部責任。本公司沒有任何要傳達歧視性或種族主義信息的意圖。”

Skin whitening products are popular in many Asian countries including Thailand. Yet that didn't stop viewers from reacting with repulsion.

雖然美白產品在包括泰國在內的很多亞洲國家都很受歡迎，但這並沒有消除人們對這則廣告的排斥和不滿。

"I think it's really ugly -- I couldn't believe this kind of ad is still coming out in Thailand," Yukti Mukdawijitra, a professor of sociology and anthropology at Thailand's Thammasat University, told CNN.

泰國國立政法大學社會學與人類學教授Yukti Mukdawijitra接受CNN採訪時表示：“我認爲這真的很醜陋，真不敢相信這種廣告會在泰國播出。”

Mukdawijitra said the ad reflected a pattern of racism that's existed in Thailand for "centuries," in which lighter-colored skin has been seen as a marker of privilege and status within the multi-ethnic society.

Mukdawijitra還表示，這條廣告反映了在泰國有着“幾百年”歷史的種族主義模式仍存在，在多民族社會，淺色膚色一直被視爲特權和地位的象徵。

Online, commenters echoed the indignation.

網上的評論也多充滿憤慨之情。

"I have finished watching it. It is not ok," read a comment on a Pantip, a popular Thai internet forum. "They forced us to suck this twisted logic. Created the wrong value. Promoted the madness in being white."

某網友在一個頗受歡迎的泰國論壇上跟帖稱，“我已經看完了廣告，真的很糟糕。他們強迫我們接收這種扭曲的邏輯。它創造了錯誤的價值觀，也促使人們爲白色皮膚而瘋狂。”