在這兩天的媒體有關周永康的報道中，“白手套”一詞吸引了不少人的注意。什么人可以被稱為“白手套”，他們的作用又是什么呢？

The innocuous-sounding euphemism "white gloves" generally refers to a middleman or outfit that launders dirty or corrupt money under a seemingly legitimate front - dirty hands concealed by a pair of white gloves.

聽起來不褒不貶的委婉語“白手套”指充當“黑錢”漂白的中間人，或是實際從事“非法”事務的“合法”外衣，意即，隱藏在白手套中的骯臟的手。

The expression, coined in Taiwan, is catching up fast on the mainland as rampant corruption is exposed at all levels of the bureaucracy.

這個說法源自臺灣，不過隨著各級腐敗行為被大肆揭露，這個表達在大陸迅速躥紅。

Indeed, just as there are mistresses behind every corrupt senior official, there is also "a pair of white gloves" in the wings to help their families make their fortunes and manage them.

的確，就像每個高級腐敗官員背后都有情婦一樣，他們的周邊也一定有“一雙白手套”幫助他們的家屬斂財和理財。

The pay-off for the white gloves, who are usually smooth-talking businessmen, is the chance to enrich themselves even more fabulously by leveraging ties to powerful politicians and gaining inside information.

充當白手套的通常都是巧舌如簧的生意人，他們得到的回報是通過與有權勢的官員搭上關系并獲取內部消息來為自己獲取更多利益。

Corrupt officials deliberately keep some distance from their white gloves to give them room for deniability. The facilitators usually take care of the parents and children of the powerful and provide lucrative opportunities for their relatives to make easy money.

腐敗官員一般會跟他們的白手套們刻意保持距離，以使自己有否認的空間。白手套們自會照看好官員的父母和子女，并為他們的親友提供大把輕松賺錢的機會。

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen）