世界最大動物克隆中心落戶天津
If all proceeds as planned, the world’s biggest animal cloning center will open next year in the northeastern Chinese port city of Tianjin, taking factory farming to a new level.
如果一切按計劃進行，世界上最大的動物克隆中心將於明年在中國北方的港口城市天津開業，將工廠化農業提升到一個新水平。
The center, being built by Boyalife Group, a Chinese biotechnology company, and Sooam Biotech, a South Korean company that specializes in animal cloning, will eventually churn out up to a million beef cattle embryos a year, as well as sniffer dogs, racehorses and other animals, its backers say. When completed, at a projected cost of $500 million, it will include a research laboratory, a gene bank and a museum.
該中心是由中國生物技術公司博雅控股集團(Boyalife Group)和專門從事動物克隆的韓國秀巖生命工學研究院(Sooam Biotech)興建。它的投資者說，該中心最終能一年大量生產出上百萬個肉牛胚胎，以及嗅探犬、賽馬和其他動物。這個預計花費5億美元（約32億元人民幣）興建的中心落成後，內部的設施將包括研究實驗室、基因庫和博物館各一個。
Public education appeared to be a concern of Xu Xiaochun, Boyalife’s chief executive, during a conference call with journalists on Thursday, in which he sought to quell anxieties over the technology.
在週四與記者的電話會議中，博雅控股首席執行官許曉椿似乎對公衆教育相當重視。他試圖平息公衆對這項技術的各種焦慮。
“Clone technology is already around us,” Mr. Xu said. “It’s just that not everyone knows about it.” He added that many strawberries and bananas sold in Chinese supermarkets were the products of this technology.
“克隆技術已經在我們日常生活當中，”許曉椿說。 “只是不是每個人都知道這件事。”他補充說，許多在中國超市出售的草莓和香蕉都是這項技術的產品。
The process, he said, is just like “pouring a glass of orange juice into another empty glass,” meaning the cloned entity will be identical to the original.
他說，克隆過程就像“將一杯橙汁倒到另一個空杯子裏”，也就是說克隆體將與原體毫無區別。
“And I call tell you all that cloned beef is the tastiest beef I have ever had,” he said.
他說：“我想告訴你們的是，克隆牛肉是我吃過最美味的牛肉”
But Mr. Xu must contend with skeptical consumers in China, where food safety is a near obsession after scandals like melamine-tainted baby formula and recycled industrial “gutter oil.” Online reaction to the project has been overwhelmingly negative.
但是，許曉椿必須努力說服持懷疑態度的中國消費者。當嬰兒配方奶粉被三聚氰胺污染、“地溝油”被回收使用等醜聞傳出後，他們對食品安全異常關注。網上對項目的反應一直是非常負面的態度。
“Crazily evil!!!” commented the user No-Music-No-Life on Weibo.
微博用戶No-Music-No-Life評論說：“邪惡到瘋狂！！！”。
A person with the handle Xingchen Miaoyu wrote, “Please serve cloned beef to leaders first!”
微博網名爲“星塵喵語”的用戶寫道，“請先讓領袖嚐嚐克隆牛肉！”
A commenter with the user name Zhenwei Shusheng added, “China has become a major biotech research lab and Chinese are the experimental subjects.”
微博用戶“真僞書生”補充評論道：“你國就是一個全球大型生物實驗基地。你國人就是實驗品。”
Others questioned the decision to build such a plant in Tianjin, the site of a deadly chemical explosion in August that killed 173, fearing lax law enforcement could compound an already complicated issue.
其他人質疑將這樣一個工廠建立在天津的決定。天津在8月發生了一場致命的化學爆炸，導致173人死亡。他們擔心執法不嚴可能加劇本已複雜的問題。
“The real-life version of ‘Resident Evil’?” asked the Weibo user Li Li, referring to the science-fiction film series that features a bioengineering company that produces bioweapons.
微博用戶“李理64025”問道：“現實版‘生化危機’嗎？”他指的是一個科幻電影系列，情節涉及一家生產生化武器的生物工程公司。
The undertaking has also been clouded by a scandal that embroiled the head of the South Korean partner, Hwang Woo-suk. In 2005, Dr. Hwang was found to have fabricated research that he had claimed used cloning to produce human embryos and extract stem cells from them.
該項目也因另一個原因而蒙上了陰影，因爲韓國合作伙伴的負責人黃禹錫(Hwang Woo-suk)有醜聞纏身。2005年，黃禹錫被揭捏造研究，他聲稱利用了克隆技術製造人類胚胎並從中提取幹細胞。
But he has since focused his attention on animal cloning. His company worked with Boyalife to develop a rare Tibetan mastiff last year with a hefty price.
但他從那時開始，他就專注於動物克隆。去年，其公司與博雅合作，投入巨資培養了一種罕見的純種藏獒。
Beijing has watched with both envy and caution since the first cloned mammal, Dolly, a sheep, was born in Scotland in 1996. Since then, Chinese scientists have cloned cows and pigs, but they have largely limited such activities to experimental purposes.
北京對此既羨慕又謹慎，因爲在1996年，首隻克隆哺乳動物，綿羊多莉(Dolly)，在蘇格蘭出生。從那時起，中國科學家克隆了牛和豬，但這種活動很大程度只限於實驗目的。
Cloning is used in some farm animal breeding programs in the United States, but in September, the European Parliament voted in favor of a ban on cloned animals and their products, arguing that current techniques inflict greater suffering on animals than conventional breeding.
在美國，克隆技術用於一些農場動物的育種計劃。但在9月，歐洲議會投票贊成了一項針對克隆動物及銷售克隆動物產品的禁令，因爲目前的技術，會比常規育種對動物造成更大的痛苦。
Zhu Yi, an associate professor at China Agricultural University, said that cloning technology could help China reduce its reliance on cattle imports to meet its people’s rising demand for beef. “But long term, this is not a solution,” she warned, emphasizing the need to assess the risks of using such technology and to overhaul China’s livestock industry.
中國農業大學副教授朱毅說，克隆技術可以幫助中國減少對牛進口的依賴，滿足人們對牛肉日益上升的需求。她警告說，“但長期來看，這不是一個解決方法。”她還強調，需要評估使用這種技術的風險，也需要改革中國的畜牧業。
The high costs of grain for feed and other items have squeezed profits for many Chinese cattle breeders and have depressed production, forcing a number of meat processors to turn to imports.
飼料及其他項目成本高昂，擠壓了許多中國養牛者的利潤，也減少了產物，迫使一些肉類加工商轉而使用進口牛肉。
That situation presented an opportunity for Mr. Xu, who said he hoped cloning would help improve livestock production within China.
這種情況對許曉椿來說是個機會，他說希望克隆技術將有助提高中國國內畜牧業產量。
“One reason we have so much low-quality beef is because we haven’t applied clone technology,” Mr. Xu said. “This is the only way to allow Chinese and many other people in the world to enjoy high-quality beef in an efficient manner.”
“我們有這麼多的低質量牛肉的原因之一是還沒有應用克隆技術，”許曉椿說。“這是讓中國人和世界上的其他其他的人，能夠以高效地享用高品質牛肉的唯一途徑。”
Before bringing cloned beef to the market, Mr. Xu said, his company must receive the approval of the Ministry of Agriculture and other government agencies. He did not elaborate. The ministry did not immediately reply to a faxed request for comment.
許曉椿說，把克隆牛肉帶進市場前，該公司必須先獲得農業部及其他政府機構的批准。他沒有詳細說明。該部門並沒有對傳真過去的置評請求立即作出回覆。
Ma Wenfeng, an analyst at Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultant, raised doubts over this approach for mass-producing beef. “I think clone technology can be used for endangered species, but it’s not very necessary for animal husbandry,” he said. “I don’t think this will be very economical, and I doubt this model will take off any time soon”.
北京東方艾格農業諮詢公司分析師馬文峯，對於以此種方式大量生產牛肉表示懷疑。“我認爲克隆技術可用於瀕危物種，但對於畜牧業則不是非常必要的，”他說。“我不認爲這樣做很經濟，而且我懷疑這種模式在可預見的未來能否推廣開來。”
On Thursday, Mr. Xu said the venture had aims beyond just profits. “Our priority is to do a good job,” he said, “so we’ll achieve greater social influence.”
週四，許曉椿表示，合資公司的目的不僅僅是利潤。 “我們的首要任務是要把這做好，”他說，“這樣我們會獲得更大的社會影響力。”
