China celebrated its bullet trains as the home-grown pride of a nation: a rail system faster and more advanced than any other, showcasing superior Chinese technology.

　　中國將其高速鐵路贊譽為出自本土的民族驕傲：和其它任何一個國家的高鐵相比，中國的高速鐵路系統(tǒng)都速度更快、更為先進，它展示了卓越的中國技術。

　　However, China's high-speed rail network was in fact built with imported components -- including signaling-system parts designed to prevent train collisions -- that local engineers couldn't fully understand, according to a review of corporate documents and interviews with more than a dozen rail executives inside and outside China.

　　然而，據記者看到的公司文件以及國內外十幾位接受采訪的鐵路行業(yè)高管透露，事實上，中國的高速鐵路網是利用進口零部件搭建而成的（這其中就包括防止列車碰撞的信號系統(tǒng)部件），國內工程師無法完全理解這些進口零部件的技術奧妙。

　　During a late July lightning storm, two of China's bullet trains collided in the eastern city of Wenzhou, killing 40 people and injuring nearly 200 in one of the world's worst high-speed passenger-rail accidents. China's government initially blamed flawed signaling and human error. It recently postponed public release of its crash findings.

　　今年七月下旬一個電閃雷鳴的雨夜，兩列動車在東部城市溫州發(fā)生追尾，40人遇難，近200人受傷，這是全球最嚴重的高速客運列車事故之一。中國政府最初認為存在缺陷的信號系統(tǒng)和人為錯誤是造成事故的原因，最近又推遲了事故原因調查報告的公開發(fā)布日期。

　　The precise cause of the disaster remains uncertain, so there is no way to know what role, if any, the signaling assembly may have played.

　　此次事故的確切原因仍不確定，所以無法知道信號系統(tǒng)對事故的發(fā)生可能起到了何種作用（如果確實起了作用的話）。

　　An examination of China's use of foreign technology in its bullet-train signal systems highlights deep international distrust over China's industrial model, including weak intellectual-property protections, which can complicate efforts to acquire state-of-the-art technology.

　　對中國在其高鐵信號系統(tǒng)中使用外國技術的情況進行考察后可以明顯發(fā)現，國際上對中國的產業(yè)模式存在深深的不信任（這些產業(yè)模式包括對知識產權的保護非常薄弱），這種狀況會使中國獲取先進技術的努力復雜化。

　　Key signaling systems were assembled by Beijing-based Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd., one of the few companies China's Ministry of Railways tapped to handle such work. In some cases of the signal systems it supplied, technology branded as proprietary to Hollysys contained circuitry tailor-made by Hitachi Ltd. of Japan to Hollysys specifications, according to people familiar with the situation.

　　中國高速鐵路重要的信號系統(tǒng)由北京和利時集團（Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd.）組裝。和利時集團是中國鐵道部指定的少數幾家負責組裝這一系統(tǒng)的企業(yè)之一。據知情人士透露，在和利時集團提供的某些信號系統(tǒng)中，那些被打上了和利時專有標簽的技術其實包含了日本日立公司（Hitachi Ltd.）按和利時的規(guī)格要求為其定制的電路系統(tǒng)。

　　The problem, these people say, is that Hitachi -- fearful that Chinese technicians might reverse-engineer and steal the technology -- sold components with the inner workings concealed from Hollysys. Hitachi executives say this 'black box' design makes gear harder to copy, and also harder to understand, for instance during testing.

　　上述知情人士說，問題在于日立公司向和利時出售零部件時沒有透露其內部工作原理，日立公司這么做是因為他們擔心中國技術人員可能會通過反向開發(fā)竊取日立的技術。日立公司高管說，這種“黑盒子”（black box）設計令其設備難以被復制，也難以被外人理解（比如在測試過程中）。

　　“It's still generally a mystery how a company like Hollysys could integrate our equipment into a broader safety-signaling system without intimate knowledge of our know-how,” a senior Hitachi executive said.

　　日立公司的一位高管說，像和利時這樣一家公司是如何在沒有深入了解我們專業(yè)技術知識的前提下將我們的設備融入一個更龐大安全信號系統(tǒng)中的，這仍然是一個謎。

　　A rail signaling system is a complex assemblage of dozens of devices, circuits and software that helps train drivers and dispatchers keep everything running safely. As trains pass beacons along a route, known as 'balise modules,' information about location and speed are fed into the train-control network. According to Hollysys statements, it supplied key parts of the system including the onboard brain, the Automatic Train Protection, or ATP. Hitachi supplied Hollysys with a primary part of the ATP, according to Hitachi executives.

　　相關報道鐵路信號系統(tǒng)是將數十種設備、電路和軟件集成在一起的復雜系統(tǒng)，它能幫助火車駕駛員和調度員保持列車的安全運行。當火車經過沿線各個“應答器傳輸模塊”（balise modules）時，有關這列火車位置和速度的信息就會被反饋給火車控制系統(tǒng)。北京和利時集團的聲明說，它向中國高速鐵路的信號控制系統(tǒng)提供了關鍵零部件，其中包括被稱作火車大腦的列車自動保護系統(tǒng)（Automatic Train Protection，ATP）。據日立公司高管說，日立向和利時提供了ATP系統(tǒng)的一種主要零部件。

　　Hollysys didn't respond to requests for comment. Two days after the crash in July, Hollysys issued a statement confirming its ATP components were installed on both trains. Hollysys said its components “functioned normally and well.”

　　和利時未應記者的要求發(fā)表評論。今年七月溫州動車追尾事故發(fā)生兩天后，和利時發(fā)表聲明證實，這兩輛相撞列車上都安裝了該公司色ATP系統(tǒng)。和利時說，該公司的零部件“運轉正常而良好”。

　　A separate state-owned Chinese signaling company, which also works with foreign firms and supplies most of the gear to bullet-train projects, issued a statement around the same time expressing “sorrow” and pledging to accept its responsibility.

　　與此同時，中國另一家國有信號設備企業(yè)則發(fā)表聲明表示“歉意”，并保證會承擔自己應負的責任。這家企業(yè)也與外國公司進行合作，其大部分產品都提供給中國的高速鐵路項目。

　　China's high-speed railway, budgeted at close to $300 billion, already challenges the travel time of jetliners between cities like Beijing and Shanghai, which are roughly as far apart as Philadelphia and Atlanta. The trains, with advertised cruising speeds on the fastest lines topping 215 miles per hour, are said to “fly on land,” demonstrating a future where China is a recognized peer of the U.S., EU and Japan in big-ticket ingenuity. China is designing airliners to compete with Boeing Co. and nuclear reactors to challenge Toshiba Corp.'s Westinghouse Electric Co. It already exports high-speed rail equipment: This month it reached a deal to supply locomotives to the nation of Georgia.

　　中國預算資金接近3,000億美元的高速鐵路在京滬等大城市之間的運行時間已經可以對空中航班構成挑戰(zhàn)，北京到上海的距離大約相當于費城到亞特蘭大的旅程。中國高速列車的巡航速度據稱超過每小時350公里，堪稱“陸地飛行”，它預示中國未來有望被視為美國、歐盟和日本那樣能生產獨創(chuàng)性高價產品的國家。中國正在設計能與波音公司（Boeing Co.）相競爭的民用客機，以及能對東芝公司（Toshiba Corp.）旗下西屋電氣（Westinghouse Electric Co. ）構成挑戰(zhàn)的核反應堆。中國已經在出口高速鐵路設備：本月它與格魯吉亞共和國達成了向后者出口火車機車的協(xié)議。

　　In less than seven years, China has built a bullet-train network larger than the ones Japan and Germany took decades to construct. China is only about halfway through a 15-year plan to build a total of nearly 10,000 miles of high-speed track connecting 24 major cities.

　　在不足七年的時間里，中國建成了規(guī)模比日本和德國用幾十年時間所建高速鐵路網還要大的高鐵網絡。中國計劃用15年時間建成總長近16,000公里、連接24個主要城市的高速鐵路網，這一計劃目前只完成了近一半。

　　“We aim at the world's top-notch technologies,” then-Railways Minister Liu Zhijun declared four years ago. A few months before the July crash, Mr. Liu was fired after China's Communist Party accused him and other top officials of unspecified corruption. Mr. Liu couldn't be located for comment.

　　鐵道部前部長劉志軍四年前宣稱：我們瞄準了世界的技術。在七月份動車追尾事故前幾個月，劉志軍被解職，此前中國共產黨指控他和其他幾名高級官員有腐敗行為。目前無法知曉劉志軍的下落。

　　July's rail tragedy -- in which two bullet trains collided during a storm, sending some cars plunging 65 feet from elevated tracks -- is tarnishing China's effort to portray the project as technologically advanced and safety-minded. Among other things, the Ministry of Railways chose not to install lightning rods and surge protectors on some high-speed rail lines even as an industry association recommended doing so on major infrastructure projects, He Jinliang, director of China's National Lightning Protection Technology Standard Committee, said in July.

　　在七月份的那場列車悲劇中，兩列動車在一場暴風雨中相撞在一起，一些車廂從高20米左右的高架橋上跌落到地面。這一事故使中國的高鐵項目蒙羞，中國一直宣傳自己的高鐵項目有先進的技術和注重安全的設計理念。中國國家雷電防護標準化技術委員會主任何金良七月份時說，中國鐵道部決定：在一些高速鐵路線上不安裝避雷針和避雷器，盡管中國的一個行業(yè)協(xié)會建議在大型基礎設施建筑上安裝防雷擊裝置。

　　The Ministry of Railways didn't respond to requests for comment. Through state media and on its website, the ministry has stressed its attention to safety. A Sept. 5 statement said, “Our cadres should be leading the work, changing their style, going to the grass-roots level and trying to solve problems.” Last week, Chinese authorities reiterated their safety pledge after two subway trains in collided in Shanghai, injuring more than 280 people, in an accident blamed on errors after a power snafu knocked out signals, according to the subway operator.

　　鐵道部未應記者的要求發(fā)表評論。鐵道部已通過國有媒體和自己的網站強調了它對鐵路安全的關注。該部九月五日的一份聲明說，我們的干部們應該率先垂范，轉變工作方式，深入基層并努力解決問題。上周，在上海的兩列地鐵列車相撞后，中國政府重申了對交通安全的承諾。這次事故導致280多人受傷。據上海的地鐵運營機構說，造成此次撞車事故的原因是斷電導致行車信號中斷后出現了調度錯誤。

　　From the initial days of the high-speed railway program, Beijing turned to local firms, including Hollysys, rather than foreign expertise. Hollysys says it is one of just two companies eligible to supply certain signaling technology for China's fastest trains. Ministry of Railways rules effectively forbid foreign companies from bidding.

　　Getty Images“7•23”溫州動車追尾事故現場。從高速鐵路項目啟動伊始，北京就把設備供應重任放在了包括和利時在內的本土企業(yè)而非外國企業(yè)肩上。和利時說，只有它和另外一家公司有資格向中國速度最快的列車提供某些信號技術。鐵道部的相關規(guī)定實際上禁止外國公司競標信號合同。

　　Though new to high-speed rail, Hollysys became a central supplier of the signaling systems, circuits and software that are supposed to prevent the kind of accident that happened near Wenzhou by automatically stopping trains if trouble is detected.

　　雖然和利時只是高鐵建設的新軍，但它已成為中國高鐵信號系統(tǒng)、電路和軟件的主要供應商。這些設備原本應該防止類似在溫州附近發(fā)生的那類撞車事故，因為信號系統(tǒng)在發(fā)現問題后應能讓列車自動停下來。

　　Integrating signaling components is a challenge, particularly at the pace that China was expanding its rail network, train executives say. “The problem is to put all these pieces of the puzzle into a coherent system,” says Marc Antoni, technological innovation director at SNCF, the French national railway operator, which runs the high-speed TGV.

　　鐵路行業(yè)的管理人士說，將鐵路信號系統(tǒng)的各種零部件集成在一起是件很難的事，特別是以中國擴展其高速鐵路網那樣的高速度來完成這項工作更是難上加難。法國國家鐵路運營機構SNCF的技術創(chuàng)新主管安東尼（Marc Antoni）說，難題在于要把那些仍不能完全明白其奧妙的零部件組合成一個可以順暢運行的系統(tǒng)。SNCF是法國高鐵網絡TGV的運營商。

　　Originally part of China's Ministry of Electronics, Hollysys in the 1990s became a privately owned business focused on “controls” -- the technology that keeps factory assembly lines humming smoothly. In a Hollysys timeline of its railway achievements, the company says it won its first noteworthy high-speed-rail signaling contracts in 2005, about when China began construction.

　　和利時曾經隸屬于中國電子工業(yè)部，它在上世紀90年代成為一家專注于“控制”技術的私營企業(yè)，這種技術可保持工廠流水線的順利運轉。和利時在列舉其在鐵路領域所取得成就的大事記中說，該公司在2005年贏得了其首個值得一提的高速鐵路信號系統(tǒng)供貨合同，中國正是從那一年前后開始了高速鐵路建設。

　　A year later, in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Hollysys played down the importance of high-speed-rail signaling by describing it as “adjacent” to core operations in industrial controls. The sector was mentioned just once in a 300-plus page SEC filing in 2006, part of a successful effort by Hollysys to list its shares on Nasdaq through a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, a practice that involves adoption of a current listing by another company. By late 2008 Beijing was speeding construction of its bullet trains in part to help power the Chinese economy through the global economic slump. Hollysys described itself in regulatory filings as one of just two companies that possessed “the capability” to supply the Ministry of Railways with signals on its fastest lines.

　　和利時一年后在一份提交給美國證券交易委員會（SEC）的文件中對高速鐵路信號設備業(yè)務對該公司的重要性做了淡化處理，它稱這項業(yè)務為其在工業(yè)控制領域的“亞核心”業(yè)務。在和利時2006年提交給SEC的那份300多頁文件中，只提及了高鐵信號業(yè)務一次，這份文件是和利時為通過成立特殊目的收購公司（SPAC）在納斯達克上市而提交給SEC的，成立SPAC就是為了讓一家公司得以收購一家現有上市企業(yè)。和利時通過這種方式成功在納斯達克上市。2008年末，北京為了幫助中國經濟成功渡過全球經濟蕭條，加快了高速鐵路的建設進度。和利時在提供給美國監(jiān)管機構的文件中，將自己描繪為“有能力”向鐵道部最高速線路提供信號系統(tǒng)的僅有兩家公司之一。

　　Hollysys became a tech darling and in September 2009 its chief financial officer, Peter Li, speaking to analysts, credited the Ministry of Railways' “very clear mandate of localizing the product.” When an analyst asked whether he feared competition, Mr. Li said, “Basically, foreign players are not allowed to bid independently for high-speed-rail projects.”

　　和利時此后成為中國的高科技寵兒，其首席財務長李沂宸（Peter Li）在2009年9月對分析師發(fā)表講話時說，鐵道部給和利時下達了將高鐵設備國產化的“非常明確任務”。當一名分析師問他是否害怕其他企業(yè)的競爭時，李沂宸說，一般而言，外國企業(yè)不被允許獨自競標中國的高速鐵路項目。

　　The Ministry of Railways awarded Hollysys more than $100 million of high-speed-signaling contracts in 2010 alone, according to company statements. For the fiscal year ended this past June, Hollysys reported total revenue of $262.84 million.

　　和利時的一份聲明說，僅在2010年，鐵道部就給了該公司價值超過1億美元的高速鐵路信號設備合同。和利時的收益報告顯示，在截至今年六月底的財政年度內，該公司的總收入為2.6284億美元。

　　The ministry also played matchmaker for Hollysys. When a leading Italian signaling company, Ansaldo STS, sought a business foothold in China, the Ministry of Railways indicated that it should be in the form of a partnership with Hollysys, according to Ansaldo spokesman Roberto Alatri.

　　鐵道部還撮合了和利時與其他公司的合作。據意大利主要的信號設備公司Ansaldo STS的發(fā)言人阿拉特里（Roberto Alatri）說，當該公司在華尋找業(yè)務立足點時，鐵道部暗示它應該與和利時結成合作伙伴。

　　A $97 million contract followed in July 2008 for a Hollysys-Ansaldo consortium to design, build and maintain signal-control systems on China's then-fastest train line, a 459-kilometer section linking the central China cities of Zhengzhou and Xian. The Hollysys portion was $22 million.

　　和利時與Ansaldo組建的財團在2008年7月獲得了一份為“鄭西高鐵”設計、建造和維護信號控制系統(tǒng)的合同，價值9,700萬美元。全長459公里的鄭州至西安高速鐵路是中國當時速度最快的高鐵線路。這其中和利時拿到的業(yè)務價值2,200萬美元。

　　Hollysys had a longer relationship with Hitachi, which supplied the Chinese company components for high-speed rail signaling starting in 2005, the year Hollysys says it got its start in the business. The main cooperation was on the onboard ATP system, which Hollysys documents describe as components in the nose and tail of trains that act as its “last line of defense in safety.”

　　和利時與日立公司的合作關系要更長些。從2005年起，日立就向和利時提供高速鐵路信號系統(tǒng)的零部件。和利時說它也是從那年起開始從事高鐵信號系統(tǒng)業(yè)務的。雙方主要的合作領域是車載ATP系統(tǒng)，和利時的文件稱這一系統(tǒng)安裝在高鐵列車的車頭和車尾，為列車起到“最后一道安全防線”的作用。

　　The Hitachi-made ATP components came with a catch. Two Hitachi executives familiar with the matter said the company adopts what the industry refers to as “black box” security to conceal design secrets by withholding technical blueprints known in Japanese as zumen.

　　日立在向和利時提供ATP系統(tǒng)零部件時“留了一手”。日立的兩位知情管理人士說，該公司采用了被業(yè)內稱作“黑盒子”的安全措施，沒有將所提供零部件的技術設計圖交給中方，從而隱藏了設計秘密。

　　Black boxes make it tough to reverse-engineer the equipment. They can also make it more difficult to troubleshoot the gear, according to executives of several companies familiar with the practice in China.

　　“黑盒子”手法使得中方難以對設備進行反向開發(fā)。另據幾位熟悉外國公司在華這種做法的其他公司管理人士說，這種做法也使中國方面更加難以確定設備的具體故障。

　　“Providing zumen means. . .we completely trust the buyer of our technology,” a senior Hitachi executive said, with the understanding that the buyer “would not become a competitive threat in other markets.”

　　日立一名高管說，向買家提供技術設計圖意味著，我們完全信賴拿到我們技術的買家，知道買家不會在其他市場上對我們構成競爭威脅。

　　Hitachi doesn't always withhold its design secrets. When working with companies elsewhere on a common project, the senior executive said, it will provide the zumen, or blueprints, in some cases.

　　日立公司也并不總是隱瞞其設計機密。這位高管說，當和其它地區(qū)的企業(yè)在同一個項目上展開合作時，日立公司在某些情況下會提供設計藍圖。

　　Hitachi executives say the arrangement with Hollysys wasn't a technology-transfer deal -- in which it would be expected to share technical details -- but rather a contractual arrangement to manufacture parts to specifications provided by Hollysys. Hitachi says it did provide 'limited' technical support that is typical of contracts of this type.

　　日立公司的高管說，它們與和利時集團簽訂的并非技術轉讓協(xié)議，日立公司只是按照和利時集團提供的規(guī)格要求為其制造零部件。如果雙方簽訂的是技術轉讓協(xié)議，那么日立公司將與和利時集團分享技術細節(jié)。日立公司說它提供了此類合同中常見的“有限”技術支持。

　　A spokesman at Hitachi's headquarters in Tokyo, Atsushi Konno, said the company “has no comment about Hollysys's products, as we do not have any information as to what kind of end product Hollysys developed using our devices.” The official confirmed that Hitachi supplied Hollysys some equipment for the signaling systems used aboard trains and “also provided technical explanation regarding those components, and we believe Hollysys, as a result, fully understands them.”

　　日立公司在東京總部的發(fā)言人紺野篤志（Atsushi Konno）說，該公司“對和利時集團的產品不予置評”，也無法就和利時利用日立的設備開發(fā)出何種最終產品提供任何信息。這位發(fā)言人證實日立向和利時提供了一些用于列載信號系統(tǒng)的設備，“也為這些零部件提供了技術解釋，因此我們相信和利時完全了解這些零部件。”

　　At least one installation of Hollysys components didn't go smoothly, according to one Europe-based engineer who worked on the job. An onboard Hollysys computer, part of the ATP called a driver machine interface, kept freezing, displaying old information.

　　據常駐歐洲的一位曾參與此項工作的工程師透露，至少有一個包含和利時零部件的裝置安裝起來并不順利。和利時制造的一種在列車上使用的電腦（稱作“人機界面”，是ATP系統(tǒng)的組成部分）總是會失靈，顯示的是過時信息。

　　Technical bugs aren't unusual when fine-tuning a train system, but the temporary fix was, according to the engineer. To avoid the embarrassment of canceling an opening ceremony, operators decided to begin passenger service on the high-speed line and assign one person in the train's cab the exclusive task of watching that the seconds continued to scroll on the computer's clock -- thereby ensuring the device was functioning.

　　據這位工程師介紹，在對列車系統(tǒng)進行微調時發(fā)現技術故障并不罕見，但像中國這樣臨時湊合的卻不多見。為了避免取消通車儀式的尷尬，鐵路運營商決定在高鐵線路上開始客運服務，并指定一個人專門待在列車駕駛室內以確保計算機上時鐘的秒針繼續(xù)走動，從而確保整臺設備運轉正常。

　　“It was a random failure that was not managed very well,” the engineer said. The problem was later fixed, he said.

　　這名工程師說，這是一個沒有得到很好解決的隨機故障。他說這個問題后來被解決了。

　　Dominique Pouliquen, head of Alstom SA's China operations, said China and its rail-equipment suppliers remain in the learning stages. “You acquire the technology. Then you need to absorb it; you need to master it,” Mr. Pouliquen told a small group of reporters last week. For China, “I think it's all about absorption and fully mastering the whole technology that has been acquired over the last 10 years.”

　　阿爾斯通公司（Alstom SA）中國業(yè)務負責人普利康（Dominique Pouliquen）說，中國及其鐵路設備供應商仍然處于學習階段。普利康上周對一小批記者說，獲得技術之后你必須進行吸收──你需要掌握這項技術。對于中國來說，我認為所有問題在于能否吸收和完全掌握過去十年內獲得的全部技術。

　　Alstom supplied, through a local joint venture, hardware for train dispatchers on the line where July's collision occurred. Mr. Pouliquen said the JV didn't provide any of the signaling technology that the Chinese government has said was possibly flawed.

　　阿爾斯通通過一家在華合資企業(yè)為今年七月發(fā)生動車追尾事故的那條鐵路線上的列車調度室提供硬件設備。普利康說，這家合資企業(yè)沒有提供任何中國政府聲稱可能存在缺陷的信號技術。

　　In an August letter to shareholders, Hollysys Chief Executive Wang Changli cited the “tragic” Wenzhou accident and reiterated that Hollysys equipment wasn't to blame. China's biggest signaling company, Beijing-based China Railway Signal & Communication Corp., originated within China's railways bureaucracy. Shortly after the crash, a CRSC unit, Beijing National Railway Research & Design Institute of Signal and Communication, issued a statement of “sorrow” and pledged to “shoulder our responsibility.”

　　和利時集團首席執(zhí)行長王常力今年八月在致股東的一封信中提到了在溫州發(fā)生的“悲劇性”事故，并重申了和利時的設備不是導致事故發(fā)生原因的觀點。中國最大的信號公司、總部位于北京的中國鐵路通信信號股份有限公司（簡稱：中國通號）脫胎于中國鐵路系統(tǒng)內部。溫州動車事故發(fā)生后不久，中國通號的下屬單位北京全路通信信號研究設計院發(fā)布聲明對事故表示“悲傷”，并承諾會“肩負起我們的責任”。

　　CRSC hasn't commented about the accident directly, aside from a statement Aug. 23 stating that its top executive, 55-year-old Ma Cheng, collapsed and died during questioning by crash investigators.

　　中國通號沒有直接對事故發(fā)表評論，只是在8月23日發(fā)布一份聲明說，其55歲的集團總經理馬騁在接受事故調查人員約談期間突發(fā)心臟病死亡。