中国城市严重雾霾致老外一家不得已两国分居(图)

　　随着中国城市空气质量不断下降，许多外籍工作人员开始选择让家人回国，自己则只身待在中国，这是超过50万的在华工作者以及许多试图挽留他们的跨国公司所要付出的代价。

　　雾霾致老外两国分居

　　As a thick smog hung over Beijing last year, Stephanie Giambruno and her husband decided it was time for her and their two girls to return to the United States。

　　据《南华早报》报道，去年，当北京被严重雾霾笼罩之时，在北京居住斯蒂芬妮和她的丈夫决定，她要带着两个女儿回美国。

　　Giambruno's husband stayed in China for his job as general manager of a global technology company. He now Skypes with the family twice a day and lives with "constant jet lag" as he travels to Florida once a month to see them, she says。

　　丈夫则继续留在中国担任一家全球性科技企业的总经理。斯蒂芬妮说，丈夫现在每天都通过skype与家人交流，而且经常还要“倒时差”，因为他每个月都会飞回弗罗里达看望她和孩子。

　　While it's hard to be apart, Giambruno says Beijing's record air pollution left them no choice. She saw friends' children develop asthma. Their own daughters, at age six and 21 months, were often forced to remain indoors。

　　尽管别离十分痛苦，可北京严重的雾霾使他们一家别无选择。她看到朋友家的小孩得了哮喘病，而她自己的两个女儿，一个六岁，另一个只有21个月，也经常无法出门。

　　"It's not a way to live, to keep your baby inside with an air filter running," she said。

　　她说：“小孩子整天待在屋子里，靠开着空气净化器过活，这根本让人无法生活。”

　　As bad air chokes Chinese cities, some expatriate employees are starting to leave families in their home countries, the latest sign of pollution's rising cost to the more than half a million foreigners working in China and the multinationals seeking to retain them. Smog in Beijing was worse than government standards most days last year, and environment ministry statistics show that 71 of 74 Chinese cities failed to meet air-quality standards。

　　随着中国城市空气质量不断下降，许多外籍工作人员开始选择让家人回国，自己则只身待在中国，这是超过50万的在华工作者以及许多试图挽留他们的跨国公司所要付出的代价。去年大部分时间，北京的空气质量都低于国家标准。数据显示，调查的74个城市中，有71个未达标。

　　"We are seeing some companies reverting to 1980s and 1990s hardship packages for executive-level candidates in cities that are hard hit with pollution," said Angie Eagan, managing director for China at the recruitment firm MRIC. "These packages are shaped around executives leaving their families in their home country and receiving an allowance for frequent home trips."

　　“为了挽留那些在重度污染城市工作的外籍高层，我们不得不重新采取80-90年代所用的方案” 人力资源公司(MRIC)的中国执行董事Angie Eagan说，“这些方案针对的是那些本人留在中国，家属生活在原国的外籍高层，除此之外，公司还要补贴他们频繁的探亲的费用。”

　　The World Health Organisation said in March that air pollution contributed to seven million deaths worldwide in 2012, with 40 per cent of those coming from the region dominated by China under the WHO's classification system. Outdoor air pollution can cause lung cancer, a WHO agency said last year, ranking it as a carcinogen for the first time。

　　据世界卫生组织(WHO)3月调查显示，2012年，全球范围内空气污染致死人数多达700万，而其中40%来自中国区域(按照WHO划分标准)。一名WHO官员称，空气污染物可诱发肺癌，去年首次被列为致癌物。

　　Panasonic of Japan is considering increasing a living allowance for overseas workers in China by an undisclosed amount based on environmental factors, including air pollution。

　　松下公司(日本)正在考虑就包括空气污染在内的环境问题给予在华工作的外籍员工一定的补贴，但补贴标准并未公开。

　　Some companies remain reluctant to add to the 5 percent to 10 percent premium they already pay foreign employees in China, preferring to compensate them for pollution through perks such as more time off, paid trips to get away or covering the cost of insulating homes, said Fred Schlomann, managing director at human resources firm AIRINC。

　　另一人力资源公司AIRINC的执行董事Fred Schlomann提到，一些公司并不愿意给外籍员工提高5%-10%的津贴，他们更情愿给予其他方面的补助，例如延长假期时间、探亲行程报销以及异地家庭生活补助等等。加拿大华人网 http://www.sinonet.org/