内容梗概
川普用不见外的方式,在栯圆形办公室与刘鹤亲热交谈场景,在自由的中文媒体上被曲解为中方受辱,更津津乐道于两人的口误。 政治人物使人娱乐也不错,但以此理解政治现实就是自误误人。中美贸易谈判本质是在谈生意,谈崩了没有赢家。
Instead of meeting Liu He in a formal setting, Trump took a different approach and had a warm conversation with Liu in the Oval Office, with Trump behind his executive desk and Liu sitting in a nearby chair. Such seating arrangement was misinterpreted by many on the overseas Chinese Twitter as Trump’s way to humiliate Liu He. People also relished Liu He’s slip of the tongue. While it isn’t too bad when politicians also provide entertainment value, entertainment can only be a sideshow to the meat-and-potatoes politics. When political commentators become gossip-mongers, they risk misleading the public and themselves as well. The essence of the US-China trade negotiations is to talk business. As with business negotiations, when talks break down, both sides stand to lose.
几个月来,《点点今天事》逆网意而上,反复告诉大家:川普和习近平目前都没有意愿打这场互害之战。 如今还有浪漫期待的只是商业、政治圈外的人。这不是冷战,更没有热战。
I have repeatedly emphasized this unpopular view in the past months, that neither Trump nor Xi is willing to see a full-blown trade war. The view that Trump has a strong upper hand over China and faces no pressure to cut a deal is wishful thinking by those who are ill-informed of politics or business. This is not the New Cold War. A “hot war” involving military conflict is certainly out of the question.
网上极端言论有的是情绪表现,是一种囹圄想像,有的不得不从病理去理解。
Social media radicalizes people’s opinions. Some of the extreme comments are just pent up frustrations people need to get off the chest. Outlandish conspiracy theories have an enduring appeal on social media. They are conjured up and floated by those who live in a society deprived of press freedom, due to for example government censorship. Some of the most extreme and sinister remarks on social media have to be understood from the point of view of pathology.
社交媒体是个奇幻的世界,有你生活中缺少的爱与智慧,也有你生活中没有那么多的恨与怨,有的纯粹是精神病发作:如果他发作的只是恶毒,口吐的都是不可思议的传奇,扮演的尽是抓捕特务的狠角。
Social media is a fantasy world. You see love and wisdom that you’ve never encountered in real life. Yet you also see an overwhelming amount of hatred and animosity. For those who do nothing but launching vicious attacks and hurling salacious claims, I recommend that they see a psychiatrist.
讨论现实问题,还是回到严肃的现实中吧。商业的谈判,政治的博奕,是现实也是真实的力量与技巧,而且有法律的底线。
But when it comes to real issues, let’s unplug from social media and get back to reality. Both business negotiations and political tug-of-war require actual power and skill. In the real world, we also have law as the guidepost for minimally acceptable behavior.
对于缺乏公共自由的中国人而言,习惯了从曲折的方式去寻找政治的真相。例如,春节各级领导看望的老同志名单中,可以看出某某是不是出事了。 至少,没有出现在名单中的张昌平与李伟引起人们的怀疑。
In China where civil discussions are heavily censored, the public is used to relying on unconventional methods to seek out political information. At a time when government officials of various levels are paying New Year calls to the "old comrades"(retired senior officials) , people are poring over the list of "old comrades" visited, trying to read the tea leaves on the future destinies of those whose names are left out. The absence of Zhang Changping 张昌平 and Li Wei 李伟 from the list has piqued some suspicion.
老同志,就是没有了职务还享受职务待遇的中共官员。这是中国政治特色,也是中国政治的稳定基石:腐败共同体。
The "old comrades", albeit retired from their official posts, still enjoy the many privileges of current officials. Not only is the notion of "old comrades" a key feature of CCP's personnel system, but it's also the cornerstone of its governance: a community of current and former officials with shared interests bound together by corruptions.
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