菲律賓吊銷批評杜特爾特的網絡媒體的經營牌照

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.

菲律賓吊銷了一家以批評總統羅德里戈?杜特爾特(Rodrigo Duterte)而聞名的、頗具影響力的網絡媒體集團的牌照。該集團及其支持者把此舉稱爲對新聞自由的攻擊。

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.

菲律賓證券交易委員會(SEC)表示，2012年創立的數字初創企業Rappler違反了對外資持有媒體股份的限制，因爲eBay創始人皮埃爾?奧米戴爾(Pierre Omidyar)創立的基金“奧米戴爾網絡”(Omidyar Network)是Rappler的投資者。吊銷牌照的裁定是1月11日做出的，並於本週一通過電郵發給了記者們。

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經常批評杜特爾特，同時也是後者的眼中釘。在去年的國情諮文中，杜特爾特稱該公司“完全由美國人持有”。

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.

杜特爾特上臺後，SEC於2016年啓動了對Rappler的調查，副總檢察長辦公室要求SEC調查Rappler在前一年出售給兩家外國投資者（奧米戴爾網絡就是其中之一）的名爲菲律賓存託憑證(PDR)的證券。

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.

奧米戴爾網絡持有的存託憑證現被SEC宣告無效。SEC還下令吊銷了Rappler及其控股公司的公司註冊證書。

“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吊銷Rappler經營牌照的絞殺令是史上首項此類命令，無論是對該委員會還是對菲律賓媒體而言都是如此，”Rappler迴應稱。

“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.”

“這對你們、對我們來說意味着，該委員會命令我們關門、停止報道、不再對權力講真話、放棄2012年以來你們與我們一起建立和創造的一切。”

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訴期間，它將繼續運營。它堅稱，自己百分之百由菲律賓人持有，外方持有的是存託憑證，因此其身份爲投資者，而不是股東。

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.

來自反對黨的參議員裏莎?翁蒂韋羅斯(Risa Hontiveros)表示，吊銷Rappler牌照是“對新聞自由的十足騷擾和明顯攻擊”，是“馬科斯做派”——此處指的是已故菲律賓獨裁者費迪南德?馬科斯(Ferdinand Marcos)。她說:“我敦促公衆和所有媒體從業人員捍衛新聞自由和麪對權力講真話的權利。”

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.”

杜特爾特的發言人哈里?羅克(Harry Roque)拒絕接受這一批評，稱當前的問題是遵守憲法中有關“大衆媒體須百分之百由菲律賓人持有和管理”的規定。他接着說:“誰也不能凌駕於法律之上。Rappler必須守法。”