阿里巴巴赢得了一项初步法院命令，阻止了一项导致其华盛顿游说人员离去的美国限制措施，此前一名联邦法官认定，这家中国科技巨头有望在以言论自由为由挑战该措施的诉讼中胜诉。
Alibaba has won a preliminary court order blocking a US restriction that drove away its Washington lobbyists, after a federal judge found the Chinese technology giant was likely to succeed in challenging the measure on free-speech grounds.
美国加利福尼亚北区联邦地区法官李宜美（Eumi K. Lee）周一裁定，政府未能提供充分证据来证明该限制措施的正当性，该措施实际上迫使游说公司在代表阿里巴巴和寻求五角大楼合同的客户之间二选一。阿里巴巴拥有《南华早报》。
US District Judge Eumi K. Lee ruled on Monday that the government had failed to provide sufficient evidence to justify the restriction, which effectively forces lobbying firms to choose between representing Alibaba and clients seeking Pentagon contracts. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
该裁决允许阿里巴巴在诉讼进行期间，继续聘用同时也代表国防承包商的游说人员。该裁决并未将该公司从五角大楼涉嫌中国军工企业名单中移除，也未解决其对该认定提出的挑战。
The decision allows Alibaba to retain lobbyists who also represent defence contractors while its lawsuit proceeds. It does not remove the company from the Pentagon’s list of alleged Chinese military companies or resolve its challenge to that designation.
李法官在加利福尼亚北区法院发布的这份长达26页的命令中写道：“第4663条通过限制阿里巴巴聘用游说人员的能力，实际上限制了其政治言论。”
“By restricting Alibaba’s ability to retain lobbyists, Section 4663 functionally restricts its political speech,” Lee wrote in the 26-page order issued in the Northern District of California.
该法律于6月30日生效，禁止五角大楼与聘用为第1260H条中国军工企业名单上企业提供游说服务的游说人员的公司——及其母公司或子公司——签订合同。
The law, which took effect on June 30, bars the Pentagon from entering into contracts with companies – or their parents or subsidiaries – that retain lobbyists working for businesses on its Section 1260H list of Chinese military companies.
6月更新的第1260H条名单已大幅扩展至互联网、新能源、生物技术和半导体等领域。同批次入选名单的其他知名企业还包括百度、比亚迪、蔚来、宇树科技和药明康德。
The 1260H list updated in June has expanded significantly into sectors such as the internet, new energy, biotechnology and semiconductors. Other prominent companies included alongside Alibaba in the same cohort feature Baidu, BYD, Nio, Unitree Robotics and WuXi AppTec.
根据裁决中引用的证据，尽管该限制通过国防合同运作，但其对阿里巴巴接触美国决策者的影响巨大。
Although the restriction operates through defence contracts, its consequences for Alibaba’s access to US policymakers were substantial, according to evidence cited in the ruling.
在被列入名单之前，阿里巴巴聘用了二十多名游说人员和多家游说公司，代表其在国会和行政部门的利益。到6月30日，该公司已没有注册游说人员。
Before its designation, Alibaba had retained more than two dozen lobbyists and multiple lobbying firms to represent its interests before Congress and the executive branch. By June 30, it had no registered lobbyists.
根据该命令，多家公司告诉阿里巴巴，它们因该法律而撤回代理。其中一些公司已为阿里巴巴代理了近十年。
Several firms told Alibaba they were withdrawing because of the law, according to the order. Some had represented the company for almost a decade.
阿里巴巴辩称，失去这些代理人使其在华盛顿考虑影响其业务的政策时被边缘化，这些政策涉及人工智能、消费品进口和设备授权等方面。
Alibaba argued that losing those representatives left it sidelined as Washington considered policies affecting its business, including artificial intelligence, consumer product imports and device authorisations.
政府为该限制进行辩护，称其为国家安全措施，辩称指定公司可能通过共同的游说者获取敏感军事信息，或利用这些关系影响五角大楼的决策。五角大楼未立即回应置评请求。
The government defended the restriction as a national security measure, arguing that designated companies could obtain sensitive military information through shared lobbyists or use those relationships to influence Pentagon decisions. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
李法官承认国家安全的重要性，但认定政府未充分证实这些风险，以证明限制言论的正当性。
Lee acknowledged the importance of national security but found that the government had not substantiated those risks sufficiently to justify restricting speech.
她写道，政府唯一的支持性证据是一份国会解释性声明，该声明呼吁研究同时为五角大楼和中国政府或其关联实体工作的咨询公司所涉风险。该声明未包含关于代表指定公司的游说者所构成风险的任何调查结果。
Its sole supporting exhibit was a congressional explanatory statement that called for a study of risks involving consulting firms working with both the Pentagon and the Chinese government or its affiliates. The statement contained no findings about the risks posed by lobbyists representing designated companies, she wrote.
法官认定，政府也未能证明为何要求披露等限制较小的替代方案会不足够。
The government also failed to demonstrate why less restrictive alternatives, such as disclosure requirements, would be inadequate, the judge found.
阿里巴巴于6月23日提起诉讼，此前五角大楼在6月更新的军工企业名单中将其列入。该部门此前曾在2月的一份通知中点名阿里巴巴，但该通知发布后不久即被撤回。
Alibaba sued on June 23 after the Pentagon included it in a June update to the military-company list. The department had also named Alibaba in a February notice that was withdrawn shortly after being posted.
根据该命令，五角大楼以阿里巴巴据称与中国的国有资产监管机构和工业和信息化部存在关联为由，将其列入名单。
The Pentagon cited Alibaba’s alleged affiliations with China’s state assets regulator and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology as grounds for its designation, according to the order.
阿里巴巴对这些理由提出异议。根据法院描述的提交材料，该公司称其与国有资产监管机构不存在密切关系，并将其与工业和信息化部的关系描述为受监管公司与其监管机构的关系。
Alibaba disputes those grounds. In submissions described by the court, the company said it did not have a close relationship with the state assets regulator and characterised its relationship with the ministry as that of a regulated company dealing with its regulator.
周一的初步禁令是在一项当天即将到期的早期临时限制令之后发布的。该救济专门适用于涉及阿里巴巴的游说相关限制；法官在现阶段拒绝全面阻止该法律生效，或撤销该公司的军事认定。
Monday’s preliminary injunction follows an earlier temporary restraining order that was due to expire that day. The relief applies specifically to the lobbying-related restriction concerning Alibaba; the judge declined at this stage to block the law across the board or remove the company’s military designation.