????隨著北京即將迎來因空氣污染而惡名遠揚、有損健康的冬天，京城的西方人開始密切關注各大公司高層的離城動向，紛紛質疑，空氣污染是不是導致他們離開的真正原因。同時，美國駐華大使駱家輝出人意料地突然辭職，也成為街談巷議的最新談資。

????官方口徑是，駱家輝是為了回到西雅圖陪伴自己目前就讀高中的孩子，直至他們畢業。美國駐京大使館發言人柯英豪稱：“他的家人今年夏天已經返回美國，他的大女兒正在讀高中，而他希望能和家人團聚。”

????針對社交媒體上盛傳的所謂因空氣污染而被迫辭職的傳言，駱家輝做出了回應。他告訴《洛杉磯時報》（Los Angeles Times）：“絕不是這么回事。我們確實關心這件事（空氣質量），但這不是讓我們回到美國的原因。”

????真實情況可能并不會這么一目了然。其他媒體有報道稱，與駱家輝聊過辭職這件事的人表示，空氣污染也是重要的誘因之一。而駱家輝在公開表態中至少也曾經對此表示過擔憂。

????過去幾周來，我一直在詢問北京的外籍商務人士和其他人群，空氣污染對他們考慮是否繼續留在北京影響有多大，這也是我今年到北京來之后一直就有的疑問。大家的回答一致透露出離開的動向，駱家輝的辭職正好與此不謀而合。大家都異口同聲地表示，空氣污染是頭號因素，對那些有孩子的家長來說尤其如此，而這對那些有能力選擇是否留在中國生活的人來說更有著實實在在的影響。

????這周我采訪的一家亞洲知名獵頭公司表示，在企業界，想來中國工作的首席執行官的人選始終頗為匱乏。的確，中國的吸引力現在有所減退——比如那令人驚嘆的兩位數增長率已是明日黃花。但這家公司稱，付給那些首席執行官候選人的薪酬高低（或就駱家輝這樣的例子來說，這個職位能帶來多大的聲望）并不是他們考慮的主要因素，他們是否會來歸根結底取決于污染和生活方式。污染是有些人考慮的首要因素，對另一些人來說，它至少也在眾多因素中占中間位置。但顯然對所有人來說它都是一個大問題。

????駱家輝這樣的公眾人物沒辦法像其他人那樣對污染暢所欲言。除了外交上的考慮之外，還有一個因素在于，中國在污染問題上已不再和美國唱反調了。中國政府不僅緊跟美國大使館的腳步開始定期公布空氣質量指數，還公開表態必須扭轉空氣質量不斷惡化的趨勢，哪怕暫時來說拿出解決方案還遙遙無期。

????駱家輝可能永遠也不會透露空氣污染對他決定離京的影響到底有多大。但他的辭職還是凸顯了一個真相：職業聲望是一回事，真正住在北京又是另一回事了。（財富中文網）

????譯者：清遠

????As Beijing creeps closer to the notoriously noxious winter season for air pollution, Westerners here are tracking executives' moves from the city and asking whether pollution is the culprit. U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke's surprise resignation from his post in Beijing is the latest fodder.

????The official line is that Locke is returning to Seattle so he can be with his high-school age children when they graduate in the U.S. "It's very clear his family has been back there since summer, his eldest kids are in high school, and he wants to rejoin his family," said the spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, Nolan Barkhouse.

????Locke himself responded to rampant speculation across social media that pollution forced him out. "Absolutely not," he told the Los Angeles Times. "We are concerned about it [air quality], but that's not what motivated us to go back."

????The real story is probably not so clear-cut. Other media outlets have reported that people who spoke to Locke about his decision said that pollution weighed on his resignation. And Locke himself acknowledges at least some concern in his quote.

????Locke's resignation follows a trend I've heard for the past few weeks as I've asked businesspeople and others in Beijing about pollution's influence on their decisions to live here, questions I've had ever since moving to China's capital city this year. Invariably, they say pollution is a top factor, especially for those with children, and it's something that has real influence on those who have a choice about living in China.

????One prominent headhunter in Asia I spoke with this week said in the corporate world, there's a shortage of executives for CEO roles who want to come to China. Sure, the country's luster has slightly worn off -- there are no longer eye-popping, double-digit GDP growth rates, for one. But the headhunter said it doesn't matter how much you pay prospective CEOs to come here (or in Locke's case, how much prestige comes with the job), their decisions often come down to pollution and lifestyle. For some, pollution's on the top of the list of considerations, for others it's somewhere in the middle. But it's an issue for all.

????Public figures like Locke can't talk about pollution like others. Besides diplomatic considerations, there's also the fact that China is no longer at loggerheads with the U.S. over the problem. China's government has not only followed the U.S. Embassy's lead to issue frequent measures of air quality for the public, but it openly talks about the need to reverse the ugly trend of air quality, even if solutions remain far off.

????Locke may never reveal the degree to which pollution affected his decision. But his resignation highlights this truth: Career prestige is one thing, the reality of living in Beijing is another.