奥巴马答问：我不会魔鬼化中国，但会保持警惕

倍可亲(backchina.com)爱荷华州传统上自1972年以来一直是全美率先举行预选的州，被视为影响其后各州预选或初选的前哨战和方向导引，爱荷华州定于１月３日进行预选，新罕布什尔州则于１月８日进行初选。在距2008年1月3日举行的爱荷华州预选还有三周之时，一位爱荷华州华人社区成员，美国亚裔新闻局成员（Asian American News Bureau）向2008年美国总统候选人，伊利诺州联邦议员奥巴马递交了下列问题。奥巴马议员于2007年12月13日书面回答了这些提问：

1．作为一位融合了非裔、亚裔和白人家庭背景的新的美国领导人，您如何作为下一届美国总统既为整个国家服务，又能保护少数族群的利益并帮助那些低产阶级的人群？

我对美国在世界的角色的理解有很多都来自我作为一个来自不同种族的父母的孩子的背景。我出生在多种族的熔炉夏威夷，曾经在印度尼西亚生活过，有一位有一半印度尼西亚血统的姐姐，一位中国血统的姐夫和侄女，还有家庭成员仍然生活在肯尼亚。因为这样的背景，我从来不把我的忠诚限制在种族的基础之上，或者以部族为基础评价我的价值。我认为：美国的部分创造力一直都来自她吸收新成员的能力，从而使来到我们的海岸的形形色色的人群树立起一个统一的国家认同感。美国是一个移民国家——这个国家始终都愿意为来自世界各地的疲惫的旅人提供一个机会，来这里实现许许多多的人已经实现的梦想。这就是很久以前回应了我父亲的信件和请求，使他从肯尼亚来到这里的美国。（Much of my appreciation for America’s role in the world comes from being the child of a mixed marriage, someone who was born in the racial melting pot of Hawaii, having lived in Indonesia, with a sister who’s half Indonesian, a brother-in-law and niece of Chinese descent, and still having family in Kenya. Because of my background, I’ve never had the option of restricting my loyalties on the basis of race, or measuring my worth on the basis of tribe. I believe that part of America’s genius has always been its ability to absorb newcomers, to forge a national identity out of the disparate lot that arrived on our shores. We are a nation of immigrants–a nation that has always been willing to give weary travelers from around the world the chance to come here and reach for the dream that so many of us have reached for. That’s the America that answered my father’s letters and prayers and brought him here from Kenya so long ago.）

作为一个社区组织者，民权律师，议员和现在的总统候选人，我已经为美国公众服务了25年多。与有色人种社区协同合作并不是我在这轮中同选举中所要从事的唯一事业——我从在伊利诺州作为社区组织者开始就已经与这些社区合作，在那里我和受到经济变化影响的芝加哥南部家庭一起，重建因钢厂关闭而遭到破坏的社区。对这些社区重要的问题对所有美国人来说同样重要。确保所有的孩子有上大学的机会，保证四千七百万美国人得到健康保险，结束伊拉克战争——这些问题都是美国议事日程的重要部分。这就是我投入这次总统候选的原因，我投入总统候选，是因为马丁.路德.金所说的“现在已经到的危急的时刻”。我们需要能够团结每一个种族，每一种宗教和每一个政党的领导，来保证任何一个人都过上饱含希望和机会的生活。（I have worked in public service for over 25 years, as a community organizer, civil rights lawyer, senator, and now presidential candidate. Working with communities of color is not just a cause I’ve taken up during this election cycle–I’ve worked with these communities since my days as a community organizer in Illinois where I worked with families in the South Side of Chicago displaced by economic change, fighting to rebuild neighborhoods devastated by the closing of steel mills. But the issues important to these communities are important to all Americans. Whether it’s ensuring all our kids can go to college, making sure that 47 million Americans have health care coverage, or ending the war in Iraq -- these issues are part of America’s agenda. That’s why I’m in this race. I’m in this race because of what Martin Luther King, Jr. called“the fierce urgency of now”. We need the kind of leadership that can unite people of every race and religion and political party to make sure that a life of hope and opportunity is possible for anyone who’s willing to reach for it.）

2．美国是怀抱民主和人权理念的世界领袖，美国如何才能保持就有高度道德标准的世界领袖地位？

我还认为美国是这个星球上最后的最佳的希望。我们只需要让世界看到为什么是这样。总统可以占有白宫，但在过去的六年间，这个自由世界的领袖地位却是虚席以待。是我们重新填充这个位置的时候了。（I still believe that America is the last, best hope of Earth. We just have to show the world why this is so. This President may occupy the White House, but for the last six years the position of leader of the free world has remained open. And it's time to fill that role once more.）

我要通过树立一个新的美国领袖面对新世纪挑战的形象，来恢复美国在世界的地位。历史的此时此刻急需美国的领导。本世纪面临的威胁与我们过去面临的威胁同样危险，而起在某种程度上更加复杂。威胁来自具有大规模杀伤力的武器和全球范围的恐怖主义，来自那些没有能力保护自己领土和人民的弱小国家，来自极度贫困和可能引起不稳定的专制统治，还来自这个可能催生新的疾病，制造更加毁灭性的灾难，产生致命的冲突的日益变暖的星球。（I will restore America’s standing in the world by providing a new American leadership to meet the challenges of a new century. At this moment in history, American leadership is urgently needed. This century's threats are as dangerous and, in some ways, more complex than those we confronted in the past. They come from weapons that can kill on a mass scale and from global terrorists. But they also come from weak states that cannot control their territory or provide for their people; from extreme poverty and repressive governance that can foment instability; and, from a warming planet that would spur new diseases, spawn more devastating natural disasters, and catalyze deadly conflicts.）

我对这个新时代的领导权的理解来自对一个基本现实的认同：即每一个美国人的安全和富足与那些生活在我们的疆域之外的人的安全和富足紧密相连。没有应该在全世界发挥领导者的作用，这种理解建立在世界享有共同安全和共同人性化的基础之上。我们必须以伙伴的姿态，而不是以施舍者的姿态进行领导。向别人张开手臂决不只是利用甚至是施舍，而必须是对所有人与生俱来的平等，尊严和价值的认同。这种领导需要美国平衡新旧盟友角色和资源，包括新兴的经济（比如印度，中国，巴西和南非），私人领域和全球的慈善事业。然而，在美国和美国的朋友，盟国帮助发展中国家建立更加安全和繁荣的社会的同时，我们绝对不能忘记只有这些国家的公民才能够维系自己的社会。（My vision of leadership in this new era begins with the recognition of a fundamental reality: the security and well-being of each and every American is tied to the security and well-being of those who live beyond our borders. The U.S. should provide global leadership grounded in the understanding that the world shares a common security and a common humanity. We must lead not in the spirit of a patron, but the spirit of a partner. Extending an outstretched hand to others must ultimately be more than just a matter of expedience or even charity. It must be about recognizing the inherent equality, dignity, and worth of all people. It will require American leadership that leverages engagement and resources from our traditional allies in the G-8 as well as new actors, including emerging economies (e.g. India, China, Brazil and South Africa), the private sector, and global philanthropy. Yet, while America and our friends and allies can help developing countries build more secure and prosperous societies, we must never forget that only the citizens of these nations can sustain them.）

3．美国在亚洲有很多朋友，竞争对手和敌人。您用什么方式解决国际争端？

美国未来的繁荣与亚洲的发展紧密联系在一起。我认为：美国需要加强和亚洲的盟国和伙伴关系，维护这个重要地区的稳定和安全，促进贸易和国家管理。作为总统，我会与亚洲地区的国家一起发展一种更加有效的地区框架，以促进稳定和应对国际间的威胁。（America’s future prosperity is intimately tied to developments in Asia. I believe that the U.S. needs to strengthen our alliances and partnerships to maintain regional stability and security and promote trade and good governance in this crucial region. As president, I would work to develop a more effective regional framework with the countries in the region to promote stability and confront transnational threats.）

中国的崛起对美国今后的外交政策提出的最大的挑战。但我不会把中国魔鬼化，因为我清楚面对来自发展中的中国的挑战的艰巨性，也清楚建立一种建设性的关系以维护持久的和平和繁荣的重大意义。发展与中国关系的最佳途径是通过与中国在政治，经济和战略等领域的合作，把中国进一步纳入国际轨道。同时，必须对中国的军事发展保持警惕，确保中国和台湾问题的和平解决，是中国作为国际社会的成员应尽的义务。（China’s rise may pose the most important foreign policy challenge to the U.S. in coming years. But I will not demonize China because I understand both the magnitude of the challenges facing a developing China and the importance of a constructive relationship to foster continued peace and prosperity. The best way to manage our relationship with China is to draw China further into the international system and to work with China on shared political, economic, and strategic objectives. At the same time, we must remain vigilant on China’s military development and ensure that China and Taiwan peacefully resolve their differences, and that China lives up to its obligations as a member of the international system.）

4．您对中国和台湾问题的政策是什么？如果在台湾海峡发生军事冲突，美国将站在什么立场？您如何减少军事冲突的可能性？

我欣赏台湾发展出来的民主，会继续促进海峡两岸紧张局势的和平解决。作为总统，我会继续奉行一个中国的政策，通过保持中国与台湾的良好关系，明确地表示我们希望双方通过对话，和平解决双方的分歧，保证台湾海峡永远不会发生军事冲突。任何解决僵局的方式都会被海峡两岸的人民所接受。（I admire the democracy that Taiwan has developed, and will continue to urge the peaceful resolution of cross Straits tensions. As president, I will continue the One China Policy and will work to ensure that a military conflict across the Taiwan Strait never arises–by maintaining good relations with China and Taiwan, and making absolutely clear that we expect both to resolve their differences peacefully and through dialogue. Any resolution of the impasse must be acceptable to the people on both sides of the Strait.）

5．您是很多少数民族青年的偶像。您能否告诉他们作为少数民族取得成功的最佳途径，还有您在自己的成长过程中得到的最深刻的经验是什么？

我之所以成长到今天这个样子的唯一原因，是某人、某处在关键的时刻支持了我。是他们改变了美国，也是他们改变了世界。我在这里呼吁你们把自己的成长和美国的成长合二为一。之所以这样说，是因为在这次竞选中出现的某些人并不一定有与此相同的看法。我父亲来自千山万水之外的肯尼亚，在我出生不久就回到那里。我的童年生活漂泊不定，我在夏威夷和印度尼西亚长大，我和我的单亲母亲和来自堪萨斯的外祖父，外祖母生活在一起。在成长的过程中，我总是不能确认我自己到底是谁，将去向何方。（The only reason that I am where I am today is because somebody, somewhere stood up for me when it was risky; they changed America; and they changed the world. And I am here to challenge you to make your story and the American story one in the same. I say this to you as someone whose presence in this campaign is unlikely. My father came from thousands of miles away, in Kenya, and went back there soon after I was born. I spent a childhood adrift. I was raised in Hawaii and Indonesia. I lived with my single mom and with my grandparents from Kansas. Growing up, I wasn’t always sure who I was, or where I was going.）

我们这个国家始终都明白：我们的未来和孩子的教育——所有孩子的教育，是密不可分的。但我得到的最好的教育是在芝加哥南部作为社区组织者的时候。这段经历告诉我真正的变革来自于社会底层。这个经验每天都在指引着我，是我在差不多25年前走上了为公众服务的生活道路，我还会把这个经验带到华盛顿。（We are the nation that has always understood that our future is inextricably linked to the education of our children - all of them. But the best education I ever got was working as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago. It taught me that true change comes from the bottom up. It’s a lesson that guides me every day and one that led me to a life of public service almost twenty-five years ago, and one I’ll carry with me to Washington.）

6．很多亚洲家庭也在寻求一位拥有以家庭为导向的价值观和对家庭忠诚的领导者。您对家庭生活的最佳建议是什么？当您和妻子又意见分歧的时候您是怎么做的？

米歇尔和我结婚已经十五年多了，我们有两个女儿，她们叫玛丽亚和萨莎。对孩子，我们有着和每个父母都有用的愿望：良好的教育，安全的家庭和更加美好的未来。我在伊利诺伊和美国参议院工作，并不只是为了我自己的家庭，而且也为了无数的美国其他家庭实现这些目标。（Michelle and I have been married for more than 15 years, and we have two daughters, Malia and Sasha. We want what every parent wants for their children: a good education, a safe home and a better future. I have worked in Illinois and in the U.S. Senate to accomplish these goals not only for my own family, but also for countless other families throughout the United States.）