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Today — 3 January 2025News

iWeekly周末画报|文学杂志纷纷停刊,这位主编却说“我们还在继续”

By: unknown
3 January 2025 at 11:28
CDT 档案卡
标题:文学杂志纷纷停刊,这位主编却说“我们还在继续”
作者:Emin
发表日期:2025.1.1
来源:iWeekly周末画报
主题归类:小鸟文学
CDS收藏:公民馆
版权说明:该作品版权归原作者所有。中国数字时代仅对原作进行存档,以对抗中国的网络审查。详细版权说明

在刚过去的2024年年底,文学界坏消息不断。文学出版物停刊的新闻、线上文学内容停止服务的消息接二连三,种种情况让我们不禁会怀疑:文学在当下是不是不行了?

纸媒衰弱、书店关店潮,其实文学的“式微”已是老生常谈,大家一边看着莫言、余华、苏童等大作家上综艺,讲过去自己写作、投稿、成名的故事,一边则唏嘘文学的黄金时代不再。

依赖情怀和愿景造势一时,但是现实是残酷的。为此我们找到“小鸟文学”的主编杨樱聊了聊,从她身上我们发现,我们对文学的爱,不过就是对生活以及所有可能性最真诚的爱。

文学的黄昏?

前不久《书城》杂志发布休刊公告,宣布2025年1月1日起休刊。《书城》杂志创刊于1993年,曾经数度改版,经历多次停刊复刊。杂志海派风格鲜明,内容丰富,栏目众多,每一期内容都呈现出不同的阅读趣味,曾经一度被称为中国最像《纽约客》的杂志。无独有偶,在年底的时候,《文学报》也以交出“推进主流媒体系统性变革”的说法,宣布2025年暂停纸质版的独立邮发。

不只是传统出版物,线上文学内容似乎也光景不好。一年出12卷的线上付费订阅文学杂志《小鸟文学》也迎来2024年12月31日停止更新的日子,服务完最后一个订阅读者之后暂停服务。一度被视为国内文学播客先行者的“可以听的文学杂志”跳岛FM前不久官方宣布了现有团队解散的消息,并更新了最后一期《第218期:自由潜水特别版:上岛吃饭,虽然是散伙饭》。

以上种种情况会让很多人不禁会怀疑:文学的黄昏是不是就在眼前了?纸媒衰弱、书店关店潮,其实文学的“式微”已是老生常谈。但其实就算行业坏消息频发,依旧还是有不少文学品牌依旧在前行,不仅不断有新品牌冒出来,而且不少原来的品牌也根据自身情况调整后有了更好的发展。

在拥抱不确定的当下,或许有一点是确定的:文学的发展未来会如何,不仅需要时间来证明,同样也需要我们这一代人的努力。

小鸟文学

2021年“小鸟文学Aves”App上线,作为一款付费线上文学杂志,它精准攒聚了一众年轻的文学爱好者,尤其是最初“小鸟文学Aves”开出的高于文学刊物的稿酬一时间令诸多文学爱好者精神为之一振,并引发众多文学创作者关注。它在2021年获得刀锋图书奖“年度阅读平台”。

“小鸟文学Aves”App上线的时候主编杨樱说:“小鸟代表自由,有时代表高度,我们叫小鸟,因为我们还向往一点天空上的事。”3年后,小鸟即将和我们告别,杨樱又说:

“文学本身不是为了某个目的而产生的,如果一定要说什么目的,它是为了成为经典和永恒。”

因为没有目的,也就无所谓成功与失败。对于小鸟的停止更新,杨樱不以为意:“App的内容停止更新不代表我们的工作停了,我们还会一直做,还会用不同的形式去呈现。”

在小鸟运营的3年多时间里出了不少杰出作品。2022年,伦敦政经学院的人类学博士生周雨霏的非虚构作品《驯服与被驯服的:在拉萨繁育藏獒》在小鸟首发,之后被大众知晓,拿了不少文学奖项。这篇关于藏獒和女性的故事既有社会研究者的学术严谨性,也不乏创作文学感,“我们找周雨霏约稿,结果都超出了我们的预期。”杨樱用周雨霏的例子向我们解释小鸟文学的独一无二性,“我们多少提供了一些市面上没有的、有创新型的内容,一般人可能不会写。”

比起专业作者,集聚素人写作者的“24 小时文学聚会”栏目更是小鸟独特的典型体现。“这是个素人投稿的栏目,很多作者非常年轻,90后95后甚至00后,他们的文字一看就是没什么规则,是没有被规范过的表达。可能看上去有点野,题材也非常野。一般常规的文学杂志是不会接这些题材这些文章的,但是小鸟就会发表。”

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敬美好生活

即使“小鸟文学”停更,杨樱是不会停的。自始至终,文学只是杨樱创造美好生活途径的一个分身。至于何为美好生活,要追溯到10年前。

2014年社交媒体初起,杨樱和伊险峰带着团队打着“何为美好生活”的口号上线了《好奇心日报》。凭借着高质量的PGC(Professionally Generated Content)输出,《好奇心日报》讲述在消费主义下如何更好生活,其商业洞察、生活方式和年轻中产的内容核心精准打中20-40岁之间、关注商业、科技、互联网“高精尖”人群,一时间《好奇心日报》和杨樱名利双收。只是4年后的政治环境对内容的自由度产生极大限制,两人做出关停的决定。产品是关停了,但是做内容的心从来没有放弃。之后某一天,投资人找到他们,希望他们再试一试媒体平台。“我们第一反应当然是好,并且我们决定依然围绕‘何为美好生活’这件事。不过,新闻是不能做了,那我们不如就转向文学好了。于是小鸟就诞生了。某种程度上,‘小鸟’和‘好奇心’是一脉相承的,‘小鸟’是‘何为美好生活’文学向的衍生。”

说干就干,2021年“小鸟文学”上线,定位成一款专注于提供高质量文学内容的阅读平台,内容涵盖虚构文学和非虚构文学。“小鸟”提供付费阅读服务,由杨撄担任主编,编辑委员会由彭伦、李静睿、曾梦龙、伊险峰等人组成。“在世界变得模糊不定之时,让文学杂志的价值是在一个崩坏的语言环境里,让人保持对文字的敬意”——这是编辑们口中的小鸟文学,也是杨樱心里的“美好生活”。

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Q:作为一个线上的软件内容主编,和传统出版的主编有什么不同的地方吗?

杨樱:我觉得挑稿子严格是我们的一个特点。我们有一个三个人的文学小组来审稿,我们三个人对每一篇稿子投票,要得到三票的稿子才能上刊。

做小鸟我们还有一些比较犟的部分,我们希望用不同的形式去接触正在发生的话题。虽然文学不是新闻,但是我们想成为一个新闻的延长线。不能直接触碰,但是希望可以回应,哪怕是以从知识结构上作为回应都可以。这在我们的各个栏目中都能看到。我觉得这是我们和传统文学刊物最大的不同。也许可以说我们距离当下更近。

我觉得这种内容的“当代性”并不是线上和线下的区别,这是一种选择。你需要有一种对“当代性”探讨的欲望和动力,然后去落实。

传统的文学杂志,比如说最知名的《收获》《花城》《人民文学》等等,作品被刊载在这些杂志上已经是一种荣誉、一种社会认可,你被选中排上可能要等几个月甚至一两年,这种情况下它没有必要实现这种当代性。

Q:在大众认知中,文学就是理想主义的代名词,你同意这个说法吗?

杨樱:我觉得文学是理想主义代名词之一吧,理想主义太多了,它不只有文学。

我大学的时候有过一个经历。我当时看一本叫《植物的欲望》书,那本书是讲的四种日常植物的故事,其中讲到苹果。书中提到“苹果是如何驯化人类”的这件事,大意是说苹果得到被大范围普及播种其实并不是我们人类的选择,而是它吸引人类让人类繁殖它。我看完大受震撼,非常有感触,于是我在一次计算机课上和我身边的同学分享了这件事。我到现在都记得他看我的眼神,可以说毕生难忘。那种眼神不是好奇也不是责备,而是一种质疑,他质疑你为什么要和我说这么奇怪的东西。在他的认知里,这件事是一件没有用、没有价值的事情。在那个时候我好像就感觉到,我似乎和他们不太一样。

其实文学应该就是类似这种东西,没有目的性,没有实际价值。文学本身不是为了某个目的而产生的,如果一定要说什么目的,我觉得它为了成为经典和永恒。文学是值得做的事情,我现在也还有能力去做。

Q:你如何看待AI与创作的关系?

杨樱:我也刚开始玩这个东西,挺好玩,各种AI工具有各自擅长的,我会有时候用它写个诗、画个画,跟它玩一玩。很多初级工作AI可以完成的很好,比如说翻译,比如说写请假条、说明书。你如果说AI与创作的关系,我觉得它在努力模仿人类的思维模式,而且在学习速度上不可小觑。现在如果拿AI生成一段影像,可能真的还分不清到底是人工的还是AI的,从这个意义上来说AI是有创造力的。我觉得去评价AI的创造力其实要看操作AI的人。你如何训练它,它就会有何种的体现,你是什么水准,你就能把它用到什么水准。在这个意义上来说,AI是人类非常好的合作者。

本哈明·拉巴图特的《理性的疯狂梦》是一本讲述人工智能的长篇小说。它从冯诺依曼一直探讨到李世石,给我印象最深的地方就是它描写李世石败给了Alphago的部分。他有一个场景的描写,说李世石输掉比赛有一个很重要的原因是因为他的羞耻心,作为人类,他在做完一些行为之后他会有情感,这种情感可能是羞耻、懊悔也可能是感觉压力。Alphago与之相比最大的优势就是完全没有任何感情的干扰。比如在下了一步非常愚蠢的棋之后,Alphago毫无感觉,虽然操作它的科学家可能惭愧的无地自容;同样的事情发生在李世石身上他可能就会想死,也会影响他的下一步棋。

虽然我无法评价AI是不是一个很有创造力的作者,它的终极形态我也无法想象、更无法评判,但是我认为,AI是一定不会取代人类的。像书里写到的,无法产生感情可能是AI的优势,这也正是它无法取代人类的原因。只要你有足够的方法,AI是可以被预测的,它的路径和结果都是可以被推算出来的。但是人类因为有感情,所以不可预测。你不会知道突然之间去杀了个日本小孩的人在想什么,你也不会知道冲到广场上刺伤几十个人的人他在想什么,甚至连你身边亲近的朋友家人你都不理解他们在想什么。

我觉得人性的这种不可预测是创造力的来源。

Q:你最近在读什么书可以和我们分享下吗?有哪些书对你产生过很大的影响?

杨樱:我大学里看过一本小说叫《手提箱》,篇幅很短大概就5万字,作者是谢尔盖·多甫拉托夫,是一个流亡的苏联作家。前两天我碰到了他的另一部小说,叫《我们一家人》,他真的就是写了十三位个性鲜明、血肉丰满的亲人,读起来轻松诙谐很有趣,背后其实是有深刻意义的。多甫拉托夫在被译成简体中文好像就这两本书,06、07年左右出过一版后就没有再版了,现在好像只能在图书馆找到了。

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今年我非常集中的看了米兰·昆德拉的所有作品,除了话剧没有看其他应该都看过了。当然我以前就看过昆德拉,但是没什么印象,今年又重新再看觉得太喜欢了,把他列为我最喜欢的作者。我看到有八卦说为什么昆德拉没有得诺贝尔文学奖,是因为他太挑剔了。因为他这个的性格所以其他文学创作者和他的关系都不好,诺奖的评委也就自然不喜欢他。这个算是八卦野史,但我觉得挺有意思。

还有一个我很想向大家推荐的作家,齐格蒙特·鲍曼。他的书可以给你很多东西,所有东西都可以在他的书里找到答案,什么狗屁工作、什么工具人、什么女性主义,这些他都讲过,而且是20年前讲的。你很难想象一个人可以从集中营说到 TikTok,这个人太神奇了。

Q:小鸟文学的未来会如何?

杨樱:目前的状况就是我们打算暂停了。我们会更新到今年12月31日,是因为我们最后的一个订阅者订阅期间是这个,就算只有一个订阅者,我也要为他更新完。不过我想强调下,暂停的是付费部分的电子杂志,但是内容形式是我们自己定的,我们还会继续做内容,但可能不是以一月一卷的形式。具体是什么形式我还没有计划。其他新媒体平台上的更新我们还会继续。

极昼工作室|在极越最后的日子

By: unknown
3 January 2025 at 11:23
CDT 档案卡
标题:在极越最后的日子
作者:魏荣欢
发表日期:2025.1.2
来源:极昼工作室
主题归类:时代的一粒沙
CDS收藏:人物馆
版权说明:该作品版权归原作者所有。中国数字时代仅对原作进行存档,以对抗中国的网络审查。详细版权说明

2024年末,极越汽车受到关注,是以一种不同寻常的倒掉方式。12月11日下午,内部全员会宣布开启“创业2.0”阶段,几小时后团队原地解散。

收到解散通知的时候,测试组长肖琴刚把接下来两周的工作做好分工安排,订了大包间组织团建,准备鼓舞士气。她来自河南农村,是家庭经济支柱,所在工区少有员工听到风声。“我今天还干活吗?”大家都懵了。

上海工区的整车软件开发工程师陆明,在公司闪崩前不久,被非正式通知部门解散,工作停滞。在他和同事们的视角中,上市分红的大饼一直在画,互联网病早已深入公司内部。极越宣布解散后,他在公司熬了一夜等谈判结果,第二天赶着去参加面试——冬天本来就不是应聘的好季节,他背着房贷,不能有断档期,在这个年末攒了五六个面试。

公司命运起落之下,多名员工回顾了他们身处其中的经历。


丢失的署名

12月11日星期三下午,距离团建聚餐还有一个多小时,肖琴发信息让调休的人早点到。

前一天刚到了5台新测试车,作为组长,她把外包人员分成两班轮休,打算周末加班。测试哪些场景、车速多少,规划已经排到了2025年Q2。担心前阵子公司有一半外包岗被裁,影响组员心态,她预订了公司十公里外的一家湘菜馆,那里有坐得下全组二十多人的大包间,想鼓舞士气。

收到消息,四五个调休人员不明情况,以为临时有活儿要支援。饭桌上,肖琴挨个划拉菜单,荤素搭配、冷热比例都顾不上了,够吃就行,点完菜她开口——“对不住大家,本来想年底之前肯定是稳的,不会再为工作奔波着急,好好干就行了。但现在是我们(正式员工)都会(被)开掉了。”

团建就这样吃成了告别宴。大家喝光了七瓶汾酒,互相感谢,还在吃胃药的男同事主动要喝,“最后一次了,你现在不喝啥时候喝?”肖琴记得,另一个话不多的员工拉着她不断重复,“琴姐,你以后一定要拉我”,这位员工三十来岁,媳妇正怀着二胎。

一桌子人几乎同时失业,这是肖琴怎么也没想到的。这天早上,她如常到公司,忙着准备资料,11点有个线上会。她所在的工区,不到二十名正式员工,外包人员一百多名,主要负责智能驾驶测试,每款车型投入量产前,要在这里通过一系列验证。

差几分钟就到开会时间,会议临时取消,研发和测试的主要负责人请假。这种事常有,她并没当回事。十二点半午饭时间,肖琴被拉进一个部门大群,上海总部的员工也在,有人说“赶紧宣判”,建群的领导说,“等我把手头上的工作忙完”。肖琴猜测,可能要裁员。

到了下午4点,CEO夏一平召开全体会,肖琴没听到“解散”两个字,反而解读出了积极的意味——会上说要进入2.0创业时代,“一场更加激烈的战斗即将到来……管理层将全力以赴,与大家共渡难关”。但会上也说,公司没钱给大家交11月的社保了,肖琴认为,“发不出来钱了而已”,她跟同事王浩宇说。

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极越汽车自诞生以来的日子。讲述者供图

王浩宇在一个小时前,本打算把存有数据的硬盘寄给供应商,上海总部的一个同事提醒他,“东西不寄了,保管好个人资产”。他早上刷到公司解散的小道消息,问资方同事,对方回答微妙,“老板会给出解释”。他猜测,公司出现了短期资金不足。

而在上海总部,员工陆明早有心理准备,已经在投简历面试了。陆明记得,11月底就传出裁员消息,外包50%,正式员工40%,没过一周,部门例会全部取消,工作暂停,领导也非正式地通知大家“自己找出路”。

听到CEO说,“如果现在签离职协议,还能去找下一家新公司把12月社保交了。”王浩宇心里做好的最坏打算是——可能未来几个月没有工资。会后,HR来谈离职方案,他还主动说:“我接受几个月没有工资,自己先垫钱交社保。”

这是多名员工的想法,跟公司共患难,以后企业上市,以元老级员工身份,拿到股权分红——这份信心来自百度、吉利两大股东背书,以及“懂车帝”的销量榜单。2024年9月,新款极越07上市之后,从外部数据来看,销量开始往上走,大家开始畅想,明年可能一个月卖到三五千台。“况且年底工作不好找,降薪或者去小公司还不如在这停薪留职捱几个月”,王浩宇说。

裁员通知传到肖琴,她始终不相信是全员裁员,发消息让调休的人早点到,“不管怎么说先把饭(团建聚餐)吃了”。

第二天(12月12日)上午10点,她和同事们相约去和HR谈社保断缴和赔偿金,才知道公司一夜之间没有了。HRBP只有两句话,“我也不知道”“我不能决定”,有人提出跟上一级HR谈,对方推脱,“下周我也不在这了”。

工区开始出现混乱。王浩宇见到,一名外包员工赔偿谈得不顺利,从试驾车里拿走逆变器、灭火器,发泄不满,眼看要拿走桌上的硬盘,被王浩宇拦下。他赶紧收拾挂在自己名下的资产——上万的设备带回家,剩下的堆进测试车,开到工区外一处人少的地方锁起来。

他们所在工区,价值1000万的测试机器人、20多万的扫描仪,7000多块的椅子,分散挂在各员工名下。之前这些设备放在靠门很近的地方,方便拖出去测试。“现在公司的任何一个地方都是不安全。”王浩宇的这句话很快应验。

当天下午五六点,来了几家供应商,开叉车和板车,想要把测试车带走抵债。一楼车间的卷帘门敞开,王浩宇看见有个男的坐进一辆测试车不出来,但因为没有电子钥匙卡启动不了。另一个穿深色羽绒服的中年男人说来拿钱,尾款还没结,王浩宇搭话:“别找我,我也是要钱的。”

当公司进入无管理状态

12月12日这天,听说另一个工区有丢微波炉的,肖琴开始清点组内资产,把小件收进纸箱搬到车间,和贵重的测试机器人放在一起,用四辆车把设备放在车间深处的一个角落。大家商量,让行政人员取消员工进入权限,防止供应商拿走,也防止出现“叛徒”;之后(员工)如果拿不到社保和赔偿,看能不能变卖这部分资产。

肖琴仍抱有一丝幻想,公司还会留一部分人维持运转,至少有序地赔偿、解约。直到饮水机、微波炉、咖啡机、厕纸,以及保洁工具和绿植,一样一样被供应商撤走,来上班的意义,只剩下谈社保断缴和赔偿金。

按照HR给的说法,员工当时有两个选择:一是12月16日前签订离职协议,获赔N+1,次年2月15日才可以拿到;二是留在公司继续上班,但没有社保和工资,相当于“自费上班”。距离11月社保缴纳日的截止日,仅剩2天,员工普遍反馈,“太仓促了。”

研发工程师陆明参与了12月12日上海总部的谈判。他注意到,15名员工代表在会议室,跟CEO谈,人力总监也在;大部分员工围在会议室前等结果,曾有一个供应商出现,大喊欠债还钱,有人上前制止,担心影响员工问题的谈判重点。

之后两天,在工区角落,陆明还看到五六个工程师,围着电脑研究智能语音的改进方案,想做出一个离线之后也可以稳定使用的版本。

肖琴和同事进入了无管理状态。每人出二十块,采买饮用水、打印纸和厕纸。垃圾先自己收拾,他们准备了一个大垃圾袋,把各自的垃圾聚集,“如果后期实在搞不定,再考虑请日结保洁员。”

肖琴不知什么时候才能等到结果,“离大大本营太远了,我们都是后知后觉。”看到上海的同事提出了一套员工的赔偿需求,她和同事们自发给谈判代表转账,让他们买早餐和药品。

处在“后知后觉”的岗位,31岁的肖琴对公司一直抱有信心。她刚来公司是在2022年8月,工区还在装修,水泥地,喷漆的时候,她搬着办公桌去室外工作,下了班再搬回去。到了冬天,四个电暖器同时开就会跳闸,贴好几个暖宝宝也不管用。说起过去两三年的经历,肖琴忍不住心酸。

极越是她干得最久的一份工作,入职时HR告诉她,“现在加入就是元老级别”“新能源汽车制造正在风口,会出现三个新的车企。”肖琴入职不久就被提拔成组长,跟隔壁组的河南老乡,私下成为无话不谈的好友。

测试工作总伴随着风险,尤其是智能驾驶测试,是要把驾驶交给机器。她眼见同事为了躲避障碍物紧急打方向盘,撞到路灯杆上,车胎爆了。在团队,肖琴是为数不多保持劲头的人,她是家里老大,妹妹是博士后,父母没有退休金,肖琴是全家挣钱的指望。在工作中,她也习惯于把活儿揽过来,想多存些钱,再找机会转岗。

12月初,文创工区的研发人员赵书林已经预感到不妙——他所在团队裁员比例达到50%,出海业务资质认证也叫停了。赵书林没在裁员名单上,但他主动找领导申请把自己加上,“裁员比例太高了,预感公司发不出年终奖,不如拿了N+1直接走”。但名单还没公布,公司就解散了。

image

员工归还资产。

门店信号更弱。公司倒闭的消息传到号称“杭州最大门店”时,25岁的店员李浩刚入职3天,早上店长还问他,“明天有没有试驾的客户?”西安一家门店店长王雨安,已入职一年,从四个员工发展成十四五人团队,他一直觉得有成就感,和公司一起在成长。

王佳是入职一年多做产品运营,已到孕晚期,预产期在一月份。据她介绍,公司有80多名孕产妇,还有刚怀孕两三个月的,接下来孕期、产期和哺乳期,将近两年多的时间,“没法找新工作,没有公司会接收一个孕妇”。

12月12日晚,陆明和很多上海同事一起在公司熬了通宵,终于等到公司允诺,第二天为全员缴纳11月的社保。13日,他赶了两场面试,一个传统车企,一个新能源车企——冬天本来就不是应聘的好季节,他背着房贷,不能有断档期,在这个年末攒了五六个面试。

985毕业后,他找到一份待遇不错的车企,两三年后认识了妻子,前年迎来他们的孩子,计划着把两室一厅换套大点的。他离开传统车企来到极越,降了一点薪,因为“厌倦国企工作重复性高、更新慢,这个「从零到一」的项目有挑战,能带来成就感”。

14号是陆明36岁生日,往年妻子会准备蛋糕,全家吃顿饭,这次没了心思。陆明早晨吃了碗清汤手擀面,加两个荷包蛋,扒拉几口赶往公司,“这是本命年最后一道坎”。

谈拢社保后,陆明观察到,谈判节奏明显变慢,群里气氛也变了——有人开始怀疑员工代表被收买;要钱也产生分歧,在群里讨论两句,还会被指责看热闹不嫌事儿大,“不去现场,啥也不干,捐款的时候也不捐,就知道瞎出主意。”他看到群里说。

立项慢、上路快、击鼓传花

陆明在一个新项目组,自主研发电子电气架构。项目组2023年底成立,一半人是新招,另一半复用其他部门员工。陆明介绍,目前极越上市的两款车,是在吉利的电子电气架构基础上做的,修改要通过吉利,相当于没有自己的核心技术;而研发一套自己的架构,落实到一台车上,至少四年。

招聘他的领导,面试时也讲明了项目的不确定性,有可能成不了。但陆明当时判断,“既然开始自研,说明这个车企还是有希望的”。入职后,项目进程比他预期慢得多——在陆明的讲述中,本该在四月份发的第一版需求,到八月份才提出,还是非正式的,因为没有立项;本来计划六月立项,推迟到了2025年六月。

陆明之前在传统车企工作多年,原以为互联网企业,部门之间沟通更顺畅,结果“部门墙”也很严重,其他部门的配合显得滞后。陆明推测,部分管理层对这个项目可能还是犹豫,他渐渐不急了,“慢就慢吧,给发工资就可以了。”

根据公开报道,2021年3月,极越汽车的前身集度汽车诞生,当时百度和吉利分别持股55%和45%。然而第一款车型就卡在缺乏造车资质,在上海车展被叫停;集度叫停后,极越是吉利从已注册的品牌库里挑出来救场的。

员工赵书林在公司闪崩后才意识到资质的重要性,“如果公司有独立造车资质,即使破产,也会有企业冲着这块牌照来并购”。而在另一员工崔笑的叙述中,拿不到资质的原因归结于,前几年新能源汽车处在风口期,大量资本涌入,导致2022年开始汽车生产资质发放收紧。

12月17日流传广泛的一篇由员工匿名撰写“极越闪崩时间复盘”文章分析,公司闪崩是产能过剩和产业转型时代背景下的产物。据相关统计,从2018年到2023年,5年间共计超过400家新能源汽车企业消失。新能源车市场呈现两级分化:销量、产量飙升,但行业的另一面,是车企在激烈竞争下的淘汰赛。

多名极越员工表示,公司上市分红的大饼一直在画,原本需要预留时间检测、检验的功能,直接到汽车上路还接着检测。负责测试的王浩宇说,“以前一个实验做完基本上几年,现在一年都出两台车了。”

供职于另一家新能源车企的技术管理人员孟佳然表示,互联网管理者在车辆制造中习惯沿用做软件的思维,要求快速迭代,“产品做出来,简单验证一下没问题,就推到市场,让用户去验证,并没有考虑真实的用户需求。”

他在传统车企工作过十年,“汽车开发周期至少两三年,经过两冬两夏,两个高温实验和两个低温实验,因为一些硬件问题需要长周期的耐久实验,才有可能发现,比如之前就出现过悬架断裂的问题。”孟佳然发现的问题,会通过邮件或会议纪要提出来,他刻意在每个环节留下文字痕迹,写明发现的风险点。

据孟佳然了解,就算管理层出身传统车企,也会在投资人的催促和同行压力下匆忙将车辆上市。大部分新势力厂家都存在这种情况,“车已经上市了,还在不停改,不停做实验。如果发现问题,就再改,甚至不惜上门给客户升级或更换。”

前研发工程师陆明一直没买新能源汽车,除了验证时间短,另一个原因是不放心供应商的质量。陆明认为,激烈竞争导致车企对供应商疯狂压价,而供应商“缩减成本最终肯定是质量下降”。

他举例,有的供应商投了很多钱做研发,临了准备往车上装的时候,突然被换掉。还有的供应商结账使用承兑汇票,拉长付款周期,结果被拖垮——新能源车在供应商圈被形容为“击鼓传花”的游戏,每人Auto曾报道,“不知道到谁手里,热闹就消失了,变成一堆找不到人兑换的空头支票”。

极越的经营者在成本上缺乏控制,对投资者怀有盲目信心,即使在资金迟迟未到时,新的门店依旧在推进,是这家公司在此轮媒体复盘中最为诟病的问题之一。

崩盘前一两个月,极越曾向两大股东多次请求支援,财新杂志在其报道中梳理,百度提出极越融资10亿元,自己和吉利再各出10亿;(2024年)九十月份,融资一直没到账,银行决定不再给极越续贷。

现金断流后,极越迅速崩盘。据21世纪经济报道,截止目前,极越欠款总额为70亿元,其中百度9亿元、吉利26亿元,银行11亿元,其他包括供应商在内的欠款达24亿元。

一丝幸运

12月16日周一上午,是之前公司约定的last day。肖琴和同事们收到物业发的函,厂区欠租金40多万。水电暖暂时不会停,因为之前按季预付过款,可以使用到月底。上一周没来得及收的会议室话筒,丢了俩,说不清是谁拿走的。

过去几天,每天大家都互相问,明天还来么?肖琴每天都来公司,她在家待不下去。洗漱的时候,父母在厨房做饭,姥姥开始擦地,姥爷坐在她边上,想问又不敢问。父母都在打零工,过去一年没怎么接到活。正式得到她失业的消息后,母亲开始跟她要简历,说找人帮忙。

隔壁组的河南老乡张俊义找到了零工,给鞭炮厂做设备升级,面色缓和了不少。截至16日,他已经投出去175份简历。张俊义一家三口住在天津,女儿5岁,房子在2018年高点入手,月房贷七千。妻子在一家事业单位工作,稳定但收入不高,能维持日常生活,但家庭大头支出都要靠他。

2024年又多了两笔债务,一笔是媳妇借钱给弟弟结婚的60万,另一笔是自己借钱炒股亏的二三十万。媳妇和张俊义一样,都来自农村家庭,娘家手里没钱,又希望弟弟风光结婚,把买车、彩礼、买房首付和酒席钱全包了。而张俊义想要快速还掉买房的借款,两次从银行贷款炒股,结果都亏进去。年终奖原本是他堵窟窿的期望,现在落空。

媳妇埋怨他炒股亏钱,张俊义反击她借网贷给弟弟结婚。媳妇说,她借钱至少还算是干了点正事,但炒股亏了就是没了,张俊义也说不出什么。最近,他陆续收到了几个offer,都在南方。他选了一家稳定但薪水少的,决定南下,“(那里)感觉倒不了,会一直有口饭吃,其他地方,35岁后不知何去何从。”

12月19日下午三点多,员工们终于等到赔偿方案——普通员工将拿到N+1的经济补偿,2025年1月20日之前支付,垫付资金由百度、吉利打入监管共管账户;工资结算延长至12月20日,员工的社保和公积金由公司缴纳至12月。

12月20日,张俊义和同事们都签了离职协议。临走的时候,肖琴跟他告别,说过年回老家聚。肖琴刚被一家车企拒绝。被拒那天晚上,她再也绷不住,给小两岁的妹妹发了信息,“睡了没有?”她住的地方不通地铁,和妹妹读书的学校离得很远。

妹妹很快打回电话,她知道肖琴很少在家人面前示弱,是照顾全家的角色。肖琴在电话里哭了,说公司倒闭,觉得自己在努力奋斗的一件事情,一下子没有了。妹妹安慰她,这个行业不适合你,就换个行业,两人聊到凌晨三点。

王浩宇接受了降薪,但他面试的公司中,有家一听他在极越的薪资就没了回音,王浩宇猜测对方担心自己把这份工作当跳板过渡,不会长期干。圣诞前倒是有家公司愿意接收,但提出降薪30%,他想了想还是没去。

签离职协议的第二天中午,大家聚了个餐,庆祝拿到赔偿。聚餐时聊到几家同年倒闭的新能源车企,又生出一丝幸运:“比高合跟威马强,他们破产倒闭很慢,拿赔偿啥的费劲,我们这不到10天结束了。”

(文中人物为化名)‍

'No one deserves this': Victims' families seek answers in New Orleans attack

3 January 2025 at 09:12
EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock Flowers placed at the entrance of Bourbon Street. EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
Fourteen flowers were placed at the entrance of Bourbon Street - one for each victim killed in the attack.

Just hours before the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve, Jack Bech got on a phone call with his older brother Martin - an avid outdoorsman and former football star mostly known to friends and teammates as "Tiger".

Jack, 22, was in Dallas visiting family members, while Tiger, a 28-year-old former Princeton alumnus who lived in New York, was in New Orleans, getting ready to celebrate the New Year.

"We just thought it was going to be another conversation," he told the BBC. "I was showing him what we were eating, and he was showing us what he was eating."

The two brothers would never speak again.

"I hung up the phone, and that was the last time I ever spoke with him," Jack recalled.

Tiger was among the 14 people killed when an attacker ploughed through a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

The attacker, 42-year-old army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was killed in a gunfight with police after he drove a pick-up truck into the crowds, according to authorities. Though he posted videos online proclaiming allegiance to the Islamic State group before the attack, FBI officials said they believe he was acting alone.

While the identities of all the victims have not been made public yet, a picture is slowly emerging of a group of mostly young people, many of whom - like Tiger - were Louisiana locals.

Jack - who remembers his brother as his best friend, role model and inspiration - says that the close-knit Bech family will never be the same.

New Orleans victim's brother says family will have to deal with his death 'every day'

Most of the family is in the town of Lafayette, about 136 miles (218km) away from New Orleans.

"This is something we're going to have to deal with. Every time we wake up, and every time we go to sleep, it's going to be something," he added. "Every holiday, there's going to be an empty seat at the table."

But Tiger said that his brother "wouldn't want us to grieve and mourn". Instead, he has encouraged his family to remember him as "a fighter".

"He'd want us to keep attacking life...he'd want us to go and be there for each other," he said.

"I told my family that instead of seeing him a couple of times a year, he'll be with us every moment," Jack added. "Whenever we're waking up and we're going to sleep and we're walking, when we're at work, doing whatever, he'll be with us."

Christina Bounds Matthew TenedorioChristina Bounds
Matthew Tenedorio's family says they begged him not to head into New Orleans on New Year's Eve

Among the other victims of the attack in the early morning hours of 1 January was Matthew Tenedorio, an audio-visual technician at New Orleans' Caesars' Superdome.

Tenedorio, who just turned 25 in October, had spent the earlier part of his evening at his brother's home in the town of Slidell, about 35 minutes away from New Orleans.

With him were his father and mother - who just recently recovered from cancer.

His cousin, Christina Bounds, told the BBC that his family "begged" him not to go into New Orleans, fearful of the large crowd and potential dangers.

Despite their pleas, he went, along with two friends. When the news broke, his mother eventually got a hold of one of them.

"They said they were walking down Bourbon, and saw a body fall," she said, noting that they now believe it was a body thrown into the air by the attacker's truck.

Amid screams and gunshots, Tenedorio was separated from his friends.

His family says he was shot, and believe he was killed during the exchange of gunfire between the attacker and police officers on Bourbon Street.

The BBC is unable to independently verify this claim.

According to Ms Bounds, the family's tragedy has been made more painful by the slow, nearly non-existent trickle of communications they've had with local authorities.

"We couldn't get any information when my aunt [Tenedorio's mother, Cathy] showed up at the hospital," she said. "There has been no information from doctors, hospitals, or cops. Nobody."

"They have zero information, and that's the part that's pissing everybody off. We don't even know what happened," Bounds added. "Was he carried out by the EMS? Was he in an ambulance? Did he die instantly?"

These answers, she added, would "help people accept" what happened.

"But now it's like total shock," she added. "It's not registering."

The family has started a GoFundMe page to gather funds for Tenedorio's funeral expenses - which Ms Bounds said have been made difficult by his mother's significant medical bills during her cancer diagnosis.

Another cousin of Tenedorio's, Zach Colgan, remembers him as a "goofball" who was quick to make a joke, cared deeply about animals and was an avid storyteller.

"He cared. He was definitely a people person. A happy-go-lucky guy," Mr Colgan told the BBC. "It's sad that a terrorist attack took him...no family should ever have to bury their son, especially for something so senseless."

Mr Colgan, who has experience working with law enforcement in Louisiana, says he believes officers have done the best they can in an extremely hectic casualty situation.

"I know it's chaotic. But part of closure is getting answers. I know my aunt and uncle weren't able to get much besides 'yes - Matthew was killed'," he said.

"It'd be nice to know a little bit more," Mr Colgan added. ""If it was my kid, I'd want to know."

Even as his family continues to search for answers, Mr Colgan says he hopes that the government and public's focus continues to be on the victims, rather than on law enforcement's response or what else could have been done to prevent the attack.

"I want every single one of them to be remembered," he said. "They didn't deserve this. No one deserves this."

Two dead after plane hits factory roof near LA

3 January 2025 at 09:35
CBS Pieces of the plane inside the buildingCBS

Two people have died and 18 others were injured after a small plane crashed into a commercial building in southern California, officials say.

Ten people were taken to hospital with injuries, the Fullerton Police Department said in a post on X on Thursday afternoon. Eight others were treated for injuries and released at the scene.

The single-engine Van's RV-10 crashed at 14:15PST (20:15GMT), according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Officials have provided no further details about how the crash occurred. It is unclear whether the two people who died were workers or were on board the plane.

Police say they are evacuating buildings in the area, and are asking the public to stay away from the crash site.

Congressman Lou Correa, who represents the area of Orange County, about 25 miles (40km) south of Los Angeles, said that the building that was struck is a furniture manufacturing business.

In a post on X, Correa said that at least a dozen of the victims are factory workers.

Aerial photos of the scene show parts of the plane inside the building. The crash also sparked a fire which was extinguished by fire crews.

Security footage recorded from a building across the street shows a fiery explosion, according to local news outlets.

"People are just shaken over the situation," witness Mark Anderson told KRCA-TV.

"It was just a large boom, and then one of the people went out and said, 'Oh my gosh, the building's on fire.'"

The area where the plane crashed is near the Fullerton Municipal Airport, about 6 miles (10 kilometers) from Disneyland.

The plane appears to have been turning back to the airport shortly after takeoff, according to KRCA-TV.

This is the second plane to crash in the area in the past two months, according to CBS, the BBC's US partner.

On 25 November, another plane crashed into a tree roughly one block away from this most recent crash. No major injures were reported in that crash.

Social care reforms in pipeline for 2028, say ministers

3 January 2025 at 09:10
Getty Images Carer helps older woman down some stairs - they are both smilingGetty Images

Proposals on the long-term funding of adult social care in England are unlikely to be delivered before 2028 at the earliest, the government has confirmed.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting is promising "to finally grasp the nettle on social care reform", with an independent commission due to begin work in April.

But the commission, chaired by Baroness Louise Casey, is not due to publish its final report until 2028.

Councils and care providers say it is too long to wait for reform of vital services which are already on their knees.

The government also announced immediate plans to get care workers to do more health checks, and a funding boost for services to help elderly and disabled people remain in their homes.

Social care means help for older or disabled people with day-to-day tasks like washing, dressing, medication and eating.

Only those with the most complex health needs get social care provided free by the NHS, so most care is paid for by councils.

In England, only people with high needs and savings or assets of less than £23,250 are eligible for that help, leaving a growing number of people to fund themselves.

Some face paying hundreds of thousands of pounds for their care and may be forced to sell their own home as a result.

The government's ultimate aim is "a new National Care Service, able to meet the needs of older and disabled people into the 21st Century", said Streeting.

He said he had invited opposition parties to take part in the commission "to build a cross-party consensus to ensure the National Care Service survives governments of different shades, just as our NHS has for the past 76 years".

Baroness Casey - who has led several high-profile reviews, including into homelessness, the Rotherham child exploitation scandal and the Metropolitan Police - said she was pleased "to lead this vital work".

She is viewed in government as being straight-talking, with good cross-party links, and as someone who gets things done.

Even so, drawing up a plan for a National Care Service that meets the needs of an ageing population and is affordable is perhaps her biggest challenge yet.

There is agreement that the care system has been in crisis for years, struggling with growing demand, under-funding and staff shortages.

The problem has been getting political agreement on how overdue reform will be funded.

In 2010, Labour plans to fund social care were labelled a "death tax"' in that year's election, and Conservative plans were called a "dementia tax" in the 2017 election.

There have also been numerous commissions, reviews and inquiries over the past 25 years which have failed to bring change.

The 2011 Dilnot Commission plan for a cap on individual care costs came closest, making it into legislation, but was not implemented.

It was finally scrapped by the new Labour government last summer because it said the last Conservative administration had not set aside the money to fund the reform.

However, providing enough support for people in their own homes, care homes and supported living remains a pressing issue.

The care systems in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are slightly more generous, but all are facing the pressures of growing demand and squeezed finances.

"Our ageing society, with costs of care set to double in the next 20 years, demands longer-term action," said Streeting.

The government had promised a National Care Service in its manifesto, although provided little detail.

The independent commission will work with users of care services, their families, staff, politicians and the public to recommend how best to build a care service to meet current and future needs.

"Millions of older people, disabled people, their families and carers rely upon an effective adult social care system to live their lives to the full with independence and dignity," said Baroness Casey.

"An independent commission is an opportunity to start a national conversation, find the solutions and build consensus on a long-term plan to fix the system."

Baroness Casey wears a pink and orange patterned blouse and talks to an interviewer while on camera during a television interview with the BBC
Baroness Casey has chaired a series of high-profile reviews

The commission will report to the prime minister and its work will be split into two phases.

Phase one will identify critical issues and recommend medium-term improvements. This will report by mid-2026.

Phase two will look at how to organise care services and fund them for the future. This report is not due until 2028 - a year before the next election.

The King's Fund independent health think-tank urged the government to "accelerate the timing".

"The current timetable to report by 2028 is far too long to wait for people who need social care, and their families," said its chief executive, Sarah Woolnough.

Councils, which are under huge financial pressure, pay for care services for most people.

Melanie Williams, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, agreed that the "timescales are too long".

She believes much of the evidence and options on how to reform adult social care are already known and worries that "continuing to tread water until a commission concludes will be at the detriment of people's health and well-being".

About 835,000 people received publicly funded care in 2022, according to the King's Fund. The charity Age UK estimates there are about two million people in England who have unmet care needs - and according to workforce organisation Skills for Care, while 1.59 million people work in adult social care in England, there are currently 131,000 vacancies.

Helen Walker, the head of Carers UK, which represents millions of unpaid people who provide care to family members, said families were "under intense pressure and providing more care than ever before"

When older or disabled people are unable to get the help they need in the community they are more likely to end up in hospital, or get stuck on a ward when they are ready to leave.

Amanda Pritchard, NHS England chief executive, said: "We hope this vital action plan and commitment to create a National Care Service will both help better support people and ease pressure on hospital wards."

The government also confirmed an extra £86m would be spent before the end of the financial year in April to help thousands more elderly and disabled people to remain in their homes.

The money is on top of a similar sum announced in the Budget for the next financial year.

Overall, it should allow 7,800 disabled and elderly people to make vital improvements to their homes which should increase their independence and reduce hospitalisations, says the government.

Other changes include:

  • better career pathways for care workers
  • better use of technology and new national standards to support elderly people to live at home for longer
  • up-skilling care workers to deliver basic checks such as blood pressure monitoring
  • a new digital platform to share medical information between NHS and care staff.

'No one deserves this': Victims' families seek answers in New Orleans attack

3 January 2025 at 09:12
EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock Flowers placed at the entrance of Bourbon Street. EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
Fourteen flowers were placed at the entrance of Bourbon Street - one for each victim killed in the attack.

Just hours before the clock struck midnight on New Year's Eve, Jack Bech got on a phone call with his older brother Martin - an avid outdoorsman and former football star mostly known to friends and teammates as "Tiger".

Jack, 22, was in Dallas visiting family members, while Tiger, a 28-year-old former Princeton alumnus who lived in New York, was in New Orleans, getting ready to celebrate the New Year.

"We just thought it was going to be another conversation," he told the BBC. "I was showing him what we were eating, and he was showing us what he was eating."

The two brothers would never speak again.

"I hung up the phone, and that was the last time I ever spoke with him," Jack recalled.

Tiger was among the 14 people killed when an attacker ploughed through a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

The attacker, 42-year-old army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was killed in a gunfight with police after he drove a pick-up truck into the crowds, according to authorities. Though he posted videos online proclaiming allegiance to the Islamic State group before the attack, FBI officials said they believe he was acting alone.

While the identities of all the victims have not been made public yet, a picture is slowly emerging of a group of mostly young people, many of whom - like Tiger - were Louisiana locals.

Jack - who remembers his brother as his best friend, role model and inspiration - says that the close-knit Bech family will never be the same.

New Orleans victim's brother says family will have to deal with his death 'every day'

Most of the family is in the town of Lafayette, about 136 miles (218km) away from New Orleans.

"This is something we're going to have to deal with. Every time we wake up, and every time we go to sleep, it's going to be something," he added. "Every holiday, there's going to be an empty seat at the table."

But Tiger said that his brother "wouldn't want us to grieve and mourn". Instead, he has encouraged his family to remember him as "a fighter".

"He'd want us to keep attacking life...he'd want us to go and be there for each other," he said.

"I told my family that instead of seeing him a couple of times a year, he'll be with us every moment," Jack added. "Whenever we're waking up and we're going to sleep and we're walking, when we're at work, doing whatever, he'll be with us."

Christina Bounds Matthew TenedorioChristina Bounds
Matthew Tenedorio's family says they begged him not to head into New Orleans on New Year's Eve

Among the other victims of the attack in the early morning hours of 1 January was Matthew Tenedorio, an audio-visual technician at New Orleans' Caesars' Superdome.

Tenedorio, who just turned 25 in October, had spent the earlier part of his evening at his brother's home in the town of Slidell, about 35 minutes away from New Orleans.

With him were his father and mother - who just recently recovered from cancer.

His cousin, Christina Bounds, told the BBC that his family "begged" him not to go into New Orleans, fearful of the large crowd and potential dangers.

Despite their pleas, he went, along with two friends. When the news broke, his mother eventually got a hold of one of them.

"They said they were walking down Bourbon, and saw a body fall," she said, noting that they now believe it was a body thrown into the air by the attacker's truck.

Amid screams and gunshots, Tenedorio was separated from his friends.

His family says he was shot, and believe he was killed during the exchange of gunfire between the attacker and police officers on Bourbon Street.

The BBC is unable to independently verify this claim.

According to Ms Bounds, the family's tragedy has been made more painful by the slow, nearly non-existent trickle of communications they've had with local authorities.

"We couldn't get any information when my aunt [Tenedorio's mother, Cathy] showed up at the hospital," she said. "There has been no information from doctors, hospitals, or cops. Nobody."

"They have zero information, and that's the part that's pissing everybody off. We don't even know what happened," Bounds added. "Was he carried out by the EMS? Was he in an ambulance? Did he die instantly?"

These answers, she added, would "help people accept" what happened.

"But now it's like total shock," she added. "It's not registering."

The family has started a GoFundMe page to gather funds for Tenedorio's funeral expenses - which Ms Bounds said have been made difficult by his mother's significant medical bills during her cancer diagnosis.

Another cousin of Tenedorio's, Zach Colgan, remembers him as a "goofball" who was quick to make a joke, cared deeply about animals and was an avid storyteller.

"He cared. He was definitely a people person. A happy-go-lucky guy," Mr Colgan told the BBC. "It's sad that a terrorist attack took him...no family should ever have to bury their son, especially for something so senseless."

Mr Colgan, who has experience working with law enforcement in Louisiana, says he believes officers have done the best they can in an extremely hectic casualty situation.

"I know it's chaotic. But part of closure is getting answers. I know my aunt and uncle weren't able to get much besides 'yes - Matthew was killed'," he said.

"It'd be nice to know a little bit more," Mr Colgan added. ""If it was my kid, I'd want to know."

Even as his family continues to search for answers, Mr Colgan says he hopes that the government and public's focus continues to be on the victims, rather than on law enforcement's response or what else could have been done to prevent the attack.

"I want every single one of them to be remembered," he said. "They didn't deserve this. No one deserves this."

'Ripped off' caravan owners start compensation fight

3 January 2025 at 09:27
BBC Joanne Horner-Bloomfield, with short grey hair and wearing a white cardigan and green top, looks towards the cameraBBC
Joanne Horner-Bloomfield says she is "devastated" to have to rely on food banks since losing so much money from her caravan

About 1,200 caravan owners across the UK, many of whom say they feel "ripped off", are to begin legal action against the holiday parks that sold them.

Members of the Holiday Park Action Group (HPAG) are seeking compensation for what they say are unfair increases in annual pitch fees and misleading claims about the value of static caravans at the time of purchase.

The legal proceedings follow a BBC investigation that revealed how people had lost their life savings, inheritance and pensions when the holiday homes they had bought lost value.

One of the parks involved said it gave "comprehensive information" to all prospective buyers, while another said its sales contracts were "clear and readily understood".

Joanne Horner-Bloomfield, 65, is one of those joining the legal action.

She said she "lost everything" after buying a static caravan on Watermill Leisure Park in Lincolnshire and now relies on food banks.

In summer 2022, she used £29,995 from the sale of her late mother's house to buy the caravan, spending an additional £7,500 for a decking and two storage sheds.

Mrs Horner-Bloomfield spent much of her time at the site, which she said was "a beautiful place".

The annual pitch fee in 2022 was £2,795, but it increased to £3,041 in 2023. When she was told the 2024 fee would be £4,100, she realised she could not afford to keep the caravan.

Mrs Horner-Bloomfield, who worked as a carer before ill health forced her to stop, and does not yet receive a pension, asked to sell the caravan back to the park owners in September 2023.

However, she was told they no longer purchased caravans manufactured more than 10 years ago.

She said the park also told her that her caravan would only fetch about £5,000 on the open market.

Mrs Horner-Bloomfield said: "I was stunned. I said why did you charge me £29,995 a year ago for something that was only worth £5,000? And he said, 'well it's business isn't it?' I was furious."

Watermill Leisure Park said its dealings with Mrs Horner-Bloomfield were "fair and transparent" and it provided buyers with a "clear and readily understood sales contract".

It said it was "under no obligation to buy back a holiday caravan" but any offers it does make are "a fair reflection of the value to the park of that holiday home at that particular moment", based on factors such as time of year and level of demand.

A spokesperson said sales staff also advise that holiday caravans are intended as a long-term purchase.

A blue sign at the entrance to Watermill Leisure Park, advertising luxury holiday homes, with trees in the background.
Joanne Horner-Bloomfield says she was told her caravan at Watermill had lost £25,000 in value in just over a year

Mrs Horner-Bloomfield said she felt "betrayed and let down" because she had not been informed how low the resale value of her caravan would be when she purchased it.

She eventually sold her caravan for £5,500, of which £500 was paid to Watermill as a disconnection fee.

She added: "It just broke my heart. I'm devastated that at 65 years of age I'm reduced to using a food bank.

"The money that I was hoping to walk away with would have made life so much easier for me."

Mrs Horner-Bloomfield said she hoped the legal action would help her.

"It would be nice if we win and could get some of our money back, but more importantly would be to make a law to stop these unscrupulous site owners from taking people's life savings."

'Disgusting practices'

HPAG, which has organised the group action, says most caravans were sold by parks at a "significantly marked-up price" which led to "substantial losses" if buyers later decided to sell.

HPAG has 70,000 members in a Facebook group where caravan owners voice complaints.

Carole Keeble, the group's founder, said existing regulations were failing to protect consumers from "unfair commercial practices" on an "industrial scale".

She hoped the group's legal action would put an end to such practices and called on the government to address the "significant issues across the sector".

The High Court will give a ruling based on a small number of identified test cases. Hugh Preston KC, the group's barrister, hopes it will pave the way for the rest of the claimants to get compensation too. He is representing about 1,200 people.

James Richardson stands outside his home, looking at the camera. He is wearing a navy blue T-shirt. He is balding and has a grey-brown beard and blue eyes.
James Richardson and his wife, Emma, said they found themselves "haemorrhaging money" after buying a holiday home

The first claim will ask the High Court to declare whether or not the annual pitch fee increases written into the contract between park owners and caravan buyers are fair and enforceable - and if not, whether the buyers are entitled to a refund.

The second claim will ask a judge to decide whether the holiday parks selling the caravans should be expected to explain to buyers, before purchase, that caravans lose substantial value if resold after only a few years - and if so, whether they can be compensated for the lost value.

Mr Preston KC told the BBC: "It's essentially an unregulated sector, there's no statutory regulations that tell parks what to do or how to behave… and there are a wide range of issues that consumers feel they're just not getting fair value from."

A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said it was "aware of the difficulties that some holiday home owners have experienced" and was committed to protecting consumers from "rogue practices".

They added the government had plans to introduce tough financial penalties for breaches of consumer law.

Some of those joining the legal action shared their stories with the BBC as part of our investigation in October.

They include James and Emma Richardson, from Cleethorpes, who lost more than £50,000 over two years of owning a caravan at Tattershall Lakes Country Park in Lincolnshire. Mr Richardson hopes the case can "put an end" to the "disgusting practices" by some holiday parks.

Sally Nicholls, from Sheffield, used her entire pension pot and borrowed money to buy a £69,000 caravan at the same park. She only managed to get £15,000 for it when she sold it three years later. She says trying to change the law was "more important" to her than winning compensation.

Away Resorts An aerial image of Tattershall Lakes Country Park shows a lakefront with several long, thin static caravans on the shore, and a couple of small boats moored up. There's also a large communal area and beach with sunloungers set out and a large white parasol offering some shade.Away Resorts
Tattershall Lakes Country Park is run by Away Resorts Holidays
Sally Nicholls, a woman with short reddish hair, sits on a leather chair against a backdrop of yellow wallpaper
Sally Nicholls says she hopes the legal action will push the industry to change

Away Resorts, which runs Tattershall Lakes Country Park, said in October that it provided all prospective buyers with "comprehensive information, including detailed terms and conditions" to ensure they knew the potential risks of caravan ownership.

It said it had no further response to add about the launch of the legal action.

Industry representatives, the British Holiday and Home Park Association, said it was not appropriate to comment.

The National Caravan Council said it was aware of the legal action but would not be commenting further.

Related internet links

Sara Sharif's killer father 'attacked in prison'

3 January 2025 at 10:14
Surrey Police Police mugshot of Urfan Sharif. He has a beard and is looking straight at the camera.Surrey Police

Police are investigating after the father of Sara Sharif was reportedly assaulted in prison weeks after being jailed for the 10-year-old's murder.

Urfan Sharif is said to have been attacked at Belmarsh Prison on New Year's Day by two other inmates in a cell, the Sun newspaper reported.

Sharif reportedly suffered cuts to his neck and face, and it is understood he received medical treatment inside the prison.

Sharif, 43, and Sara's stepmother were sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted at the Old Bailey last month of killing Sara at their home in Woking, Surrey.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: "Police are investigating an assault on a prisoner at HMP Belmarsh on 1 January.

"It would be inappropriate to comment further while they investigate."

Belmarsh is a Category A jail in south-east London housing some of the UK's most dangerous prisoners.

According to the Sun, Sharif was assaulted with a makeshift weapon.

BBC News has approached the Metropolitan Police for a statement.

A spokesman quoted in the Sun said the inmate "suffered non life-threatening injuries".

Surrey Police Sara Sharif - she has a faint smile on her face and wearing a green dress as she sits on a bedSurrey Police
Sara was found dead in August 2023

Sara was hooded, burned and beaten during a "campaign of torture" that lasted two years before her body was found at the family home in August 2023.

Urfan Sharif was sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison for murder, while his wife Beinash Batool, 30, received a minimum of 33 years.

Sara's uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, was sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment for causing or allowing her death.

The three fled to Islamabad, Pakistan, with Sara's five siblings, the day before her body was found, prompting an international manhunt.

They hid out there for four weeks before returning to the UK, where they were arrested.

Two dead after plane hits factory roof near LA

3 January 2025 at 09:35
CBS Pieces of the plane inside the buildingCBS

Two people have died and 18 others were injured after a small plane crashed into a commercial building in southern California, officials say.

Ten people were taken to hospital with injuries, the Fullerton Police Department said in a post on X on Thursday afternoon. Eight others were treated for injuries and released at the scene.

The single-engine Van's RV-10 crashed at 14:15PST (20:15GMT), according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Officials have provided no further details about how the crash occurred. It is unclear whether the two people who died were workers or were on board the plane.

Police say they are evacuating buildings in the area, and are asking the public to stay away from the crash site.

Congressman Lou Correa, who represents the area of Orange County, about 25 miles (40km) south of Los Angeles, said that the building that was struck is a furniture manufacturing business.

In a post on X, Correa said that at least a dozen of the victims are factory workers.

Aerial photos of the scene show parts of the plane inside the building. The crash also sparked a fire which was extinguished by fire crews.

Security footage recorded from a building across the street shows a fiery explosion, according to local news outlets.

"People are just shaken over the situation," witness Mark Anderson told KRCA-TV.

"It was just a large boom, and then one of the people went out and said, 'Oh my gosh, the building's on fire.'"

The area where the plane crashed is near the Fullerton Municipal Airport, about 6 miles (10 kilometers) from Disneyland.

The plane appears to have been turning back to the airport shortly after takeoff, according to KRCA-TV.

This is the second plane to crash in the area in the past two months, according to CBS, the BBC's US partner.

On 25 November, another plane crashed into a tree roughly one block away from this most recent crash. No major injures were reported in that crash.

Why Did South Korea President Yoon Order Martial Law, and What is He Accused Of?

3 January 2025 at 09:47
Mr. Yoon, a deeply unpopular leader, faces potential arrest after declaring martial law for the first time in decades. Here’s how the turmoil unfolded.

© Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

Song Ji-eun, 29, celebrating in Seoul after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached on Dec. 14.

当中美关系不再拥有“小院高墙”

3 January 2025 at 10:55

简繁中文
纽约时报 出版语言
字体大小
观点

当中美关系不再拥有“小院高墙”

GEOFFREY GERTZ
Illustration by Kristie Bailey/The New York Times; source photographs by Evaristo Sa, via AFP, and Kevin Dietsch, via Getty Images.
去年12月2日,美国宣布了新一轮限制向中国出口先进半导体的管制,而且预期很快将出台更多限制。这是拜登政府持久政治遗产的最后部分之一:限制中国获取技术的规模和范围大幅扩大。
拜登政府反复使用“小院高墙”这个比喻来阐明过去两年里的政策,上月宣布限制措施时也用了这个说法。它的意思是,应该将敏感技术放进一个院子,用贸易和投资限制的高墙保护起来。但是这个院子应该很小,只涉及少数有军事用途的先进技术,同时,美中之间更广泛的商业贸易和投资仍将继续。
随着拜登政府进入最后阶段,“小院高墙”战略的矛盾之处正在增多。这个战略试图达到两个本质上相互冲突的目的:在不颠覆全球经济秩序的同时,推进技术竞争地缘政治的根本改变。拜登政府在达到这两个目标方面都做得不好。特朗普上任后,他的外交政策团队可能会采用由拜登团队启用,但又不愿广泛使用的技术控制工具,并全力释放这些工具,这将给经济造成显著的干扰。别再提那个精心设定范围的小院子了。
“小院高墙”战略背后的想法最初曾说得通,它反映了拜登政府在处理美中关系时试图平衡相互矛盾的压力:用国家安全顾问沙利文的话说,要让美国在基本技术领域,保持对主要战略竞争对手“尽可能大的领先优势”,但又不切断全部有意义的经济联系。
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事实证明,这非常困难。2022年10月,拜登政府宣布了第一轮针对中国的半导体出口全面限制后,亚历克斯·帕尔默在时报发表的文章中将其描述为“经济战的宣战书”。它带来了巨大的经济和外交代价。美国的技术企业担心,高墙可能会将它们挡在中国市场之外。美国在欧洲和亚洲的盟友对中国的军事现代化项目有一些与华盛顿一样的担忧,但对与北京突然决裂持谨慎态度。
为了缓解盟友们的担忧,拜登政府试图在采取限制措施时小心谨慎。就在宣布半导体出口管制措施的一周后,沙利文在阐明政府政策时使用了“小院高墙”的比喻。那之后,随着拜登政府推出更多控制和限制先进技术出口的措施,“小院高墙”的说法一次一次地出现在讲话要点发布新闻中。
尽管拜登政府想把自己的做法描述为小范围的、有针对性的,但现实情况要复杂得多。政府从未定义哪些技术属于小院之内,部分原因是,很难预测哪些产品可能会在未来带来安全风险。这为扩大院子留下了空间。
而且,即使受限制技术的数量有限,但限制技术的影响并非有限。半导体和人工智能是应用范围广泛的基础技术,限制它们对中国经济和技术发展的影响将是巨大的。
拜登政府在过去两年里出台了一系列新的出口管制和对华投资限制,以及向中国传输数据的限制。虽然每项措施都是小范围的和特定的,但累积效应要大得多。
“小院高墙”的总想法确实有助于赢得一些持怀疑态度的美国盟友和伙伴的支持,这对拜登团队来说是一个重大胜利。美国的一些盟友甚至借用了这个比喻。英国在2023年11月宣布修订《国家安全与投资法》时,将新做法描述为“小花园、高篱笆”。
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但美国与盟友的合作程度仍然有限​​,部分原因是,拜登政府承诺其措施不会超出由它自己设定、没有定义的界限,盟国政府并不完全信任这一承诺。盟友们也担心,在缺少有效法律护栏的情况下,拜登政府正在开发的政策工具会在某天移交给一个不那么克制的美国政府,院子的范围可能会大为扩展。它们现在正忐忑地观望着即将上任的特朗普总统。
中国当然从未接受“小院高墙”的想法。它不接受国家安全技术限制有别于两个大国之间更广泛的经济竞争这一前提,也能看出这些所谓的小范围限制的广泛影响。拜登政府试图作出的保证并未阻止中国采取反制措施进行报复,包括上个月宣布的禁止向美国出口某些关键矿产品
就特朗普而言,他不寻求将经济竞争与国家安全区分开来,没有多少兴趣尽量减少经济干扰或与盟友合作。他的政府准备严厉限制与中国的贸易和对华投资,并向盟友施压,要求它们也这样做。
特朗普更具对抗性的做法会更有效吗?他的团队将需要应对拜登政府同样面临的挑战,包括加强打击走私和躲避出口管制的执法工具,以及说服盟友采取自己的限制措施。特朗普政府最终需要回答的问题是,它打算在多大程度上让美国经济与中国脱钩,以及在这个过程中愿意容忍多大程度的经济扰乱。尽管“小院高墙”战略存在缺点,但仍起了必要的约束作用。特朗普团队将需要制定一些自己的限制原则。

Geoffrey Gertz是新美国安全中心的高级研究员,曾担任拜登政府国家安全委员会的国际经济主任。

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美国考虑对中国无人机颁布禁令

3 January 2025 at 10:58

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美国考虑对中国无人机颁布禁令

ANA SWANSON
立法者曾多次对无人机带来的国家安全风险表示担忧,其中包括中国领先的无人机制造商大疆的无人机。
立法者曾多次对无人机带来的国家安全风险表示担忧,其中包括中国领先的无人机制造商大疆的无人机。 Alex Goodlett for The New York Times
拜登政府于周四表示,出于国家安全担忧,正在考虑制定一项新规定,限制或禁止中国无人机进入美国。
商务部在一份通知中表示,外国对手——尤其是中国和俄罗斯——参与无人机的设计、开发、制造和供应,可能会对 “美国国家安全构成不当或不可接受的风险”。
该通知要求私营公司在3月4日前就该规则的范围和影响发表评论。如果对中国和俄罗斯无人机做出限制,实施何种限制将由特朗普政府决定。
商务部表示,中国和俄罗斯已经表现出通过网络间谍活动危害美国基础设施和安全的意愿,并称两国政府可能会利用其法律和政治局势“笼络私营实体以谋求国家利益”。
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除了业余爱好者外,美国各行各业也在使用无人机。它们帮助农民监控农作物和喷洒农药,为化工行业检查管道,勘测桥梁和建筑工地,并为消防员和其他应急人员提供帮助。
但在过去十年中,无人机不断发展,配备了先进的摄像头、接收器和人工智能能力,这加剧了人们对无人机可能成为敌对政府的有用工具的担忧。
商务部称,总部设在中国的公司占据了美国无人机市场至少75%的份额,这种优势“提供了大量的利用机会”。商务部还称,俄罗斯在全球无人机销售中的份额相对较小,但它已宣布有意投入巨资开发国内市场。
商务部长雷蒙多在一份声明中表示,拟议的规则将是“保护美国免受外国实体威胁的重要一步”。
她补充说,确保无人驾驶飞机系统技术供应链的安全“对保障我们的国家安全至关重要”。
商务部在通知中表示,无人机可用于在碰撞中破坏实体基础设施、投放爆炸性有效载荷或收集关键基础设施的信息,包括建筑布局。
此外,由于美国的关键基础设施越来越依赖无人机,任何使无人机远程失效的行为都将给国家安全带来风险。商务部补充说,过去,总部设在中国的无人机公司曾对其设备进行更新,以建立禁飞限制,使无人机在这些公司规定的冲突地区无法飞行。
通知称,商务部还在考虑是否有任何措施可以降低风险,允许中国无人机继续销售,例如某些设计要求或网络安全软件。
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为检查和消除高科技产品和通信基础设施中收集大量美国人数据的漏洞而,拜登政府做出了更广泛的努力,这项拟议的规则是其中的一部分。
9月,美国政府采取行动,禁止美国的联网汽车使用中国开发的软件。这一举措旨在防止中国情报机构监控美国人的行踪,或利用汽车电子设备作为进入美国电网或其他基础设施的途径。
周四,中国将28家美国公司列入出口管制名单,以“维护国家安全和利益”。
美国国会议员曾多次对无人机带来的国家安全风险表示担忧,其中包括来自中国领先无人机制造商大疆的无人机。拜登总统上月签署的国防法案中包含一项条款,要求政府确定大疆或另一家中国公司道通智能的无人机是否构成威胁。
这些限制措施是在人们日益担心美国容易受到网络攻击的情况下出台的。美国财政部周一宣布,它遭到了中国情报机构的黑客攻击
近几个月来,一系列揭露显示,一个名为“盐台风”的复杂中国情报组织如何深入渗透到至少九家美国电信公司,目标是候任总统特朗普和其他人使用的电话线路。

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Littler thrashes Bunting to set up Van Gerwen final

3 January 2025 at 07:55

Littler thrashes Bunting to set up Van Gerwen final

Luke Littler celebrates victoryImage source, Reuters
Image caption,

Littler is only the seventh player to reach consecutive PDC World Championship finals

Teenager Luke Littler thrashed Stephen Bunting 6-1 with a ruthless display to set up a PDC World Championship final against Michael van Gerwen on Friday.

The 17-year-old was runner-up last year and is bidding to become the youngest winner of the tournament after a whirlwind 12 months which has seen him become a household name.

The teenager averaged 105.48, his highest of this year's competition, as he overpowered his fellow Englishman at Alexandra Palace in London.

Three-time champion Van Gerwen, who defeated Chris Dobey 6-1 in the semi-finals on Thursday, became the youngest winner aged 24 in 2014.

"If we both turn up like we did tonight, it is going to be really good," said Littler of the final, which starts at 20:00 GMT.

Fourth seed Littler has looked increasingly comfortable as the tournament has progressed and raced into a 4-0 lead on Thursday.

He took the opening set despite an average of 113.35 from Bunting and kicked on from there.

Eighth seed Bunting won the fifth set but missed three double attempts to seal the next and Littler went further ahead with bullseye to clinch an 84 checkout.

With victory in sight, the teenager treated the crowd to a spectacular 170 finish.

Third seed Van Gerwen also won 6-1 and is taking nothing for granted.

"We're not even close yet, we're still so far away," said the Dutchman.

Littler 'can't wait' for final

The way Littler demolished former BDO world champion Bunting showed why he has taken the world of darts by storm as he threw 13 180s and took out three ton-plus finishes.

"It has been an amazing tournament so far," he said. "I have just beaten what's in front of me and I am glad to get through."

Littler has risen from 164 to number four in the world rankings since his fairytale run to the final in January 2024, where he lost to Luke Humphries.

He won 10 titles in his debut year as a professional, amassed more than £1m in prize money and was named BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year.

In the process, he has helped the profile of darts soar, with the number of junior academies doubling.

Google say he was the most searched-for athlete online in the UK during 2024.

"I have won plenty of titles leading up to this, that is what we do, we lead up to the big one, I can't wait for the final," said Littler.

Van Gerwen 'on a mission'

Michael van Gerwen celebrates victoryImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Van Gerwen will compete in his seventh world championship final

Van Gerwen is seeking his fourth title but last triumphed in 2019, with two defeats in the final since then.

The third seed started strongly against Dobey, who was unable to reel him in with the Dutchman's 98.84 average enough to seal victory.

England's Dobey had knocked out 2021 champion Gerwyn Price in the last eight but failed to reach the same level in his first world semi-final appearance.

Dobey missed three darts at the double in the second set to go two behind, and while the world number 15 fought back to win the third - where he notched a 170 'Big Fish' checkout before a 108 finish - it was a brief highlight.

Van Gerwen rattled off the next four sets with the minimum of fuss to reach the final for a seventh time. He threw eight 180s and took out three ton-plus checkouts, including a majestic 158.

"I'm here with a mission and a target. You will have ups and downs but today I showed a good mentality," he said.

"Even when things were not going my way I was able to produce good stuff at the right moments. That gives me a lot of confidence."

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Slovakia threatens to cut benefit for Ukrainians

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Reuters People rest at a refugee shelter in a school gym in the village of Ubla, Slovakia, in February 2022 after Russia launched its war against UkraineReuters
People resting at a refugee shelter in Ubla, Slovakia, in February 2022 after Russia launched its war against Ukraine

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On 1 January, Kyiv shut off a pipeline that for decades was used to supply Central Europe with Russian natural gas.

Slovakia had been the main entry point and the country now stands to lose millions of euros in transit fees.

The UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) estimated last month that there were 130,530 Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia out of 6,813,900 globally.

Fico - who in December made a surprise visit to Moscow for talks with Russia's President Vladimir Putin - described Kyiv's move as "sabotage".

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He said there was no risk of Slovakia itself suffering from gas shortages, as it had already made alternative arrangements.

But Fico added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's decision to turn off the taps would deprive Slovakia of 500m euros (£415m; $518m) in transit fees from other countries.

He said his party was ready to debate "halting supplies of electricity" and the "significant lowering of support for Ukrainian citizens in Slovakia".

"The only alternative for a sovereign Slovakia is renewal of transit or demanding compensation mechanisms that will replace the loss in public finances," he added.

Last month Zelensky accused Fico of helping Putin to "fund the war and weaken Ukraine".

"Fico is dragging Slovakia into Russia's attempts to cause more suffering for Ukrainians," the Ukrainian president had said.

Poland has offered to support Kyiv in case Slovakia cuts off its electricity exports - supplies that are crucial to Ukraine, whose power plants come under regular attack from Russia.

Poland's government called the cut-off "another victory" against Moscow while the European Commission said the EU had prepared for the change and most states could cope.

Moldova, which is not in the EU, is already suffering shortages.

Russia can still send gas to Hungary, Turkey and Serbia through the TurkStream pipeline across the Black Sea.

Map showing the main Russian gas pipleline routes into Europe. It highlights the major entry points as being Germany (via the two Nordstream pipelines), Slovakia (via Ukraine), Poland (via Belarus) and Turkey (via the Black Sea).

New Orleans Attacker Most Likely Acted Alone, Officials Say

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中国将28家美国实体列入出口管制名单

By: 艾莎
3 January 2025 at 09:33

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中国将28家美国实体列入出口管制名单

艾莎
波音是周四受到中国制裁的美国公司之一。
波音是周四受到中国制裁的美国公司之一。 Patrick T. Fallon/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
中国周四公布了一系列惩罚性贸易措施,列明了包括雷神、波音和洛克希德·马丁在内的数十家美国公司,这可能会加剧两个超级大国之间的紧张关系。
此时距离候任总统唐纳德·特朗普上任只有几周时间,他承诺将对中国征收新的关税并实施新的制裁,北京再次表明已做好反击的准备。
中国商务部表示,为了“维护国家安全和利益”,已将28家公司列入了出口管制名单。它还禁止向这些公司出口所谓的军民两用产品。此外,商务部还将10家公司列入了所谓的“不可靠实体名单”,该名单与向台湾出售武器有关,禁止这些公司在中国开展任何业务,并禁止这些公司的高管进入中国或在中国生活。
咨询公司化险集团(Control Risks)的中国问题专家安德鲁·吉尔霍姆表示,中国政府过去也对这些公司采取过类似行动,尽管范围较小,这些公司大多在中国的业务有限。
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“其中大部分可能只是象征性的,因为这些实体中有许多已经受到制裁,”他说。但他还表示,“我们看到的是,在一次列名中增加的实体的范围和数量在不断扩大。”
被中国点名的公司包括美国主要的国防系统制造商,如雷神导弹系统公司、波音防务、太空与安全公司和洛克希德·马丁导弹与火控公司。这些公司没有立即回复电子邮件置评请求。
中国美国商会总裁何迈可(Michael Hart)表示,中国政府一般都很谨慎,不会采取直接影响当地公司业务的行动。
“通常情况下,中国采取的行动不会影响那些为中国经济带来好处的公司,”他说。
随着北京为特朗普连任总统做准备,该国采取了越来越强硬的立场,特朗普常常直截了当地批评中国及其经济实力,
中国监管机构已宣布对美国计算机芯片公司英伟达展开调查,禁止向美国出口稀有矿产,并对个别公司进行了更有针对性的打击,以暴露其供应链漏洞。
这些措施是最近几个月不断升级的经济对峙的一部分。它始于特朗普的第一任期,当时他对中国征收关税并限制贸易。中国政府主要采取了象征性和有节制的报复措施。
此后,拜登政府扩大了对中国公司的限制,并对军民两用产品实施禁令,最近又将目标对准了140家中国公司。本周四,拜登政府表示正在考虑一项新规定,可能会限制或禁止中国无人机进入美国。
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近年来,中国已经为效仿华盛顿的策略奠定了法律基础,建立了黑名单和制裁措施,可以切断美国公司与关键资源的联系。吉尔霍姆表示,中国政府现在更愿意采取行动了。
“事情的节奏正在加快。这方面的交锋会越来越多。”

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Buddy MacKay, a Democrat who briefly served as Florida’s governor, dead at 91

3 January 2025 at 08:02

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Former Florida Gov. Buddy MacKay, who lost to Jeb Bush in 1998 but still served 23 days in office after the sudden death of Gov. Lawton Chiles, has died. He was 91.

The former Democratic governor took a nap after lunch at his home in Ocklawaha, Florida, on Tuesday and never woke up, his son Ken MacKay told The Associated Press. All of the governor’s adult children were present at the time, he said.

“It was a very peaceful end to a great life,” said MacKay, who hopes his father is remembered as a defender of Florida’s environment and an advocate for minorities.

Floridians honored MacKay not just for his brief service as governor, but his time as a state legislator, congressman and diplomat.

“We mourn the passing of Buddy MacKay,” Gov. Ron DeSantis posted on X. “A U.S. Air Force veteran and lifelong public servant, MacKay was dedicated to our country and our state. May he rest in peace.”

In a social media post, Bush offered his condolences to MacKay’s family, saying that his one-time competitor had served the state “with honor and distinction.”

MacKay, Chiles’ lieutenant governor for two terms, had been trounced by Bush in the 1998 gubernatorial election when Chiles died six weeks later on Dec. 12, 1998, at the governor’s mansion. That put MacKay in the top job for three weeks, where he focused on overseeing the final stages of the transition to Bush’s administration.

“It was overwhelmingly sad,” MacKay recalled in a 2012 interview with The Associated Press. "(Chiles had) gotten that far through his term and it all just stopped. For me, there was nothing but to be a caretaker and try to help with the transition. The main thing we could do was stay out of the way.”

The MacKays never moved into the mansion and Florida hasn’t had a Democrat in the governor’s office since.

“He was very, very sensitive to the fact he was there as the final caretaker,” the late Democratic political strategist and MacKay adviser Jim Krog once said. “He was clearly conscious of the fact that he was governor and there were some loose ends that needed to be tied up.”

MacKay was out of politics in 1990 when he persuaded Chiles, who had retired from the U.S. Senate two years earlier, to run for governor against incumbent Republican Bob Martinez. The Chiles-MacKay team was elected that November and again in 1994.

MacKay, who also served in the Florida Legislature and U.S. House of Representatives, ran statewide three times and lost each time, but never lost his quiet sense of humor.

“I got out of politics because of illness,” he said the day after being defeated by Bush. “The voters got sick and tired of me.”

An inveterate policy wonk, MacKay finished his political career as a special envoy to Latin America for President Bill Clinton before retiring to his central Florida home near Ocala. MacKay stood by the former president when many Democrats distanced themselves from Clinton in the wake of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. He kept busy in the final years of his life doing pro bono work for the Southern Legal Counsel and also serving in a mediation role in the juvenile court system.

MacKay narrowly missed winning election to the U.S. Senate race in 1988 when he lost to Republican Connie Mack III by less than 1 percentage point. It was the closest statewide race in the state’s history until the 2000 presidential contest between George W. Bush and Al Gore.

In a Democratic primary field that at one time included former governors Claude Kirk — a one-time Republican — and Reubin Askew, who withdrew before the election, MacKay rebounded from a runner-up finish in a six-way primary to win a runoff against then-Insurance Commissioner Bill Gunter.

With Democrats still largely in control of Florida politics, MacKay was expected to sweep past Mack and hold Chiles’ seat.

But Mack, who had also been in the U.S. House, came up with a “Hey Buddy, you’re a liberal,” catchphrase that MacKay couldn’t shake at a time moderate Florida was moving away from traditional Democratic politics.

It took two days after the 1988 election before the official vote count showed Mack had won, by fewer than 34,000 votes out of more than 4 million cast.

Like many of Florida’s leading Democratic politicians of the second half of the 20th century, MacKay began his political career at the height of the state’s integration movement.

MacKay had grown up working in the fields with Black laborers but went to segregated schools and ate in segregated restaurants.

“It was fairly wrenching,” he said. “It was always very awkward. My family was involved with agriculture and I worked many days in the field with African American crews and some of those adults were part of our family and raised me.”

MacKay’s views on race and the potential for desegregation changed dramatically during his time in the U.S. Air Force between 1955 and 1958.

“Not until I went into the military did I see the potential for getting this behind us,” MacKay said. “I walked in there and from the first day it was totally integrated and there wasn’t a problem. It was a very freeing experience.”

Kenneth H. MacKay Jr. was born March 22, 1933, in Ocala.

“In the old South, which I was born into, ‘Buddy’ means junior,” MacKay said. “Judges and school teachers called me Kenneth, but nobody else did. I’m more of a Buddy than a Kenneth.”

He became an attorney and citrus grower after leaving the service. He won election to the state House in 1968, the state Senate in 1974 and to the U.S. House in 1982 before losing his U.S. Senate bid.

MacKay spent his final years at the home he shared with his wife, Anne, on Lake Weir. According to his son Ken, MacKay remained active in his church, and enjoyed tending to his camellias and spending time on the family farm, where they raise citrus and cattle.

© Phil Sandlin/AP

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