It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest ranking has named Beijing the most liveable city in China.

　　這本來會是一件很可笑的事情，要不是因為它這么可悲的話?！督洕鷮W人智庫》(EIU)在其發布的最新排名中，將北京評為中國內地最宜居城市。

　　Yes, that’s right – the Chinese capital which, when the news came out on Wednesday, was suffocating under a dark grey blanket of smog that hadn’t lifted for days and which has been covering it most of this summer.

　　沒錯，這是真的，就是中國首都北京——當周三消息傳出時，北京正籠罩在令人窒息的灰蒙蒙的霧靄當中，已多日未曾消散。在今年夏季的大部分時間里，北京一直籠罩在這種霧靄之中。

　　Of course it always depends on what you measure. Even Beijing’s notorious air quality can be classified as “fine” by the municipal government on a day when the skies are a sickly white and you have difficulty breathing. On such a day, the US Embassy often has much higher readings (including the notorious ‘Crazy Bad’ reading) because its equipment measures much finer particles.

　　當然，這總是取決于你考量的內容。盡管北京的空氣質量臭名遠揚，但是哪怕這天天空慘白、人們呼吸困難，北京市政府也可能將空氣質量歸類為“良好”。在這樣的天氣，美國大使館通常給出的空氣質量指標要糟糕得多（包括著名的“瘋狂的糟”(Crazy Bad)），因為其設備測量的顆粒更加精細。

　　According to the EIU, the cities are ranked by factors including stability, the environment, healthcare, culture, infrastructure and education. It is certainly true that Beijing has better healthcare and education than most other Chinese cities, and a richer cultural offering.

　　《經濟學人智庫》的資料顯示，在對城市排名時考慮的因素包括穩定、環境、醫療保健、文化、基礎設施和教育。與其它大多數中國內地城市相比，北京無疑擁有更好的醫療保健和教育，并且提供了更豐富的文化活動。

　　But this is the city where millions of drivers suffer in perennial traffic jams everyday. Where the cost of housing has soared to levels that the millions of workers that keep Beijing running can only afford a bed in a basement or a room in a village two hours from their workplace.

　　但是，在這個城市里，有數百萬駕車者每天深受持續交通擁堵之苦。其居住成本大幅飆升，以致于維持這座城市運轉的數百萬工人只能住得起地下室或距離工作地點兩小時路程的郊區房子。

　　Perhaps more than any other city in China, the capital is also a place where only a minority of residents enjoy full economic and social rights. To prevent the traffic from breaking down completely, the government heavily restricted the right to buy cars last year. To rein in galloping property prices, authorities also heavily restricted the right to buy houses earlier this year. To limit migration, the government is forcing thousands of children into separation from their parents – during the summer holidays, it razed 30 schools for migrant worker children, who had no option but to return to their native villages.

　　北京還是一座只有少數居民能夠充分享受到應有的經濟和社會權利的城市，或許在這方面更甚于中國其它城市。為了防止交通完全癱瘓，北京市政府去年出臺了嚴格限制購車的政策。為了遏制房價急劇上漲，有關部門還在今年早些時候出臺了限購政策。為了限制移民，北京市政府迫使數千名孩子與其父母分離——在今年暑假期間，北京關停了30所農民工子弟學校，而那些農民工子弟除了返回農村老家以外別無選擇。

　　The compilers of the index must have noticed the description by Ai Weiwei, China’s most prominent artist, of Beijing as a “constant nightmare” just days ago. In a piece for Newsweek, Mr Ai, an outspoken critic of the government who disappeared into months of detention earlier this year, described the capital as a violent city without any trust, a place run by armies of migrant workers, whom he calls Beijing’s slaves, for a class of newly-rich.

　　排名編撰者們必定注意到，就在幾天前，中國最知名的藝術家艾未未將北京描述為一個“經常性的夢魘”。艾未未在為《新聞周刊》(Newsweek)撰寫的一篇文章中稱，北京是一座沒有任何信任的暴力之城，維持這座城市運轉的數百萬農民工被他稱為北京的奴隸，為新富階層服務。由于公開批評中國政府，今年早些時候艾未未曾被拘禁，從公眾視線中消失了數月。

　　When that critique appeared, the ranking was probably long finished. Native Beijingers, however, are making the best of the situation. Most of them have a healthy dose of national and local pride.

　　艾未未的這篇文章發表之際，《經濟學人智庫》可能早就完成了排名。然而，北京本地人仍然能苦中作樂。他們中的大部分人對國家和北京有一定程度的自豪感。

　　But as the news of the EIU ranking makes the rounds, their equally healthy dose of raw humour is gaining the upper hand. The capital’s new title is met with sarcasm in the blogosphere and in the streets. “Most livable city for millionaires,” said Jin Hong, a taxi driver.

　　但是隨著EIU排名的消息廣為流傳，北京人同樣適度的天生幽默感開始占據上風。北京這個“內地最宜居城市”的新頭銜在博客世界和街頭巷尾遭遇了冷嘲熱諷。一位出租車司機金虹（音譯）說道：“（這是一座）最適宜百萬富翁居住的城市。”