孫曉雅接受NPR訪問 Taiwan is driving China-U.S. tensions. Meet the person right in the middle NPR 20231201

【雙魚之論】英文拷到 G / D 找中文翻譯

 Taiwan is driving China-U.S. tensions. Meet the person right in the middle   NPR 20231201

When President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met at the APEC summit this November, one of the top agenda items was Taiwan, an island China claims as its own. Xi called Taiwan the "most important" and "most sensitive" issue driving U.S.-China tensions.

The top U.S. representative in Taiwan, Sandra Oudkirk, is trying to navigate that tricky terrain.

Who is she? Oudkirk became the director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) — the U.S. office in Taipei — in July 2021.

• The AIT functions much like an American embassy – but it is decidedly not one.
• That's because the U.S. does not formally recognize Taiwan as a country, choosing since 1979 to instead recognize Beijing.
• The U.S. still maintains close trade and political exchanges with Taiwan however, and Taiwan has become an important high-tech economy.

What is the latest?

• Taiwan is gearing up for presidential elections in Jan. 2024. Taiwanese civil society groups warn Chinese state actors may plant false narratives on Taiwan's social media platforms and news outlets in the run up to stoke fear among Taiwanese voters and distrust for the U.S.   台灣正為2024年1月的總統選舉作準備。台灣的民間社會團體警告，中國政府可能會在選前在台灣的社交媒體平台和新聞媒體上植入虛假敘述，以引起 台灣選民的恐懼，並破壞對美國的信任。
• Taiwan is expressing low levels of confidence in the U.S. as a stable partner for Taiwan. A recent poll from the prominent Taipei-based research institute Academia Sinica found 34% of people agreed that the U.S. was a trustworthy country, a drop of more than 11 percentage points since 2021.   台灣對美國作為其穩定夥伴的信心水平較低。來自 台北知名研究機構中央研究院的最新民意調查發現，34%的人認為美國是一個可信賴的國家，較2021年下降了超過11個百分點。

Listen to the State of the World episode on how China is trying to gradually wear down Taiwan's defenses without ever invading.

What is she saying? Oudkirk spoke to NPR in Taiwan this week. Here's what she said. 

On whether the U.S. would heed China's request to stop selling arms to Taiwan and to support it using peaceful means to take control of the island:  對於中國要求美國停止向 台灣出售武器，並支持中國以和平手段控制該島的問題：

The U.S. One China Policy is longstanding. It's got bipartisan support. It hasn't changed. Part of that approach to Taiwan is the agreement that the United States will sell defensive weapons to Taiwan, sort of linked to the level of threat that Taiwan faces. So that's a commitment that the United States has made, and that isn't going to change.  美國的一個中國政策歷史悠久，得到跨黨派的支持，並未改變。對台灣的支持方式之一是美國將根據台灣面臨的威脅程度出售防禦性武器的協議。這是美國所做的承諾，這不會改變。

On whether she thinks China is planning to invade Taiwan in the near future:  對於她是否認為中國計劃在不久的將來入侵 台灣：

There's an important distinction between making plans and training troops and actually, you know, getting ready to do something. And I think we have even heard from the PRC [People's Republic of China] themselves that their preference would be for a peaceful reunification. And the United States is confident that there is no imminent threat of invasion for Taiwan.  在制定計劃、訓練軍隊和實際做準備之間有一個重要的區別。我想我們甚至從中華人民共和國（PRC）那裡聽到，他們更偏好和平統一。美國確信目前沒有對台灣的迫在眉睫的入侵威脅。

On how she thinks the U.S. can push back on false claims and conspiracy theories circulating through Taiwanese social media and news that the U.S. is not a reliable partner to Taiwan:  對於她認為美國如何反擊在台灣社交媒體和新聞中流傳的關於美國不是台灣可靠夥伴的虛假主張和陰謀論：

The way to push back against disinformation and sort of deliberate information manipulation is to talk and to engage and to be approachable and also to work on things like media literacy.  對抗虛假資訊和故意的資訊操縱方法是進行對話、參與，讓自己保持開放，並且致力於提升媒體素養等方面的工作。

On the United States' economic relationship with Taiwan – and how it's not just about semiconductor chips, which Taiwan leads the world in manufacturing: 對美國與台灣的經濟關係的看法，並指出這不僅僅是關於半導體晶片，台灣在其製造方面全球領先：

They are a huge market for agricultural goods. They're the sixth largest source of foreign students in the United States. So there's a big relationship there... Taiwan is now our fourth fastest growing foreign direct investor in the United States.   台灣是農產品的巨大市場，也是美國第六大外國學生來源地。因此，這之間存在著重要的關係... 台灣現在是美國第四大增長最快的外商直接投資者。

What now?

• The Senate is deliberating on a proposed military aid bill that would give more money to defense initiatives that counter China and help Taiwan defend itself. The bill has hit a snag, mostly from lawmakers who want to pare down funding and separate out funding streams to Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and to the US-Mexico border.  參議院正在審議一項提案的軍事援助法案，該法案將提供更多資金用於反制中國的國防舉措，並協助台灣自衛。然而，這項法案遇到了阻礙，主要是來自一些議員，他們希望削減資金並將對以色列、烏克蘭、台灣以及美墨邊境的資金分開。
• Taiwan's presidential elections in Jan. 2024 are heating up. The island's opposition KMT and TPP parties tried to work together and run on a joint ticket earlier this November but their short-lived collaboration dramatically fell apart after the candidates couldn't agree on who would run as the presidential nominee.   台灣於2024年1月的總統選舉逐漸升溫。該島的反對黨國民黨（KMT）和台灣民眾黨（TPP）曾在今年11月早些時候試圖合作，共同參選，但由於候選人無法就誰將擔任總統候選人一職達成協議，他們短暫的合作破局。
• Meanwhile, Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the U.S. Bi-khim Hsiao is running as the vice presidential candidate on the ticket of the ruling party, the DPP. Their biggest challengers will be the KMT, which has picked a deeply-conservative vice presidential candidate who favors closer ties with China.  同時，台灣駐美國事實上的大使蕭美琴正作為執政黨民進黨（DPP）的副總統候選人參選。他們最大的競爭對手將是國民黨，該黨已選擇一位傾向與中國建立更緊密聯繫的極保守副總統候選人。

Learn more:

• Taiwan's companies make the world's electronics. Now they want to make weapons
• Planet Money: How Taiwan became an undisputed leader in semiconductors   
• How Taiwan used women's voices to send secret messages into China and woo defectors