美国有线电视新闻网(CNN)15日在其网站发表声明，就主持人卡弗蒂(Cafferty)的言论向中国人民道歉。
CNN网站首页刊登的一篇名为“中国要求卡弗蒂道歉”的文章中声明，无论是他们还是主持人卡弗蒂( Cafferty )本人都无意冒犯中国人民，声明称愿意向任何觉得被冒犯的人道歉。
此前，中国外交部发言人姜瑜针对CNN主持人卡弗蒂发表辱骂中国的言论提出谴责，并要求CNN和卡弗蒂向全体中国人民道歉。
CNN的声明说：“2008年4月9日The Situation Room栏目播出杰克·卡弗蒂关于中国的评论，我们理解此番言论在奥运将至的背景下所引起的关注。
“CNN希望澄清，无论是卡弗蒂还是CNN都无意冒犯中国人民，而且（CNN）将向任何被冒犯的人道歉。
“CNN是一个以客观和平衡的方式报道新闻的网络。然而，我们的部分报道也聘请评论员，他们的强有力意见常常引起争论。以卡弗蒂为例，他提供了他针对中国政府而不是对中国人民的强烈意见——他后来在4月14日的The Situation Room中澄清了这点情况。
“应当指出的是，在过去多年，杰克·卡弗蒂针对许多政府发表批评性的评论，包括美国政府及其领导人。”
北京奥运圣火4月9日下午在旧金山传递时，CNN全程追踪报道。主播卡弗蒂在一档名为“The Situation Room”节目里，使用了几个非常不被中国人熟悉的英语单词，来描述他心中的中国政府形象，这引起了外交部的严重抗议。原话如下：“我不知道中国是不是有什么不同。但我们与中国的关系绝对是不同的。有一件事可以肯定的是，由于在伊拉克打仗，我们已经把身上几乎所有的东西都典当给了中国。他们手拿着我们数以千百亿的美元。我们手上拿的却是数以千百亿价值的贸易逆差。可我们还在继续进口他们的垃圾，上面有超标的铅，还有宠物食品也毒。”“所以，我想，我们与中国的关系真的是改变了。我想他们基本上还是那群过去50年间一直没有什么改变的暴民和匪徒。”
一言激起千层怒浪。一份要求CNN道歉的请愿信目前正在网上开始征集签名，签名数像滚雪球般增加。截至14日，已有3万人签名并留言，谴责卡弗蒂和CNN对华人根深蒂固的偏见和恶意，要求CNN道歉，广告商撤卡弗蒂节目时段的广告，把卡弗蒂炒鱿鱼等。旧金山湾区留学生热门网站“未名空间”，也有网友发出呼吁，杯葛CNN，向卡弗蒂节目的广告商发信，停止提供广告。　　
中国外交部发言人姜瑜15日对CNN主持人卡弗蒂发表恶毒攻击中国人民的言论，表示震惊和强烈谴责。姜瑜表示，卡弗蒂诋毁中国和中国人民，严重违背新闻职业道德和做人的良知，反映了他的傲慢、愚昧和对中国人民的仇视，已激起海内外中国人的愤慨，也将遭到全世界维护正义人们的谴责。中国严正要求CNN和卡弗蒂本人收回其恶劣言论，向全体中国人民道歉。　　
纽约州华裔州众议员杨爱伦14日也致函CNN总裁克莱恩（Jonathan Klein），要求出语伤害华人的时事评论员卡弗蒂道歉。杨爱伦在信中说，卡弗蒂4月9日在CNN时事评论节目中提到中国人是一伙“暴民和匪徒”的言论，是不负责和伤害人的，是对华人社区的侮辱。
CNN文章全文：
China demands apology from Cafferty
The Chinese Foreign Ministry demanded Tuesday that CNN's Jack Cafferty apologize for remarks he made last week, in which he called the Chinese "goons and thugs" and said products manufactured in China are “junk.”
Cafferty used the microphone in his hands to slander China and the Chinese people (and) seriously violated professional ethics of journalism and human conscience," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Tuesday, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency.
She said Cafferty's remarks“reflected his arrogance, ignorance and hostility towards the Chinese people, ignited indignation of Chinese (at) home and abroad and will be condemned by those who safeguard justice around the world.”
CNN issued a statement Tuesday saying: “We are aware of concerns about Jack Cafferty's comments related to China in the context of the upcoming Olympics, which were broadcast on The Situation Room on April 9, 2008.
“CNN would like to clarify that it was not Mr. Cafferty's, nor CNN's, intent to cause offense to the Chinese people, and (CNN)would apologize to anyone who has interpreted the comments in this way.
“CNN is a network that reports the news in an objective and balanced fashion. However, as part of our coverage we also employ commentators who provide robust opinions that generate debate.
“On this occasion Jack was offering his strongly held opinion of the Chinese government, not the Chinese people --- a point he subsequently clarified on The Situation Room on April 14.
“It should be noted that over many years, Jack Cafferty has expressed critical comments on many governments, including the U.S. government and its leaders.”
Cafferty, who appears daily on CNN's “The Situation Room,” made the remarks as host Wolf Blitzer was comparing today's China to that of 20 or 30 years ago.
“I don't know if China is any different, but our relationship with China is certainly different,”Cafferty said.“We're in hock to the Chinese up to our eyeballs because of the war in Iraq, for one thing. They're holding hundreds of billions of dollars worth of our paper. We are also running hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of trade deficits with them, as we continue to import their junk with the lead paint on them and the poisoned pet food and export, you know, jobs to places where you can pay workers a dollar a month to turn out the stuff that we're buying from Wal-Mart.
“So I think our relationship with China has certainly changed,”he said. “I think they're basically the same bunch of goons and thugs they've been for the last 50 years.”
He issued a clarification of his remarks on Monday's“Situation Room,” saying that by“goons and thugs,” he meant the Chinese government, not the Chinese people. It was unclear whether China's Foreign Ministry was aware of the clarification when it held the Tuesday news conference.
In the days following his remarks, however, the Legal Immigrant Association launched an online petition condemning his statements as“racist”and “despicable” and demanding that CNN discipline Cafferty and apologize to the Chinese people. Nearly 45,000 people had signed it as of Tuesday afternoon.
In the petition, the association describes itself as “a leading organization of legal immigrants mainly comprised of people from China.”According to its Web site, the nonprofit group is based in Santa Clara, California, and was founded in 2007 as an organization“dedicated to the social well-being of employment-based immigrant professionals.”
The state-run English-language newspaper China Daily also said in an editorial Tuesday that an apology is called for, calling Cafferty “pathetic”and noting, “it is rare for the world audience to hear such a blatant discrimination against an ethnic group of people with such a derogatory connotation.”