美国国家公共电台 NPR Taiwan's President: Phone Call With Trump 'Doesn't Mean A Policy Shift'

Taiwan's President: Phone Call With Trump¹ 'Doesn't Mean A Policy Shift'

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: 

Donald Trump is following through on his promise to disrupt the U.S.-China status quo. Last week, he became the first U.S. president or president-elect in almost 40 years to speak with the president of Taiwan. Beijing was not happy. It considers Taiwan a province of the mainland and objects when Taiwan acts like an independent country with its own foreign policy. Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-wen, hasn't spoken about her phone call with Trump until now. For more, we go to the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, and NPR's international editor Will Dobson. Good morning, Will.

WILL DOBSON, BYLINE²: Hi, Rachel.

MARTIN: How did this come about? And what exactly did President Tsai say?

DOBSON: So I'm traveling with a small group of journalists, who - we had a meeting scheduled with President Tsai ahead of time. And fortunately, the president decided³ to keep the meeting...

MARTIN: Did someone ask about the Trump comments, or did she just bring it up?

DOBSON: Oh, yes. This was her first opportunity to speak with any journalists. And so - I'll read exactly what she said because, I think, in this instance, language is very important. She said (reading) of course, I have to stress that one phone call does not mean a policy shift. The phone call was a way for us to express our respect for the U.S. election, as well as congratulate President-Elect Trump on his win. I do not foresee major policy shifts in the near future because we all see the value of stability in the region.

MARTIN: But she knows that it's a big deal for the Taiwanese president to talk on the phone with a president-elect of the United States. So what's her play in all this? What is she trying to do?

DOBSON: Well, I mean, people that I've spoken to here in the last two days said, you know, President Tsai is a very cautious person. She is a technocrat⁴, a trade negotiator, a real wonk. But they said it doesn't matter because an opportunity like this, any Taiwanese leader would take it. And so this is a chance to really challenge the international isolation⁵ that Taiwan has felt, so she seized it. But, you know, she's very quick. And she was quick today to really make clear that this isn't something more than what we know, that we shouldn't read more into this call, that it is simply this and nothing more.

MARTIN: Of course, Donald Trump reiterated⁶ that. And he said in a tweet, the phone call was not a big deal. That, in turn, seems to upset the Chinese even more, dismissing this because, of course, they see this as a repudiation⁷ of the One-China policy - this idea that China and Taiwan are part of the same country.

DOBSON: Right. You know, the Chinese see it as very serious. You know, the status of Taiwan is a top priority for the Chinese leadership. It's something that's viewed in highly nationalistic, populist terms. And it's something that Beijing has made clear for a long, long time that is completely non-negotiable. You can go back - it's now 21 years - that the last time that a U.S. administration surprised the Chinese government on Taiwan was when the Clinton administration in 1995, after repeatedly assuring the Chinese that they would not grant a visa to then Taiwanese leader Lee Teng-hui to visit his alma mater, Cornell, did precisely⁸ that.

And people that I've spoken to in Taiwan say that they credit that decision of having a greater weight in the Chinese government's decision the following year to begin massive military exercises off the coast of Taiwan, which led to then President Clinton sending two carrier groups to bring down the tension and ultimately have the Chinese stand down, which was the largest concentration of naval⁹ power in East Asia since the Vietnam War.

MARTIN: On the one hand, Donald Trump himself is saying it's not a big deal. His transition team has let it be known that the phone call was meant to be provocative¹⁰. The Wall Street Journal is reporting this morning that former Senator Bob Dole¹¹ actually helped arrange it. What does it mean looking forward, Will?

DOBSON: Well, from the Taiwanese point of view, you really can't overestimate¹² how much they feel isolated¹³ in international communities. So to have this connection between an incoming president and a current president is something - well, it hasn't happened in almost 40 years.

MARTIN: NPR's international editor Will Dobson on the line from Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. Thanks so much, Will.

DOBSON: Thank you.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 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。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 technocrat   

n.技术人员，技术官僚

参考例句：

• He is a distant technocrat who is unable to connect with ordinary voters.作为一个冷淡的技术官僚，他不能做到与普通选民息息相通。
• Jack Lew,the new budget director,is the quintessential technocrat.新预算主管杰克·卢就是一个典型的技术官僚。

5 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

6 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

7 repudiation   

n.拒绝；否认；断绝关系；抛弃

参考例句：

• Datas non-repudiation is very important in the secure communication. 在安全数据的通讯中，数据发送和接收的非否认十分重要。 来自互联网
• There are some goals of Certified E-mail Protocol: confidentiality non-repudiation and fairness. 挂号电子邮件协议需要具备保密性、不可否认性及公平性。 来自互联网

8 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

9 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

10 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

11 dole   

n.救济，（失业）救济金；vt.（out）发放，发给

参考例句：

• It's not easy living on the dole.靠领取失业救济金生活并不容易。
• Many families are living on the dole since the strike.罢工以来，许多家庭靠失业救济金度日。

12 overestimate   

v.估计过高，过高评价

参考例句：

• Don't overestimate seriousness of the problem.别把问题看重了。
• We overestimate our influence and our nuisance value.我们过高地估计了自己的影响力和破坏作用。

13 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。