中英对照：对我们新移民来说，北电的轰然倒闭意味着加国自由之梦的破灭

 

 

二十五年前，我和一些刚刚毕业的加国大学同学们获得了在加拿大的第一份工作 ，即来自加国最富盛名的科技公司北方电讯的工作聘书。对于我们这些逃离了镇压学生运动的天安门事件的新移民来说，这份聘书意义非同反响。我们将其视作加国梦的重大转折点，移民征程的重要里程碑。它标志着我们独立生活的开始，意味着我们摆脱了专制政府的恐怖镇压和统治，成功地踏上了加国的民主自由之路 。但是，沉浸在胜利的喜悦中的我们却过分天真，对自由之路上的暗礁浑然不知，也对来自那个势力不断增长并将逐渐将其铁拳伸向海外的专制政权的威胁毫无心理准备。

 

Twenty-five years ago, I and some recent graduates from a Canadian university received our first job offer in Canada from Nortel Networks, at the time, one of the world's most prestigious companies. For us newcomers who fled a government that killed thousands of students in Tiananmen Square, the opportunity to work in such a leading tech company was a life-changing event and a dream come true. We saw it as a milestone on our immigrant journey searching for freedom and starting a new life free from a violent government and its reign of terror. Yet, as we were overcome with joy and excitement, we were oblivious to the regime's growing power threatening to tear our dreams apart, as the Chinese government gradually extended its control and grip overseas. 

 

北电当时是加国旗舰公司，是全球信息网络技术的先锋，也是加拿大的硅谷。当时的北电价值号称全球第九，享有TSX 300指数价值的35％以上份额。在其鼎盛时期，北电是移动无线技术的首创，也是以闪电高速传输语音，视频和图像等光纤网络系统的领头羊。在北电的工作经历让人难忘。除了稳定的工资和一份有前途的事业之外，北电的文化包容政策给我们这些“外来工薪仔”一份归属感，更重要的是，它为像我这样有着中国国企工作经历的人士提供了曾梦寐以求的但却从未获得的政治自由。

 

Nortel was a Canadian flagship company at the time, an iconic world leader in IT and digital innovations, and the heart of Silicon Valley of the North. At its peak, Nortel was a leading mobile wireless technology provider and the dominant fiber optics supplier transmitting voice, video, and images at lightning speed. Nortel claimed the bragging rights as the ninth most valuable company globally, representing over 35 percent of the TSX 300 index value. Working at Nortel was a remarkable experience. Apart from a sense of prestige, financial security and a promising career, it offered us a sense of belonging by embracing cultural inclusiveness and, more importantly, the political freedom that I, a former Chinese state firm employee, desired but never enjoyed in China.

 

可是，残酷的现实让这自由的喜悦和摆脱了政权统治的自豪感很快就消失到九霄云外。2009年，北电宣布破产，承认其在网络泡沫中的惨败。 轰然倒闭的北电加入了包括加国智能手机先驱黑莓在内的那些在国际竞争中败下阵来的品牌公司的阵营。对北电倒台之原因的分析归咎于高管会计舞弊，公司管理不善，客户信心丧失等，但包括北电雇员在内的大众却对其倒闭的根本原因极其幕后祸首浑然不知。但数十年后公布的证据却将让北电破产的始作俑者揭示于众，那就是来自国外之势力把北电彻底掏空，而更令人震惊的是，卷入其中的却是中国政府和共产党。

 

However, we found that the joy of freedom and the pride of independence was short-lived and quickly ruined by a dark reality. In 2009, Nortel claimed its bankruptcy, announcing its tragic defeat amidst the dotcom bubble. The tech giant's sudden collapse saw it joining a wave of the iconic Canadian brands defeated by a global rival – including the Smartphone pioneer Blackberry. Early investigations into the cause of Nortel’s demise pinned the blame on accounting scandals, corporate mismanagement, and the loss of the clients' confidence. But it didn’t become public until years later that the repeated hacks and cyber-attacks from foreign forces brought the company down. More shockingly, the insidious infiltrations against Nortel involved the CCP and China.

 

自九十年代以来，反复遭到技术偷窃和商业间谍行动攻击的北电逐渐衰败。人类间谍和网络罪犯向北电发起数十载的黑客袭击，窃取其商业情报以及科研核心机密。这种大规模的黑客行动不断升级，以致于黑客竟然在渥太华的总部安装了窃听设备，并在北电高管的眼皮底下偷走了数百份公司重要文件。

 

Since the mid-1990s, Nortel had been on the wane, compromised by stealing and corporate espionage. Human spies and criminal gangsters have hacked against Nortel for decades, stealing its corporate intelligence and the valuable IP core to its development and growth. The massive hacking escalated to the point where listening devices got planted at its corporate headquarters in Ottawa, and hundreds of sensitive documents downloaded under Nortel executives' nose.

 

通过大规模的黑客攻击，中共政府最终完全掌控了北电的内部系统运作。且中国解放军也参与了这类黑客行动。在中国高层指令下，数百名军队黑客日以夜继地对北电发起大规模的网络搜索，将北电的知识产权，科研成果，商业机密尽收囊中。

 

The state sponsored attacks had reportedly led the CCP to gain complete control of Nortel's internal system. The Chinese military was also allegedly part of the hacking onslaught, with hundred PLA hackers tasked by CCP's most elite leaders working day and night to steal Nortel's R&D.

 

北电的竞争对手，中国的商业宠儿华为否认其为这些商业间谍活动的主要受益者和最大赢家。但加国情报机构以及网络安全专家认为华为几十年来突飞猛进的发展绝非巧合。自2000年初，华为就在与北电争抢客户，在合同竞标战中频频以低价击败加国公司，获得了竟然包括北电加国本土的客户订单。遍体鳞伤的北电眼睁睁地望着这家中国公司渐渐吞噬了其市场占有率及商业份额，让其几十年来的血汗换来的创新和科研成果付之东流。2009年，北电的悲惨命运以其倒闭为结局，而随着消失的是几十万员工的工作，以及他们几百亿的退休金和储蓄。

 

Huawei denied it’s the primary beneficiary of the spying activities and cybercrimes against Nortel. However, CSIC agents and security experts say its decades of spectacular growth was much more than coincident. Since the early 2000s, Huawei started a contract winning spree by repeatedly underbidding its rival Nortel -- including beating the Canadian company on its home turf. The crumbling Nortel watched hopelessly as the Chinese rival devoured up most of its market share, and as its achievements through decades of blood, sweats, and tears disappeared altogether. Nortel claimed its bankruptcy in 2009, marking its tragic demise that wiped out hundreds of thousands of jobs and tens of billions of pensions and retirement savings.

 

对我们这些新移民来说，在北电职业生涯的终止凸显出一个我们最不想看到的，并令人难以接受的事实，那就是远在异国他乡的我们却一直生活在中国政权阴影笼罩之下。虽然身居千里之外，我们从未能逃避中国政府的掌控，尽管逃出了国门，却终于无法摆脱专制政府的操纵。几十年前我们躲避了天安门的屠杀，却在寻求避难的加拿大因家乡政权的骚扰和网络袭击而蒙受事业挫败。在新冠病毒席卷全球的今天，我们不得不再次面对这一冷酷而悲哀的现实，那就是无论逃到哪里，漂泊到何方，我们似乎永远无法走出中共的阴影，逃出中国当局的掌心。

 

For us newcomers, ending our Nortel career revealed a disturbing reality that we feared the most. The freedom we thought we had achieved thousands of miles away was a big lie. We never did break away from the tight grip of the authority we had tried to run away from. We escaped a violent crackdown by our home country's government, only to suffer a significant career setback in the county where we sought refuge -- caused by the same regime's meddling and cyber attacks. As COVID 19 pandemic sweeps through the world, a saddened and grim feeling of forever succumbing to CCP's influence has gripped us –more resonant than ever.