美国国家公共电台 NPR--House Speaker Pelosi's trip to Taiwan has heightened U.S.-China tensions

House Speaker Pelosi's trip to Taiwan has heightened U.S.-China tensions

Transcript¹

Nancy Pelosi, meeting leaders in Taiwan despite warnings from China, said that she and the congressional delegation² are showing they will not abandon their commitment to the self-governing island.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spent the day in Taiwan on a visit that's been harshly criticized by Beijing.

ASMA KHALID, HOST:

Tensions have escalated³, with China's military drills around Taiwan, which Taipei claims could amount to an air and sea blockade.

MART?NEZ: To bring us up to speed, we're joined now by NPR's John Ruwitch, who has been following events from Beijing. John, tell us what Nancy Pelosi has been doing in Taiwan today.

JOHN RUWITCH, BYLINE⁴: Well, she spent the morning meeting Taiwanese members of Parliament. And then she met Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-wen. Tsai awarded her a ceremonial civilian⁵ honor for her contributions in promoting Taiwan-U.S. relations. And in remarks at the event, Pelosi said that she visited Taipei to underscore the U.S. commitment to Taiwan.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

NANCY PELOSI: Today, the world faces a choice between democracy and autocracy⁶. America's determination to preserve democracy here in Taiwan and around the world remains⁷ ironclad.

RUWITCH: This is a highly symbolic⁸ visit. But there's more to it than just political ideology⁹. According to Taiwan President Tsai's Facebook page, she said she and Pelosi had lunch with senior executives from a couple of Taiwan's top tech firms, including TSMC, which is one of the world's leading makers¹⁰ of advanced microchips. And chips are, of course, an important part of the U.S.-Taiwan relationship.

MART?NEZ: Now, Beijing was not happy when she arrived in Taipei.

RUWITCH: No.

MART?NEZ: What's been the reaction so far?

RUWITCH: Well, the foreign minister called the visit a violation¹¹ of China's sovereignty. And the foreign ministry¹² summoned the U.S. ambassador to make a formal complaint. You know, China has imposed also economic sanctions on some Taiwanese products coming into China, including citrus fruit, for example. It's also banned sand exports to Taiwan. And then, of course, there's the military component¹³ to all this. This week, China is holding several days of exercises in six zones that effectively encircle Taiwan. These are expected to be a large show of force. Taiwan says they encroach on its own territorial¹⁴ seas. Analysts¹⁵, meanwhile, say we should expect more actions like this in the coming weeks, possibly months. And the White House, too, says that China is positioned for further steps.

MART?NEZ: Well, OK, so why is Beijing doing this? I mean, what are they worried about?

RUWITCH: Yeah, well, it goes back to Beijing's claim that Taiwan is a part of China, you know? Beijing wants to unify¹⁶ it politically with the mainland under the Chinese flag. So one concern is that after Pelosi's visit, other senior officials from other foreign countries might be inclined to follow suit. Another concern of Beijing's is that U.S. policy on China is just being hollowed out, you know? The U.S. says it adheres to a one-China policy and that it doesn't support Taiwan independence. But the Chinese government is increasingly skeptical¹⁷ of that.

MART?NEZ: We get a sense now of what the Chinese government thinks. What about the Chinese people?

RUWITCH: Yeah. A lot of people here seem to be paying attention to this. Today, on the streets here in Beijing, we spoke¹⁸ with a man named Gong Buyong (ph). And here's what he had to say.

GONG BUYONG: (Non-English language spoken).

RUWITCH: Yeah. So he's saying he personally is unhappy with the Chinese response so far. He thinks it could be stronger. He also says, though, that he understands why the government is, perhaps, being cautious in its reaction in what he says is a game of geopolitical chess. It's really interesting, you know? When Pelosi's plane landed in Taipei last night, there were a lot of posts online in China expressing deep unhappiness that the Chinese government allowed it to happen, effectively, didn't prevent it. Many of those critical comments are just gone today. They've been scrubbed from the internet, which underscores the sensitivity of the issue - really shows the government is trying to manage expectations on a deeply emotive issue at a sensitive time for China, with the economy under pressure, the pandemic still a problem and a key Communist Party meeting coming up.

MART?NEZ: NPR's John Ruwitch in Beijing. Thanks a lot, John.

RUWITCH: Thanks, A.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

3 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

6 autocracy   

n.独裁政治，独裁政府

参考例句：

• The revolution caused the overthrow of the autocracy.这场革命导致了独裁政体的结束。
• Many poor countries are abandoning autocracy.很多贫穷国家都在放弃独裁统治。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

9 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

10 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

12 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

13 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

14 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

15 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

16 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

17 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

18 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。