泰国护肤品广告涉嫌种族歧视遭批

It's hard to imagine anything more blatant than this.

很难想象还有比这更明目张胆的事。

A new Thai beauty ad claiming white skin is the key to success has unleashed a storm of criticism in Thailand, especially online, where people complain the ad perpetuates damaging, racist ideas.

一则泰国护肤品广告宣称白皮肤才是成功的关键，遭到了公众暴风雨般的批评，特别是在网上，人们抱怨这则广告充满破坏性和种族主义色彩。

"Just being white, you will win," says Cris Horwang, a smiling pale-skinned actress, in the 50-second spot by Seoul Secret, a Thai beauty company.

一家名叫“首尔的秘密”的泰国美容公司日前发布了一则50秒的广告，广告中肤色白皙的女演员克丽丝·霍旺微笑着说：“拥有白皙的皮肤，你就能赢。”

On screen, the actress' expression turns despondent as her skin is digitally altered to turn black.

屏幕上，随着女演员的皮肤被处理成黑色，她的表情看起来也很沮丧。

Horwang promises that the product, called Snowz, "will help you not to return to being dark." "Eternally white, I am confident," she adds.

霍旺在广告中承诺，她代言的这个叫Snowz的品牌“将使你的肌肤不再变黑。” 她还补充说，“皮肤会永远白皙，我有这个自信!”

On Friday evening, Seoul Secret pulled the video from its online platforms and issued a statement.

星期五晚上，“首尔的秘密”从它的网上平台撤下了这条广告，并发布了一个声明。

"(We) would like to apologize for the mistake and claim full responsibility for this incident. Our company did not have any intention to convey discriminatory or racist messages," it said.

该声明表示：“（我们）想对这个错误进行道歉，并对这一事件负全部责任。本公司没有任何要传达歧视性或种族主义信息的意图。”

Skin whitening products are popular in many Asian countries including Thailand. Yet that didn't stop viewers from reacting with repulsion.

虽然美白产品在包括泰国在内的很多亚洲国家都很受欢迎，但这并没有消除人们对这则广告的排斥和不满。

"I think it's really ugly -- I couldn't believe this kind of ad is still coming out in Thailand," Yukti Mukdawijitra, a professor of sociology and anthropology at Thailand's Thammasat University, told CNN.

泰国国立政法大学社会学与人类学教授Yukti Mukdawijitra接受CNN采访时表示：“我认为这真的很丑陋，真不敢相信这种广告会在泰国播出。”

Mukdawijitra said the ad reflected a pattern of racism that's existed in Thailand for "centuries," in which lighter-colored skin has been seen as a marker of privilege and status within the multi-ethnic society.

Mukdawijitra还表示，这条广告反映了在泰国有着“几百年”历史的种族主义模式仍存在，在多民族社会，浅色肤色一直被视为特权和地位的象征。

Online, commenters echoed the indignation.

网上的评论也多充满愤慨之情。

"I have finished watching it. It is not ok," read a comment on a Pantip, a popular Thai internet forum. "They forced us to suck this twisted logic. Created the wrong value. Promoted the madness in being white."

某网友在一个颇受欢迎的泰国论坛上跟帖称，“我已经看完了广告，真的很糟糕。他们强迫我们接收这种扭曲的逻辑。它创造了错误的价值观，也促使人们为白色皮肤而疯狂。”