An Alliance That Sees Eye to Eye

The Washington Post

Jan. 24, 2001

Henry Kissinger

The uneasy reaction of European media and political leaders to the American election, ascribed to a desire for continuity, actually involved a remarkable paradox. Whey continuity when Atlantic relations have been far from harmonious?

Our allies, Britain largely excepted, have been dissociating, often demonstratively, from sanctions against Cuba, Iran, or Iraq, and from American policy on the Arab-Israeli conflict and in the Taiwan Straits. They have disagreed publicly with the concept of a national missile defense, which French President Jacques Chirac attacked at a news conference at the side of Russian President Vladmir Putin, explicitly on behalf of all of Europe. The European Union is in the process of creating a military force institutionally distinct from NATO. Since the end of the Cold War, common policy toward the Soviet Union has been replaced by allies seeking their own “special relationship” with Moscow.

The disagreements in the economic field are even more visible. The United States has threatened retaliation against Europe over bananas and beef, and the European Union has threatened the United States over American taxation of exports. The two sides are deadlocked on how, or even whether, to launch a new multilateral trade negotiation. Another dispute over energy policy looms, especially if oil prices remain high.

Equally striking is the weakening of the emotional bond. More Americans and Europeans are visiting each others’ continents than ever before. But they travel in the cocoon of their preconceptions or of their professional relationships, without acquiring knowledge of the history and politics of the other side. On the other hand, the Unitized States, as depicted in European mass media, ad defined by the death penalty, the lack of a system of free medical insurance, the vast American prison population and other comparable stereotypes. In this atmosphere, many advocates of European integration are urging unity as and exercise in differentiation from, if not opposition to, the United States.

The Clinton administration has left a legacy of unanswered questions: Is the Atlantic alliance still at the heart of transatlantic relations? If so, how does it define its purpose in the post-Cold War world? If not, what can be put in its place to undergird transatlantic relations?

The paradox is that personal relations among the leaders of the Atlantic nations during the 1990s remained remarkable close. But they were based less on shared policy views than on shared personal experiences as the first group of leaders who had grown up at World War II. The founding generation of the alliance presumed the benevolence of American power and the importance of allied unity. Their sons and daughters, growing up during the protest movements of the 1960s and 1970s, developed a profound distrust of American power; at a minimum, they wanted America to use its power only for universal causes transcending the national interest.

The founding generation viewed the alliance as the point of departure for a union of democracies. The generation governing in the 1990s viewed NATO as a relic of the Cold War, if not an obstacle to overcoming it. Its goal was less to strength the alliance than to “erase dividing lines.” Thus, in a news conference with Russian President Boris Yeltsin in March 1997, President Clinton described the “old NATO as basically a mirror image of the Warsaw Pact, “equating a voluntary association of democracies with what the Soviet Union had imposed on subjugated countries.

The key to the paradox is that, throughout the West, foreign relations are more than ever a function of domestic politics. Since the European center-left governments have disappointed the radical wings of their parties by implementing economics reform based on the market, they are reluctant to inflame these further by implementing national security policies identified with the United States. On the other hand, the domestic opposition to President Clinton’s foreign policy came generally from the right. Because of the difference in domestic politics, European leaders saw no contradiction between their person admiration—and even affection—for Clinton and vocal opposition to policies they conceived as having been partly imposed on him.

…

共創一個和諧的同盟

華盛頓郵報　　
２００１年一月２４日 ＜1＞

共創一個和諧的同盟 <2>

歐洲的媒體與政治領袖對美國的選舉感到侷促不安, 其不安起因於他們希望大西洋兩岸能維持既有的關係。這種期望倒有些矛盾--既然關係不和諧，為何還希望持續下去呢？

英國除外，我們的盟國處處顯示要與我們疏遠，甚至要切割，例如制栽古巴，伊朗，伊拉克、又如我們對以阿及台海爭端的政策。他們公開的反對飛彈防禦系統的觀念，法國總統席哈客甚至在記者招待會上，站在蘇俄總統普丁身邊，很明顯的代表全歐抨擊之。歐盟正著手要創建與北約完全不同的軍事力量 。自冷戰結束後，各盟邦紛紛拋棄已往對蘇聯的共同政策而分別去尋求與莫斯科建立個別的「特殊關係」。

在經濟議題上我們的岐見更為明顯。美國因香蕉和牛肉事件威脅要對歐洲報復；歐盟則因美國對其 出口品課稅而威脅要對美報復。雙方對如何建立新的多邊貿易協訂也僵持不下，甚至對要不要有這個協訂都無共識 。另外能源政策上，雙方的裂痕也逐漸加深；如果油價不跌，爭執將會更大。

雙方情感上的維繫日漸減弱也是有目共睹的。美洲與歐洲的互訪雖然比以前頻繁，但總是作繭自縛於成見或只限於職業上的互訪，雙方都未嘗試去了解對方的歷史與政治背景。歐洲的媒體把美國一律看成是死刑當道，監獄擁擠，和缺乏免費的醫療保險的地方，甚至還有其他的陳腔爛調。在這種氣氛之下熱心整合歐洲的人士於是群起鼓動歐洲團結起來組織不同的聯盟與美國劃清界線，甚至反美。

柯林頓政府留下了一堆未解決的問題：大西洋盟約還是兩岸關係的核心嗎？若是，那麼應該如何定位盟約在冷戰後的目標？若否，那麼有什麼方式能取代這個盟約來加強兩岸的關係？

矛盾的是1990年代兩岸領導人間的私交竟是出奇的融洽。不過這是因為第一代的領導人都是在第二次世界大戰中長大而有共同的生活體驗，倒不是他們在政策上有共識。創盟那一代的人基本上認為美國的權勢是善意的，盟國之間的團結是重要的。他們的下一代在1960, 1970
年代的各種抗議活動中長大， 對美國的強勢無比的不信任；他們認為至少美國應該把大家的共同利益放在美國自己的利益之上。

創盟那一代的人把北約看成是民主國家的聯盟的起點 。1990年代的執政者把北約看為冷戰的遺物，甚至是一個必需克服的障礙，他們認為北約的目標 不在於強化盟約而在消除歧見。因此，在 1997年三月與蘇俄總統葉爾欽共同參加的記者招待會中，柯林頓總統把「舊的北約」與華沙公約相提並論；他把民主國家自願的結合與蘇聯的附庸國在淫威下不得已的結合視為一物。

這個矛盾的癥結在於西方國家一向將外交關係視為內政的一環。一些中間偏左的歐洲政府因施行了反應市場需求的經濟改革而激怒了黨內的激進派，於是不願在國家安全政策上與美國靠攏以免火上添油。但是美國這邊，國內反對柯林頓總統外交政策的聲浪卻來自右派。由於兩邊國內政治氣氛的差異，歐洲各國的領導人 雖然欽佩柯林頓的個人魅力，甚至還喜歡他，卻也能毫不猶豫的大聲反對他的政策；他們不覺得矛盾，因為他們了解在某些地方柯林頓是不得已的。
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
<1> A style issue: Before I find a standard way of writing numbers in Chinese publications, I am creating my own convention: I use Chinese numerals for numbers up to 10 and use Arabic numerals for numbers larger than 10. The Time magazine spells out numbers up to twelve and using Arabic numerals for number larger 12. I am using that idea here.
<2> The culture of the TL is big on harmony. When two people see eye to eye, they are in agreement, which implies harmony. The TT of the title means “(Together, let’s build) a harmonious alliance”. I added the implied “together, let’s build”—I applied amplification to the ST, took a very liberal way in translating the title.
<3> The syntax of the SL requires an article or has to use a plural noun. The TL does not require articles, nor does it need to distinguish between singular and plural nouns; the context makes it clear. In “… creating a military force institutionally distinct from NATO”. The article “a” here is not translated, because translating into “one“ military force is not idiomatic. Throughout the document, I omit the article “a” and do not explicitly distinguishing plural from singular nouns unless it’s really important to distinguish them. This is more idiomatical.
<4> A SL-specific tool is used to make the TT clearer: In the English sentence “and the European Union has threatened the United States over American taxation of exports” the subject is EU, therefore, the exports refer to EU’s exports. In the TL it’s not as clear. Therefore, the word “其” is added to make it explicit that the exports are EU’s exports, not US’s.
<5> In the English sentence “The two sides are deadlocked on how, or even whether, to launch a new multilateral trade negotiation”, the pair of comas set up the “even whether” nicely. The punctuation rules of the TL are not as well defined. Therefore, I split the sentence into two clauses connected by a semi colon, instead of a period, to express the closeness of the two clauses/sentences. I use the semi colon as it is used in English punctuation guidelines. I use this style throughout the document. Back-translation of the TT: The two sides are deadlocked on how to launch a new multilateral trade agreement; they cannot even come to the common ground on whether to have this agreement or not.
<6> The same situation as in footnote 4, I separated the sentence into two: First sentence reads, “In addition, the dispute on energy is gradually growing bigger.” The second sentence, “This dispute will be even bigger should the oil price does not drop.”
<7> The ST sentence “… at a minimum, they wanted America to use its power only for universal causes transcending the national interest.” I applied amplification in the TT to make it explicit as (America’s) national interest. To avoid translating the words “universal” and “transcend” while maintaining the equivalence of pragmatics, the TT reads, “They want America to at least put everyone’s common interests above America’s national interests.”
<8> The “point of departure for” in the ST “The founding generation viewed the alliance as the point of departure for a union of democracies.” is translated to mean “the starting point of”. I am not sure whether this is faithful to the author’s intention.
<9> “Its goal was less to … than to …”. The pronoun “it” refers to “NATO”. I take it to mean, “The generation governing in the 1990s viewed NATO’s goal as less to … than to …”. If my understanding of the ST is correct, this is an amplification.
<10> “European leaders” is plural. TL does not add an ‘s” to denote plural. Using “們” to denote plural is grammatically correct but not idiomatic. I don’t want to lose the idea of the leaders being plural, either. Therefore, the term is translated into “the leader(s) of various European nation(s)”.

The Joy of Birth

Source by Snow Bird

At http://chensnowbird.blogspot.com/2009/03/blog-post.html

It was 12:53 p.m., March 2nd, 2008, you came to this world. You barely cried. Three hours later, two pairs of grandparents, your mom’s brother, your dad’s brother, his wife, and their son crowded the small recovery room. They held you in their arms; they whispered happiness to one another; no one could take eyes off you. The whole time you slept like an angel. The room was bathed in serenity and happiness.

On the other side of the Pacific Ocean in Taiwan, the four great-grand-parents watched you on the computer screen, the phone line was saturated with their joy, because your arrival put 30 of their closest kins one level up in the family trees. Could your 9-year old auntie and 10-year old uncle understand the significance of a new life?

Your grandpa came back from a business trip last night. He couldn’t wait to put on his favorite red sweater to pose for a picture with you; he couldn't wait to put the picture on his blog. Your grandma sent your pictures to her close friends. They all envied her--such a young grandma! She sat at your bed with a book in her hand, holding your little finger and watching you sleep, she was serenely content. No wonder her friends are envious. Wanting to let your mom and dad have some needed rest, your uncle watched over you; he could'nt wait to teach you Aikido, to teach you a few tips on how to protect yourself when you fall. Your dad, a week ago a timid novice in caring for a baby is now a happy expert. Your mom cannot stop staring at you, cannot stop saying, “He’s so cute! He’s soooo cute!”

Your parents have setup a fund for your education and are planning to take you to the Kite Festival. They cannot wait to immerse you in their lives. Such a lucky baby you are, arriving at awaiting loved ones.

Eighty years ago in Taiwan and in America eight babies were born. By pure chance they formed four families; three generations followed. Your arrival at 12:53 p.m. on March 2nd started another new generation. You will grow up in American culture although you carry genes bearing English, German, Japanese, and Taiwanese characteristics. The joy of birth is substantiated in the torch being passed to the new generation. I hope all those joy gives you the curiosity of learning; I hope that through you all those characteristics in your genes grow up in one happy harmony. <1>
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<1> 喜悅要化成學習的動力，期待你基因的特色在成長中圓融。

輕巧犀利﹐在您掌中[1]

西門子銷售全世界最小的口袋型超音波系統[2]。

它只有一般筆記型電腦的五分之一大小﹐約800公克重﹐開機後10秒之內就能使用。這就是西門子醫護集團[3]的ACUSON P10。

這個迷你超音波機器的設計主旨有三; 在提供心臟科和產科的診斷, 在評估意外傷害之嚴重性﹐在狀況緊急時提供最初的診斷[4]。在狀況緊急時特別重要的是能夠在事發當場就能迅速而正確的研判病情﹐ 選擇治療對象 [5]。

ACUSONP10既輕巧又容易使用﹐因此不需要把病人移到科技所在處﹐它把科技帶到病人身邊﹔從而在分秒必爭時節省了寶貴的時間;這在病人心臟功能失常或因多重傷害而休克時尤其重要。因為它比PDA大不了多少﹐所以隨時隨地都可以攝取影像幫助診斷。因此填補了聽診器與超音波機器之間的空隙。它提供有實有據的診斷資料讓醫護人員能迅速的決定治療方針。

這個輕巧的超音波系統﹐它的LCD螢幕可以折疊起來,對角線長9.4公分﹐可充電的鋰離子(lithium-ion)電池充電一次可以提供大約一小時的掃描。
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譯注 (Translator’s Note):

[1] This is an article introducing a product called “P10”. The title uses 3 words that start with the letter “P”—Portable, Powerful, Pocket. The effect of playing with “P” is lost in the translation. “ The “portable” is translated into light and agile. The “pocket” is hard to be translated succinctly. My thinking is that it implies “in your palm” (在您掌中) or “always at your side” (隨伴君側).

[2] Ultrasound is called 超音波In Taiwan and Japan; 超声波 in China. Don’t know how it’s called in Hong Kong and Singapore.

[3] Siemens has 3 Sectors (集團). They are Healthcare sector (11B Euro), Energy sector (20B Euro), and Industry sector (40B Euro). Each sector has multiple Divisions (部門), which has multiple Business Units (單位). I don’t know how Siemens’ official translation of sector, division, and business units are.

[4] The ST is not very clear—not observing the parallelism principle. I added some information and changed the order of things. The TT reads: Its design focuses on there; to provide diagnosis in cardiology and ob, to evaluate the severity of injury, and to provide the first diagnosis in emergency situations.

[5] point-of-care; screen & triage
Triage is a process of prioritizing patients based on the severity of their condition so as to treat as many as possible when resources are insufficient for all to be treated immediately. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triage
Paraphrase of the translation: In emergency, it’s particularly important to study and judge, on the spot, the harm and to select whom or what to treat first.

Portable. Powerful. Pocket.

Siemens markets the world’s smallest pocket ultrasound system.

It weighs around 800 grams, needs less than ten seconds to boot up and be ready to use, and is one fifth the size of a laptop computer: the world’s first pocket ultrasound system, the Healthcare Sector’s ACUSON P10.

The mini ultrasound device is designed primarily to evaluate the severity of an injury following an accident, help with an initial diagnosis in emergencies, in cardiology and obstetrics. Particularly in emergency situations, it is the point-or-care exam to allow for earlier, faster and more accurate screening and triage decisions.

It is portable, easy to operate, and can thus be quickly put to use. Instead of having to rush the patient to the technology, the ACUSON P10 system brings the technology to the patient. This can save critical minutes, especially when a patient is in cardiac distress or in the case of trauma patients, who have multiple injuries. Because the device is barely larger than a PDA, clinical images can be captured and accessed anytime, anywhere. Bridging the gap between the stethoscope and an ultrasound machine, the ACUSON P10 system enables more substantiated and faster decision-making about the subsequent course of treatment for the patient.

The portable ultrasound system is equipped with a flip LCD display measuring 9.4 centimeters on the diagonal. Special lithium-ion batteries provide power for about an hour of scan time before they need to be recharged.