中國監管"聚光燈"射向電子商務
In China, if you're not being regulated, you probably don't matter.
在中國，如果你沒有受到監管，說明你或許無關緊要。So it's no surprise that e-commerce and online transactions have been getting a good deal of attention from the government. A new law promulgated this week by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and set to go into effect in mid-March is the first of what are likely to be several regulating the industry.
有鑑於此，電子商務和網絡交易受到政府的極大關注就不足爲奇了。中國國家工商行政管理總局本週頒佈了一項新管理辦法，將於3月中旬生效。它是針對這一行業的首個管理辦法，之後可能陸續出臺多項相關法規。The measure, which lawyers say mostly restates previous consumer-protection and data-privacy laws, nonetheless highlights the growing importance of the e-commerce industry in China and what the government sees as a growing need to regulate it. The country's total online sales are expected to rise to $356.1 billion in 2016 from $169.4 billion last year, according to Forrester Research. U.S. online retail sales are forecast to reach $327 billion from $226 billion over the same period.
儘管如此，該辦法凸顯出電子商務在中國日益重要的地位，以及政府認爲越來越有必要對其進行監管。律師們說，該辦法基本重申了以前的消費者保護和數據隱私保護法規。據Forrester Research說，預計2016年中國網絡銷售總額將從去年的1,694億美元上升至3,561億美元。預計同期美國的網絡零售額將從2,260億美元上升至3,270億美元。
In part the new e-commerce law calls for real-name registration for individuals selling on third-party marketplaces like Alibaba Group Holding Inc.'s Taobao e-commerce site. It also stipulates a mandatory seven-day return policy for most goods and says online-payment platforms must safeguard users' data privacy.
這個新的電子商務管理辦法要求，在阿里巴巴(Alibaba Group Holding Inc.)的淘寶網(Taobao)等第三方平臺上銷售商品的個人必須進行實名註冊。它還規定，大部分商品必須實行七天退貨政策，並且要求網絡支付平臺必須保護用戶的數據隱私。For most major e-commerce players, the law is unlikely to have a big impact. Alibaba itself already has a seven-day return policy and uses real-name registration for its major e-commerce sites.
對多數大型電子商務公司來說，該辦法不太可能帶來巨大影響。阿里巴巴對於其主要電子商務網站已經實行了七天退貨政策和實名註冊。'We welcome steps to continuously improve consumer-protection mechanisms as these will drive the sustained and healthy development of the online retail industry,' an Alibaba spokeswoman said.
阿里巴巴發言人說，我們歡迎不斷完善消費者保護機制的各種措施，因爲這些措施將推動網絡零售業的持續健康發展。But potentially more important than the impact of this law is the fact that e-commerce is in the government's cross-hairs, meaning down the line it could face more tricky regulatory hiccups. For instance, last week, sources told The Wall Street Journal that China's' central bank is leading a push to regulate new efforts by tech companies, several of which run e-commerce operations, to offer investment products to consumers.
但相比該辦法帶來的影響，可能更重要的是電子商務已經進入政府的關注範圍，意味着未來它可能面臨更棘手的監管問題。舉例來講，上週多位消息人士向《華爾街日報》透露，中國央行正在牽頭制定規章，以監管科技公司面向消費者推出的新投資產品。其中多家科技公司運營有電子商務業務。Meanwhile, in December, Beijing said it put together a drafting committee to create a 'comprehensive e-commerce law' according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
與此同時，據新華社報道，去年12月中國政府宣佈成立電子商務法起草組，負責起草涵蓋廣泛的電子商務法。'It is in urgent need to tease out, replenish, revise and improve existing laws and regulations,'said Lyu Zushan, head of the drafting group, according to Xinhua. The drafting of the law is expected to be completed by June 2016.
據新華社說，電子商務法起草組負責人呂祖善說，目前急需梳理、補充、修改和完善現行法律法規。預計該法的起草工作將於2016年6月前完成。While the government is likely to be careful in how it regulates an industry that has proven one of the country's most dynamic, entrepreneurial and profitable, many an industry hasn't fared well under the heat of the government spotlight. Most recently, the use of microblogs in China has been declining, in part due to a government crackdown designed to better control the flow of information on websites like Sina Corp.'s Weibo.
儘管政府可能會慎重處理對這個已是中國最具活力、最具創業精神、最賺錢的行業之一的監管，但很多行業都在政府的嚴格監管下表現不佳。最新一個例子是，中國微博的使用量一直在下滑，部分原因在於政府發起了一項清理行動，意在加強對新浪微博等網站信息流的管制。
