[08.4.17 美国 旧金山纪事报] 请克制挟持奥运的意图

seanhu

【2008.04.17 美国 旧金山纪事报】请克制挟持奥运的意图

【英文原文】
Resist the attempt to hold the Olympics hostage


Nina Hachigian
Thursday, April 17, 2008

The first big domino fell last week in the grassroots movement in Europe and America calling for a boycott the Beijing Olympics over China's human-rights record. Britain's prime minister, Gordon Brown, has announced he would not attend the Opening Ceremonies. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton quickly issued a statement praising his decision and calling on President Bush to stay away, too. Meanwhile, the Olympic torch was in San Francisco, ducking into dark warehouses and fleeing down back alleys to evade protesters.

The increasingly political environment surrounding the Games makes it easy to lose track of the point of the protests. The important question is: What is the best way to improve the situation in Tibet?

Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has spoken out against a boycott. He knows that the more political and public a fight this becomes, the harder it will be for China to move forward constructively. Do you have a friend, or boss, who cannot admit he or she is wrong in public? China is like that. Chinese leaders do not want to be seen backing down in response to what many ordinary Chinese think are hypocritical Western demands, intentionally aimed at embarrassing and undermining their country.

America has so little leverage to influence human rights in China that it is supremely tempting to hold the Games hostage. Yet the only proven methodology to make progress on human rights in China is boring, incremental and politically thankless, at best. America can help on the margins to empower civil society on the ground there, embed China deeply into a world system that reflects liberal values and encourages open trade, and, most of all, lead by example - not a U.S. strength, as of late. The bold move would be for the United States to join the Human Rights Council at the United Nations where China's record could be publicly scrutinized each year. But you know that when a U.N. bureaucracy is the SUGGESTED solution to any problem, American politicians will run for cover, fearing accusations of waste and bias.

Calling for a boycott of the Olympics, on the other hand - that will get A POLITICIAN on TV, and it sounds principled. Unfortunately, it will not help the people of Tibet one iota. Public shame will not work with China - it never has. It just reinforces the common Chinese perception, or misperception, that the West does not want it to succeed. Appealing to China's pride, its fervent desire for normalcy, its wish for respect, might.

America and the West should make it easier for China to do the right thing, not harder. So if there is any leverage to be had in the occasion of the Summer Olympics, it is behind the scenes, with likeminded allies, each sending a consistent message that China has a fleeting chance to turn lemons into lemonade. With the whole world watching, Beijing could pull a "Nixon in China" moment and engage with the Dalai Lama, who is not calling for independence, but rather autonomy for Tibet. Of course, every day, Beijing's leaders are making it harder for themselves to do the right thing because they are demonizing the Dalai Lama - their best hope for negotiating a status quo that both Tibetans and the Chinese government can accept. Many younger Tibetans are not so moderate.
President Bush should not decide at this point whether or not to go to the Opening Ceremonies. The Olympics are still nearly four months away, and there is still a glimmer of hope that Beijing will seize this opportunity in Tibet. Meanwhile, politicians should try to resist the temptation of holding the Games hostage. The people of Tibet do not need more symbolism. They need change.


Nina Hachigian is co-author of "The Next American Century: How the U.S. Can Thrive As Other Powers Rise," Simon & Schuster, 2008). She is a senior vice president and director for California for the Center for American Progress ( www.americanprogress.org). From 1998 to 1999, she was on the staff of the National Security Council.

This article appeared on page B - 7 of the San Francisco Chronicle
【原文链接】http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/16/EDHF1060Q5.DTL
【存档】
【注：】海外关于抵制奥运抑或开闭幕式的争论很热闹，正反观点都值得我们关注！
[ 本帖最后由 三宅一生 于 2008-4-18 05:50 编辑 ]

seanhu

原帖由 seanhu 于 2008-4-17 22:56 发表 占坑，翻译稍后奉上！网络好繁忙，发了几次才放上来。。。

【中文翻译】

欧洲和美国呼吁出于中国的人权记录而抵制北京奥运会的动作的第一张大多米诺骨牌在上周推到了。英国首相戈登•布朗宣布不参加开幕式。民主党总统候选人希拉里•克林顿迅速表示赞赏他的决定并呼吁总统布什也不应出席。同一时间，圣火传递当时正在旧金山举行，剑走偏锋式地避开了抗议者。

围绕奥运不断升温的政治环境使得很容易偏离抗议的要点。重要的问题是：什么是改善西藏局势最好的途径？

西藏的精神领袖，DL喇嘛宣称反对杯葛。他知道这场斗争越是政治化和公开，中国越难向前迈出建设性的步伐。你们是否有朋友或上司不会在公众场合承认自己的错误呢？中国也是如此。中国领导人不愿意就此做出让步，因为很多中国普通民众认为这是虚伪的西方故意让他们的国家蒙羞。

美国在中国人权的问题的影响力是如此之小以至更令人觉得是挟制奥运。而现在唯一被证明过的方式在推动中国人权上是枯燥，多余至少在政治上并不被讨好的。美国应该在边缘推动那里的社会民众，使中国深深地置身这个反映自由价值和鼓励开放贸易的世界，然后用美国之外的力量引导之。大胆的举动可以是美国加入联合国的人权委员会，每年在那里公开深入探讨中国人权。但是你知道当联合国机构被视为任何问题的建议的解决方案时，美国的政客们总是掩饰，害怕被指责为徒劳和偏见。

在另一方面，呼吁抵制奥运- 让政客上电视并言辞坚定。不幸的是，这丝毫无助于西藏人民。公开羞辱中国不会奏效也从未奏效。这只会强化中国人的观点或者错误的观点，而西方并不希望如此。赞赏中国的骄傲，欢迎他们渴望常态和尊重的愿望，或许可以奏效。

美国和西方应该让中国更轻松地做正确的事情而不是阻遏。如果夏季奥运会的时机有助于一些推动，那么有相同意愿的盟友们应该在幕后分别给中国传递一致的信息就是中国有短暂的机会将柠檬挤出柠檬汁(做出实质的举动)。在全世界的关注下，中国可能推动“尼克松在中国”式的动作，并和事实上是宣称西藏自治而非独立的DL喇嘛会谈。当然，北京的领导人正在逐日使得自己更难做出正确的决定，因为他们正在妖魔化DL喇嘛-他们能够与之谈判藏人和中国政府都接受的现实的最好的希望所在。很多西藏年轻人可没有这么温顺。

布什总统不应该在此时决定是否参加开幕式。离奥运会尚有近四个月，北京抓住时机的一丝希望尚存。同时，政客们应该克制挟持奥运的试图。西藏的民众不需要姿态。他们需要的是改变。

Nina Hachigian是“下一个美国的世纪：美国如何在其它力量崛起下保持昌盛”(Simon&Schuster出版社2008年出版)一书的合著者。她是美国进步会中央在加州的副主席和主管。1998年至1999年，她在美国安全委员会任职。

这篇文章出现在旧金山纪事报B-7页


【翻译者】seanhu

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