Unlike similar institutions in the western world, China's central bank, the People's Bank of China, is not at all independent from political forces.

　　Adrian Bradshaw/European Pressphoto Agency位于北京市中心的中国人民银行总部大楼。与西方世界的同类机构不同的是，中国央行丝毫不独立于政治势力之外。

　　That point was hammered home by a statement published on the central bank's own website on Monday celebrating the upcoming 90th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party.

　　这一点可以从央行网站周一发表的一份庆祝中国共产党成立90周年的声明中得到透彻体现。

　　According to the statement, the bank held an art and literature exhibition on Monday entitled 'Permanently Walking with the Party' intended to highlight the Party's control over the bank â ' and, by extension, its control over Chinese monetary policy.

　　据这份声明说，央行周一举办了一场名为“永远跟党走”的主题文艺演出活动，意在凸显党对央行的控制，延伸之意是对中国货币政策的控制。

　　At the event, central bank employees sang songs proclaiming that "the Communist Party is good, socialism is good, reform and opening up are good, and the great ancestral motherland is good."

　　Bloomberg News中国人民银行行长周小川。他也是央行合唱团的领导吗？在活动中，央行员工唱响共产党好、社会主义好、改革开放好、伟大祖国好的时代主旋律。

　　The singing of the songs demonstrated that bank employees have "liberated their thought" under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and the State Council, the statement boasted.

　　声明宣称，活动充分展示了央行干部职工在党中央、国务院领导下，解放思想、团结奋进、爱岗敬业、创先争优的精神面貌。

　　The central bankers are not the first prominent economic players to get caught up in the "red song" craze sweeping China in the run-up to the anniversary. Earlier this month, some of the nation's most celebrated internet entrepreneurs made a conspicuous appearance at a 90th anniversary even in Shanghai, where they, too, belted out a few patriotic tunes.

　　在建党90周年之际中国上下高唱红歌的热潮中，央行员工并非首个卷入其中的知名经济领域工作人员。本月早些时候，中国一些最知名的互联网企业家在上海一个庆祝建党90周年活动上高调亮相，他们也唱了几首爱国歌曲。

　　Events like these can be a jarring reminder of China's unique political landscape, especially since PBOC officials in other settings are often relatively outspoken in arguing for free market reforms. Last year, for instance, PBOC Vice Governor Hu Xiaolian approvingly cited capitalist luminary Milton Friedman in arguing for a more flexible exchange rate and a more hawkish stance on inflation.

　　像这样的活动可以使人想到中国独特的政治格局，尽管有些突兀，特别是鉴于央行官员在其他场合下常常相对直言不讳地主张自由市场改革。举例来讲，去年央行副行长胡晓炼赞同地援引资本主义经济大师弗里德曼(Milton Friedman)的话，主张实施更具弹性的汇率制度，在通货膨胀问题上采取更强硬的立场。

　　Maintaining a certain kind of cognitive dissonance, loudly praising socialism and communism while living and working in a modern economy with many capitalistic features has become a way of life for many a high-profile person in China. The central bank, it appears, is no exception.

　　一边大声歌颂社会主义和共产主义，一边在一个具有很多资本主义特点的现代经济体中生活工作，保持某种认知失调的状态，这已经成为中国很多知名度较高的人士的一种生活方式。看起来央行也不例外。