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Rupert Murdoch, unfazed by a foam pie attack in the British parliament, made a "humble" apology on Tuesday for crimes that have rocked his media empire and the government but refused to resign, saying the fault lay with staff who "betrayed" him. Revelations of phone-hacking and payments to police by the News of the World have raised questions on his family's grip on News Corporation, on the probity of the police and on the judgment of Prime Minister David Cameron, who returned early from Africa for an emergency parliament debate on Wednesday. Calling it "the most humble day of my life", Murdoch defended his record and that of his son, and said he could not know everything that his 53,000 employees did. James, 38, sat beside him before parliament's media committee, interjecting on occasion as his 80-year-old father hesitated to give answers on what he knew, and when, of criminality at the Sunday tabloid. But as three hours of earnest, at times testy, proceedings drew to a close with lawmakers pressing the Murdochs to explain payments to some of those involved in the decade-old affair, the hearing briefly turned to violence and farce when a man rose from the public seating of the packed committee room. As he tried to hit the elder Murdoch with a paper plate of white foam, the Australian-born mogul's 42-year-old wife Wendi Deng leapt in to slap the protester in a melee before he was seized by police. He was identified as a left-wing comedian. After a short recess, Murdoch, now jacket-less, was told by one of the committee members he had shown "immense guts". Another lawmaker, long one of his most bitter critics, later jokingly complimented his wife on her "very good left hook". That televised cameo, and the emotionally worded statements from the Murdochs on their personal remorse and will to clean up the mess at the News International newspaper unit, may temper some of the public and parliamentary fury aimed at a man who has been courted and feared by British leaders for decades. "You couldn't make this stuff up. It could have turned the whole situation around for them," said Andrew Hawkins, chairman of polling company ComRes. "The combination of his father's age and the custard pie attack will have elicited a tremendous amount of sympathy. I suspect that in the weeks to come we will probably look back at this moment and think it was pivotal for them." (Read by Renee Haines. Renee Haines is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies)
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魯伯特?默多克本周二就“竊聽(tīng)門(mén)”事件出席英國(guó)議會(huì)聽(tīng)證會(huì),向受害者謙卑地道歉,但拒絕辭職。他表示,罪責(zé)應(yīng)歸咎于“背叛”他的員工。這起竊聽(tīng)事件動(dòng)搖了他旗下的傳媒帝國(guó)和英國(guó)政府的地位。聽(tīng)證會(huì)上,還上演了一名男子將剃須膏扔向默多克的小插曲。 電話(huà)竊聽(tīng)丑聞以及《世界新聞報(bào)》買(mǎi)通警察一事曝光后,公眾開(kāi)始對(duì)默多克家族對(duì)新聞集團(tuán)的掌控、英國(guó)警方的公正、以及英國(guó)首相大衛(wèi)?卡梅倫的判斷產(chǎn)生質(zhì)疑。卡梅倫已從非洲提前趕回,參加本周三的議會(huì)緊急辯論。 默多克稱(chēng)“這是我人生中最謙卑的一天?!彼ψC自己和兒子無(wú)罪,表示手下有5.3萬(wàn)名員工,他不可能做到面面俱到。38歲的兒子詹姆斯坐在他身旁,對(duì)面是議會(huì)媒體委員會(huì)。當(dāng)80歲的父親面對(duì)有關(guān)《世界新聞報(bào)》竊聽(tīng)門(mén)的質(zhì)詢(xún)感到遲疑時(shí),他不時(shí)插話(huà)。 聽(tīng)證會(huì)持續(xù)三個(gè)小時(shí),氣氛嚴(yán)肅,但也有時(shí)緊張。接近尾聲時(shí),立法人員要求默多克解釋收買(mǎi)相關(guān)人員的行為,竊聽(tīng)事實(shí)已暗藏十年之久。此時(shí)一名男子在擁擠的委員會(huì)大廳的聽(tīng)證席起身襲擊默多克,上演了一場(chǎng)充滿(mǎn)暴力的鬧劇。 當(dāng)這名男子將一紙盤(pán)白色泡沫剃須膏潑向老默多克時(shí),他42歲的妻子鄧文迪飛身上前掌摑襲擊者,現(xiàn)場(chǎng)一片混亂,之后該男子被警方制服。襲擊者是一名左翼活動(dòng)人士,也是一名喜劇演員。默多克出生于澳大利亞,是著名傳媒大亨。 片刻休息之后,默多克脫掉外套繼續(xù)接受質(zhì)詢(xún)。一名議員稱(chēng)他非?!盁o(wú)畏”。另一名立法人士隨后打趣地稱(chēng)贊他的妻子“左勾拳很精彩”。而他一直是默多克最嚴(yán)厲的批評(píng)者之一。 電視直播了這段插曲以及整場(chǎng)聽(tīng)證會(huì)。默多克父子的發(fā)言十分感人,并表達(dá)了自責(zé)之意。他們表示將糾正旗下英國(guó)報(bào)業(yè)子公司犯下的錯(cuò)誤。這些可能會(huì)緩和某些公眾和議員對(duì)默多克的怨氣。幾十年來(lái),英國(guó)的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者都拉攏默多克,而且對(duì)他懼怕三分。 康雷斯民意調(diào)查公司董事長(zhǎng)安德魯?霍金斯說(shuō):“這不是捏造出來(lái)的,這有可能為他們打開(kāi)局面?!?/p> “默多克的高齡以及遭襲事件會(huì)引發(fā)巨大的同情效應(yīng)。我猜想,未來(lái)幾周我們很可能會(huì)回想這一瞬間,而且會(huì)認(rèn)為這對(duì)他們至關(guān)重要?!?/p> 相關(guān)閱讀 默多克旗下《世界新聞報(bào)》因竊聽(tīng)丑聞將關(guān)閉 英國(guó)竊聽(tīng)門(mén)升級(jí) 傳陣亡軍眷也遭竊聽(tīng) 默多克長(zhǎng)子突然離職 家族權(quán)力爭(zhēng)奪日益激烈 媒體大亨默多克稱(chēng)報(bào)業(yè)前景看好 (中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津 實(shí)習(xí)生史麗萍 編輯:Julie) |
Vocabulary: unfazed: not dismayed or disconcerted; undaunted(未感到驚慌的,勇敢的) probity: integrity and uprightness; honesty(正直;誠(chéng)實(shí)) interject: to interpose abruptly or sharply; interrupt with; throw in(插嘴,打斷別人的講話(huà)) testy: irritably impatient; touchy(易怒的;暴躁的) farce: a ludicrous situation or action(荒唐的事情;鬧?。?/p> mogul: an important, powerful, or influential person(大亨;有權(quán)勢(shì)的人) melee: confusion; turmoil; jumble(混亂) guts: courage and fortitude; nerve; determination; stamina(勇氣;膽量;決心;毅力) left hook: 左勾拳 cameo:a. a single and often brief dramatic scene played by a well-known actor or actress in a film or television play(文藝或戲劇中的小品, 小品文) remorse: 懊悔;非常遺憾;自責(zé) pivotal: of vital or critical importance(關(guān)鍵的) |