陌生的中国人 杨猛【信用卡与贷信款中国人不再陌生】

　　The Real China Emerges from Clichés and Propaganda 　　 　　编者按：随着北京2008年奥运会的逼近，民众越来越关心“中国”品牌的树立，学习英语的热情也被点燃。越来越多的外宣干部和业内同行向我们表达了期待看到双语栏目的愿望。因此，我们自2006年第1期起开办了《双语视窗》栏目以满足广大读者的需求。
　　看看周围的媒体，在《北京青年报》、《参考消息》、《国门时报》上有许多精粹的小短文，像一只只啄木鸟，善意地提醒了中国人习以为常的行为背后“尚未和国际接轨”的细节，读后让人回味不已。在获得借鉴意义的同时，也带来更深入的思考。我们效仿中英文对照的版面形式，旨在通过外国友人的视角来看中国，从中折射出东西方观念、习俗的异同。通过一篇篇这样的文章，让读者在领略异域文化的同时，也能达到学习英语的目的。
　　
　　
　　1985年我来中国时， 多数中国人认为我们外国人随身携带的信用卡是个新鲜物，对它既感兴趣又心存疑虑：想想看，在挣到钱之前就可以花钱，真不可思议！对于我们的中国朋友说来，要把拥有一个信用卡看成是既安全又方便的事，那可不容易。说实话，我自己一开始在很长时间里都不愿意申请信用卡。但是，在加拿大，由于驾驶证和信用卡是最常用的身份证件，而我两样都没有，就被认为有点怪，好像我在这个国家没有正常的合法地位。
　　于是，我最终办了第一张信用卡，但我下决心并不真用它买东西。但后来，我又决定，有时商品减价，我的确需要，但当时手头又没现金，就用信用卡买下来也挺好。渐渐地，我养成了使用信用卡的习惯。但是，正如多数信用卡持有者一样，我每月底都一丝不苟付清账单。当然，也有些人迟付账单，这些人就要付高额利息，而高额利息则使信用卡公司得以赚钱。
　　如今，信用卡在中国已经很普遍了，然而，我希望中国的消费者不要养成一月又一月迟付信用卡账单的高昂代价的习惯。信用卡使购物变得十分容易，但对于少数成问题的消费者来说，购物含有上瘾的成分，而使用信用卡代替现钞购物似乎就更加剧了这一瘾头。就我个人而言，我觉得借记卡比信用卡更可取，如果你花的钱直接来自你的存折，或者在开销之前你就先付了钱，就像你买吉通电话卡一样，就不会有债务缠身的危险。
　　一些人拥有的IC卡的数量真让人吃惊，打本地电话的卡，打长途电话的卡，在每个超市购物的卡，单位食堂吃饭的卡，从银行取现金的卡――每一种业务都有自己的卡。在很多饭店，我看到甚至钥匙也变成了卡。北京还不算是卡的龙头，其他城市人均拥有的卡甚至更多。截至1998年底，中国发行了8千万IC卡，到今年年底将达到4亿个。在事情变得杂乱无章之前，发行卡的部门应该坐下来讨论一下多功能卡的开发问题，这一转变将有益于卡的发行者，也有益于卡的使用者。
　　消费者向银行贷款对于多数中国人也是新事物。只是在去年年底中国人民银行才开始推广对普通居民的购房贷款。此后贷款在品种和规模上都有了很快的发展。今年所有的中国商业银行都被允许发放这样的贷款。越来越多的人正准备拿银行的钱去买房、装修公寓、买新家具、买汽车、买计算机、乐器这样的耐用品，给孩子交学费、看病甚至旅游。
　　让我感到吃惊的是大众态度的变化之快，从犹豫不决害怕负债转到了热衷于向银行借款。我猜想是变化的时机成熟了。最近在中国几大城市所做的一项调查显示，大约有一半城市人口还是不花借来的钱买消费品，但新的消费观念所占的地盘正日益扩大。我个人的疑虑则是关系到中国消费者，他们不知道风险正等待着欠考虑的消费者，我担心有些人不得不从教训中学到量入为出的重要性。
　　当贷款使家庭得以享受高质量的生活，而且消费者又能有节制地花钱时，毫无疑问，贷款是件好事。在市场经济的发展中，可以容易地获得贷款是一重要因素，但贷款也总包含着风险，对贷者与借者双方都有风险。消费者需要仔细算计一下，每月他们能付银行或信用卡公司多少钱，他们的经济状况会怎样提高并影响其还款能力。信贷体系的每一方面在中国还很年轻。而要使这一体系运作得好，还有许多工作需要去做。我相信这个国家将很快拥有一个具有欣欣向荣的现代经济特色的全方位的信贷服务体系。
　　（作者曾供职《北京周报》法文版）
　　
　　原文：
　　When I came to China in 1985, most Chinese regarded the credit cards we foreigners carried around with us as curiosities, attractive but also highly suspect:Just imagine spending money before one earned it!It was hard for our Chinese friends to see that having a credit card was a matter of security and convenience.And to tell the truth, I had myself long been reluctant to apply for a creditcard. But as a driver’s licence or a credit card is the most frequent means of identifying oneself in Canada, and I had neither the one nor the other, I was considered alittle odd, as if I had no regular status in the country.
　　So I finally obtained my first credit card, but I resolved that I would never actually use it to buy things.Later, however, I decided that now and then it would benice to purchase items on sale that I really needed but wasnot prepared to pay cash for right then.Gradually I gotinto the habit of using the card, but like most credit card users I was scrupulous about paying my bill at the end of each month.There are also, of course, credit card holders who put off paying their bills; they pay the high interest rates that enable credit card companies to make a profit.
　　Nowadays credit cards are becoming common in China.I hope, though, that Chinese consumers will not fall into the expensive habit of delaying payment of their credit cardbills from month to month.Credit cards make shopping so easy, and for a small but problematic minority of consumers there is something addictive about it that the use ofplastic instead of cash seems to intensify. Personally I feel that a debit card is preferable to a credit card.If the money you spend is taken directly from your savings account, or if you pay before spending, as when you buy a Jitong card, there is no danger of falling deeply into debt.
　　The number of smart (IC) cards some people have is astonishing.For local phones, for long-distance calls, for each supermarket the consumer shops at, for the unit canteen, for making cash withdrawals from the bank ― a different card for each sort of transaction!I note that even keys have been transformed into cards in many hotels.And Beijing is not at the head of the pack; the people in some other Chinese cities have even more cards per capita.By the end of 1998, some 80 million smart cards had been issued in China; by the end of this year, the number will havereached 400 million. Before the situation becomes too messy, card issuers ought to sit down and discuss the creation of multifunctional cards. The shift would benefit both users and issuers.
　　Consumer credit through banks also is new to most Chinese.It was only at the end of last year that the People’s Bank of China started to promote housing loans for ordinary citizens.Then the credit was quicklyextended in variety and scale.This year all Chinese-funded commercial banks are allowed to make such loans.A growing number of people are taking out bank loans to pay for housing, the remodeling of their flats, new furniture, cars, durable goods like computers and musical instruments, schooling, medical services and even tourism.
　　What has surprised me is the swiftness of the changein popular attitudes, from hesitation to go into debt to positive enthusiasm for borrowing money.I guess the time was ripe for change.A recent poll in major cities does show that about half the urban population would still not spend borrowed money on consumer items, but the new attitudes are gaining ground.My own qualms concern Chinese consumers who are unaware of the dangers awaiting the thoughtless consumer.I fear some people will have to learn the hard way how important it is to stick to a budget.
　　Credit is undoubtedly a good thing when it enables a family to enjoy a higher quality of life and when consumers keep their spending under control.The easy availability of credit is a crucial element in the development of a market economy.But credit always involves risk, for both the lender and the borrower.Consumers need to calculate carefully how much they can afford to pay a bank or credit card company each month, and how their financial situationmay evolve and affect their repayment capacity.Every aspect of the credit system is young in China and much still needs to be done if the system is to work well. I am sure that the nation will soon have the full range of credit services characteristic of a thriving modern economy.省略）
　　责编：周瑾

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