中國官場備忘錄 溼鞋也得自己走

It isn't the easiest time to be a low-level Chinese official. Gone are the days of sweet gifts from ardent well-wishers. Real-estate ambitions have to be curbed. Belts must be tightened.

中國低級別官員的好日子已經一去不復返了：不會再有人來送禮，不能再奢望有多套房產，還得勒緊褲腰帶過日子。

Now, it seems, they have to get their feet wet like the rest of us.

現在，他們似乎必須跟其他人一樣，不能有絲毫的特權。

An official in flood-hit Jiangxi province was relieved of his post after a picture showed him accepting a piggyback ride, according to the official Xinhua news agency on Monday. The reason, it seems, was that the official was sporting what looked like a pretty swell pair of leather shoes.

根據官方媒體新華社週一的一則報道，江西省的一名官員被免職，因有照片顯示他被人揹着探視洪澇災區。讓人背的原因似乎是這名官員怕弄溼他那雙漂亮的皮鞋。

Images of the official dangling from the neck of another man quickly made their way online, where they drew protests. The photo was apparently taken during a search for children who went missing during the flood, which has stricken part of Jiangxi and Hunan provinces and dumped heavy rain in the surrounding area.

這張官員被人揹着探視災區的照片很快在網上流傳開來，遭到很大非議。這張照片顯然是在搜尋洪災中失蹤兒童時拍攝的。這次洪災嚴重衝擊了江西、湖南部分地區，周邊地區也有很大降雨量。

Chinese media identified the man as Wang Junhua, the vice director of an unspecified government office in the city of Guixi. He could not be reached and phone calls to the Guixi government offices rang unanswered.

中國媒體確認這名官員名叫王軍華，是貴溪市政府辦公室副主任。記者未能聯繫到他置評，打到貴溪市政府辦公室的電話也無人接聽。

In a post on its official Weibo account ( in Chinese), the Jiangxi provincial press office identified the ride-giver as Ding Xianbao, a clerk in Mr. Wang's office.

江西省政府新聞辦在官方微博中稱，背王軍華的人叫丁先保，是王軍華辦公室的科員。

It marked the second time in nine months that a Chinese official lost his job over a piggyback ride. In October, an official in Zhejiang province was canned after a villager gave him a ride to spare his footwear.

這是九個月中第二起中國官員因被人揹着蹚水而被免職的事件。去年10月，浙江省一名官員就因怕弄溼鞋被人揹着視察災情而遭免職。