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【英文原文链接】
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/12/setting_priorities_in_asia.html
[中文摘译来自中国网]
http://www.china.com.cn/international/txt/2008-12/16/content_16955831.htm
美国真实清晰政治网12月14日文章,原题:把优先重点放在亚洲
在1792年和1816年,英国国王分别派遣两名大使赴华,谈判西方世界头号国家与东方世界头号国家之间的贸易开放问题。两名英国使节都因在觐见中国皇帝时拒绝磕头而被打发回国。磕头表示承认中央王国至高无上的统治地位。今天,在给当选总统奥巴马所提出的数千条建议中,有一条是敦促他在宣誓就职后就马上访问北京,这事实上是劝他向中国领导人磕头。
这条建议极其愚蠢,显示出无论对中国的过去还是现在都缺少了解。相反,新总统应该在适当的时候邀请中国的领导人访问华盛顿。
克林顿政府的商务部副部长杰弗里·加滕已声称:“奥巴马的首次海外访问应该去中国,在宣誓就职后一个月内成行。他应该带着国务卿、财长、国防部长和驻华大使一同访华。”加滕说:“这次访问的目的不是为了谈判或解决具体问题。相反,奥巴马将为美国的对华新政策确立一种风格和基调。”
然而,当这位年轻、相对缺乏经验的新总统到来时,就像是过去对华派遣的使节一样,中国人将把这次访问视作向中国进贡。在亚洲,象征意义比在西方更能博得人们的注意。奥巴马过早的访华之旅将被视作“西方野蛮人”屈服于“中国朝廷”。
自尼克松以来,美国历任总统都犯下一个同样的错误,那就是先去中国访问,而后才邀请中国领导人访美。在中国人和其他很多亚洲人眼里,这种访问把美国总统置于了恳求者的地位。它增强了中国人的信心:他们正在复兴这个中央王国作为世界中心的地位,注定比其他所有人都高一等。
一张毛泽东主席和尼克松总统的照片摄于1972年毛的书房里:毛放松地坐在安乐椅里,尼克松则笔直地站在椅子旁边,就像学生站在校长面前一样。各地亚洲人都把这张照片视为尼克松前来寻求毛泽东帮忙的证据。克林顿总统1998年对中国进行了为期9天的访问,比去其他国家的时间都长,这被中国人看作是西方野蛮人的领导被中国的光辉所征服了。
在这种背景下,奥巴马应采取主动,邀请中国领导人访问华盛顿,以一种不那么敏感的方式显示他认为中国领导人和他是平起平坐的,而非他的上级,所传达出的信息是华盛顿的新政府在做事情时有新的思路。(作者理查德·哈罗安,陈一译)
Setting Priorities in AsiaBy Richard Halloran
In 1792 and again in 1816, King George III of Britain sentambassadors George Macartney and then William Pitt Amherst to China tonegotiate the opening of trade between the leading nation of the Westand the leading nation of the East.
In both cases, the British envoys were sent packing after refusingto kowtow as they approached China's Celestial Emperor because theyfound it humiliating. The kowtow usually required the personapproaching the throne to kneel three times and touch his forehead tothe floor three times each to acknowledge the superiority of the MiddleKingdom.
Today, among the thousands of recommendations being thrust uponPresident-elect Barack Obama comes one urging him to perform a virtualkowtow to the leaders of China by going to Beijing shortly after hisinauguration.
The proposal is most ill-advised and shows little understanding ofChina, past or present. Rather, the new president should invite theChinese leader, Hu Jintao, to Washington with full honors at anappropriate time.
Jeffrey Garten, an undersecretary of commerce in the ClintonAdministration, has asserted: "Barack Obama's first overseas tripshould be to China, and it should occur within a month after hisinauguration on January 20. He should bring Secretary of State HillaryClinton, Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, Secretary ofDefense Robert Gates, and his ambassador to Beijing."
"Such a trip would be a showstopper, breaking all precedents,"Gartner, a professor at Yale, wrote in Newsweek last weekend. "The tripwould not be designed to negotiate or resolve specific issues. Instead,Obama would be setting the style and the tone of a new U.S. approach toChina."
The Chinese, however, would see that visit as the young, new, andrelatively inexperienced president coming, like the envoys of old, topay tribute to China. In Asia, where symbols command more attentionthan in the West, an early Obama journey would be seen as the "westernbarbarian" submitting to the power of the Chinese court.
American presidents since Richard Nixon have made the mistake ofgoing to China before inviting a Chinese leader to Washington. InChinese eyes, and those of many other Asians, that put the president inthe position of supplicant. It reinforced the Chinese belief that theyare reviving the Middle Kingdom as the center of the world, destined tobe superior to all others.
A picture of Chairman Mao Zedong and President Nixon in Mao's studyin 1972 had Mao slouched back and relaxed in an easy chair while Nixonsat up straight on the edge of his chair like a schoolboy before theheadmaster. Asians everywhere saw that as evidence that Nixon had cometo seek favor from Mao.
President Clinton may have been the worst offender in travel toChina. He journeyed through China for nine days in 1998, longer thanhis trips to other nations, and was seen by the Chinese as the leaderof the western barbarians being dazzled by the splendor of China.
Further, he was enticed into publicly taking a position on Taiwanthat appeared to favor China, which claims sovereignty over theself-governing island and has threatened to take it with force. The USasserts that any resolution of the Taiwan issue must be acceptable tothe people on Taiwan and be peaceable. It is the most troubling issuebetween China and the US.
Against this backdrop, President Obama should take the initiativeand invite President Hu to Washington where he would be received withhonors. In a not-so-subtle way, that would indicate that PresidentObama considered President Hu to be his equal, not his superior. Themessage would be that the new government in Washington has new ways ofdoing things.
During President Hu's visit, President Obama could make points aboutmutual respect, peaceful resolution of issues, and America's militaryposture. He could drop the "One China Policy" as being outdated andsubject to differing interpretations. He could reemphasize thepeaceable settlement of the Taiwan issue.
Beyond that, perhaps President Obama's first trip to Asia shouldtake place in November, 2009, when he would attend the Asia PacificEconomic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Singapore. In an even-handedapproach, he would meet most of Asia's leaders there.
On the way to Singapore, the president might stop in Japan, a keyally. After APEC, the president could travel to Australia to meetleaders of another key ally. The message to America's allies, friends,and potential adversaries would underscore President Obama's prioritiesin Asia. |
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