[2008.06.14] Strait talking again 海峡两岸再度展开对话

China and Taiwan
中国和台湾
Strait talking again
重启谈判

Jun 12th 2008 | BEIJING AND TAIPEI
From The Economist print edition

Picking up where they left off in 1999
从1999年中断的地方重启谈判

THE previous attempt by China and Taiwan to end their decades of official acrimony ended in a mutual huff. But now they are talking to each other again as if nothing had happened. At their first formal negotiations in nearly a decade, which began in Beijing on June 12th, the two sides are ignoring political differences and focusing on air services and tourism.
上次大陆跟台湾的旨在结束10年来官方互相攻讦的谈判尝试，在彼此的指责中不欢而散了。但现在他们就像什么都没发生过一样，又重新坐到谈判桌前。在距双方于北京的首次正式对话10年后的6月12号，两岸将摒弃意识形态差异，致力于解决两岸直航和开放观光旅游的议题。

The two teams appeared on track to sign an agreement on June 14th that would allow Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan without, as at present, having to go through third countries (visitors to the Taiwan-controlled outlying islands of Kinmen and Matsu can already go directly). The new tourism arrangement is expected to start in July, along with the launch of weekend charter passenger flights. On their first day of talks, the two sides agreed to set up representative offices to handle visas in each other’s territories.
两方很可能将于6月14日签署协定，允许大陆游客无须像以往那样经由第三地(游客可以直接去台湾控制下的金门马祖等外岛)赴台。新的观光协议有望于7月付诸实施，同时启动的还有周末包机协定。在首日的谈判中，双方还承诺建立专门机构来办理各自行政区域内的签证事务。

Talks between China and Taiwan have always been couched in coded language, to gloss over their opposing views of Taiwan’s status. The negotiators are from organisations whose think-tank-style titles are meant to camouflage their official identities. (In China’s view there is no Taiwan government, just an uppity local authority.) China broke off talks in 1999 because of Taiwan’s decision to end the pretence and call for country-to-country ties. The election in 2000 of a president, Chen Shui-bian, whose Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was implacably opposed to any hint of overlapping sovereignties, made China dig its heels in further.
一直以来，两岸间的对话均采用隐讳的措辞，以避开两者在台湾地位问题上的巨大分歧。谈判代表均来自被各自的智囊团刻意掩盖其政府背景的组织。（台湾政府在大陆看来并不存在，只是一个难以驾驭的地方政府）大陆在1999年终止了谈判，原因是台湾方面决定撕掉伪装，要求以国与国的关系进行会谈。此后陈水扁在 2000年的总统大选中上台，他所领导的民进党固执的反对任何可能矮化主权国家地位的对话，这令大陆更加坚定了拒绝展开对话的决心。

But since the inauguration in May of a new president, Ma Ying-jeou of the China-leaning Kuomintang party (KMT), ambiguity has been back in vogue. The two sides have agreed to talk on the basis of what they call the “1992 consensus”. This formula agrees that there is “one China” but reserves each side’s right to define this in its own way. This pleases China immensely but is politically more sensitive in Taiwan. The KMT soundly defeated the DPP in the presidential elections in March and in legislative polls in January, but suspicion of China remains widespread.
然而，从5月份亲中的国民党新总统马英九就职伊始，含糊用词的做法重新成为主流。双方同意在九二共识的基础上进行对话。该公告承认只有一个中国，但双方都保有以各自方式进行表述的权力。此举令中方甚为满意但也使台湾政坛更加敏感。国民党在5月的总统选举和1月的立委选举中完胜民进党，但对大陆的怀疑仍较为普遍。

Mr Ma is calculating that the economic benefits of a flood of Chinese tourists to the island will help allay such fears. He aims to receive 3,000 a day, which would be a useful boost to Taiwan’s lacklustre economy. Critics, however, say that his rush to attract China’s big spenders is giving Beijing the upper hand at the negotiating table. Taiwan has quietly swallowed China’s refusal to allow an early launch of charter cargo flights. China, it is thought, wants to protect its air-cargo industry from Taiwanese competition.
马英九总统预计，蜂拥而至的大陆游客给台湾所带来的经济利益会减少这种担忧。他的目标是每天接纳3000名游客，这将有助推动疲软的台湾经济复苏。然而批评者担心，他急于吸引大陆富豪赴台之举将增加北京在谈判桌上的筹码。台湾已经默许了大陆否决台湾提出的先行开放货运包机的提议。大陆此举被认为是为了保护它的航空运输业免受来自台湾的竞争。

Taiwanese officials have shown their sensitivity to public opinion. Earlier this month the Ministry of Foreign Affairs instructed its overseas offices not to use the word Taiwan in official documents to avoid upsetting China. Instead they were to use the island’s official name, Republic of China. But the ministry quickly backtracked amid a political uproar.
台湾的官方机构已经显示出对舆论的高度敏感。本月早些时候，外交部指示它的海外办事处不要在官方文件中使用”台湾”这个词以免触怒中国。取而代之以岛内官方名称－中华民国。但在一片哗然声中，政府又放弃了这个决定。

译者：就是喜欢美女　　http://www.ecocn.org/forum/viewthread.php?tid=12057&extra=page%3D1