必须消除对中国的历史傲慢 (附英文原文)

作者：英国前首相布莱尔，汪析译
来源：环球时报
北京奥运会堪称壮观，强有力地震撼了人们的视听。不过，给我留下最深印象的是开幕式前对一家中国互联网公司的非正式拜访，以及与部分中国年轻企业家的对话。
这些中国人，无论男女，都聪明、敏锐、坦率，不害怕就中国及其将来表达自己的观点。最主要的是，他们充满自信和乐观，没有愤世嫉俗，那种积极进取的精神让我想起鼎盛时的美国以及一路前进的任何国家。这些人没有恐惧，而是满怀希望地憧憬未来。尽管无数中国人仍生活在贫困当中，尽管中国存在一大堆有待解决的政治、社会和经济问题，但正是这次体育盛会所表现出的精神将塑造该国的未来。
在担任英国首相的10年里，我亲眼见证了中国崛起为大国的步伐不断加速。我在演讲中谈论中国，但只是在理性上理解它。我没有切实感受到，因而无法在政治上完全理解。自从离任以后，我先后四次访华，不久还将重访。人们问我这届奥运会将给中国带来什么？奥运会标志着一个新纪元———中国的开放进程已无法逆转。随着现代化中国的形象变得更清晰，对中国的无知和恐惧将会逐渐淡出。权力和影响力正朝东方转移。一些人视之为威胁。我把它看作是巨大的机遇。但我们必须努力发挥想像力，必须消除任何残存的历史傲慢。北京给人的感觉跟我20年前首次访华时的中国印象有着天壤之别。中国人对他们的国家及进步感到由衷自豪。
没有一个理智的中国人———包括该国领导人———会怀疑他们还有尚待解决的人权和政治及宗教自由问题。与此同时，也没有一个理智的中国人（包括最西化的中国人）会怀疑他们取得的巨大进步。中国正在旅途中，它迅速地往前行进，但它十分清楚旅程尚未结束。观察家们应该设法指出未完之旅，但也应该承认所走过的路程。
中国领导层为国内的发展问题忧心忡忡，这是可以理解的。理解中国的内部挑战是理解中国及其政治和心理的基础。我们欧洲有大约5%的人口分布在农业。而中国将近有60%。今后中国将寻求把数亿人从农村搬到城市。
对于中国来说，这种经济和社会的转型必须伴随着政治稳定。这样做也完全符合我们的利益。一个中国政策不属于放任的民族主义。这是一个生存问题，关系到中国在现代化进程中能否以和平和稳定方式凝聚一心。这也是为什么西藏对中国来说不仅仅是宗教问题还是一个重大政治问题的原因所在。
因此，我们理应继续通过对话就人们应该关切的问题与中国接触，但我们在这样做时至少应该考虑到中国的看法。这意味着西方需要与中国建立牢固的伙伴关系，这种关系不仅扎根于经济，而且深入到政治和文化领域。事实是，倘若没有中国的完全参与，21世纪没有什么可以良好运行。有关中国的崛起可能被夸大了。例如，欧洲的经济规模仍然大于中国和印度的总和。
但是正如奥运会及奖牌榜所显示的，事情不会一成不变。这是历史性的变革时刻。再过10年，到时人人都会看到这一点。奥运会如今已成为世界上最大的体育赛事，世人对体育的热爱使得奥运会成为能对现实的人们造成切实影响的事件之一。这届奥运会使世人一窥现代化中国的面貌，其效果没有任何政治演讲能够做到。
英文原文：
OPINION
We Can Help China Embrace the Future
By TONY BLAIR
August 26, 2008; Page A21
The Beijing Olympic Games were a powerful spectacle, stunning in sight and sound. But the moment that made the biggest impression on me came during an informal visit just before the Games to one of the new Chinese Internet companies, and in conversation with some of the younger Chinese entrepreneurs.
These people, men and women, were smart, sharp, forthright, unafraid to express their views about China and its future. Above all, there was a confidence, an optimism, a lack of the cynical, and a presence of the spirit of get up and go, that reminded me greatly of the U.S. at its best and any country on its way forward.
These people weren't living in fear, but looking forward in hope. And for all the millions still in poverty in China, for all the sweep of issues -- political, social and economic -- still to be addressed, that was the spirit of China during this festival of sport, and that is the spirit that will define its future.
During my 10 years as British leader, I could see the accelerating pace of China's continued emergence as a major power. I gave speeches about China, I understood it analytically. But I did not feel it emotionally and therefore did not fully understand it politically.
Since leaving office I have visited four times and will shortly return again. People ask what is the legacy of these Olympics for China? It is that they mark a new epoch -- an opening up of China that can never be reversed. It also means that ignorance and fear of China will steadily decline as the reality of modern China becomes more apparent.
Power and influence is shifting to the East. In time will come India, too. Some see all this as a threat. I see it as an enormous opportunity. But we have to exercise a lot of imagination and eliminate any vestiges of historic arrogance.
The volunteer force that staged the Games was interested, friendly and helpful. The whole feel of the city was a world away from the China I remember on my first visit 20 years ago. And the people are proud, really and honestly proud, of their country and its progress.
No sensible Chinese person -- including the country's leadership -- doubts there remain issues of human rights and political and religious freedom to be resolved. But neither do the sensible people -- including the most Western-orientated Chinese -- doubt the huge change, for the better, there has been. China is on a journey. It is moving forward quickly. But it knows perfectly well the journey is not complete. Observers should illuminate the distance to go, by all means, but recognize the distance traveled.
The Chinese leadership is understandably preoccupied with internal development. Beijing and Shanghai no more paint for you the complete picture of China than New York and Washington do of the U.S. Understanding the internal challenge is fundamental to understanding China, its politics and its psyche. We in Europe have roughly 5% of our population employed in agriculture. China has almost 60%. Over the coming years it will seek to move hundreds of millions of its people from a rural to an urban economy. Of course India will seek to do the same, and the scale of this transformation will create huge challenges and opportunities in the economy, the environment and politically.
For China, this economic and social transformation has to come with political stability. It is in all our interests that it does. The policy of One China is not a piece of indulgent nationalism. It is an existential issue if China is to hold together in a peaceful and stable manner as it modernizes. This is why t¡bet is not simply a religious issue for China but a profoundly political one -- t¡bet being roughly a quarter of China's land mass albeit with a small population.
So we should continue to engage in a dialogue over the issues that rightly concern people, but we should conduct it with at least some sensitivity to the way China sees them.
This means that the West needs a strong partnership with China, one that goes deep, not just economically but politically and culturally. The truth is that nothing in the 21st century will work well without China's full engagement. The challenges we face today are global. China is now a major global player. So whether the issue is climate change, Africa, world trade or the myriad of security questions, we need China to be constructive; we need it to be using its power in partnership with us. None of this means we shouldn't continue to raise the issues of human rights, religious freedoms and democratic reforms as European and American leaders have done in recent weeks.
It is possible to hyperbolize about the rise of China. For example, Europe's economies are still major and combined outreach those of China and India combined. But, as the Olympics and its medal tables show, it is not going to stay that way. This is a historic moment of change. Fast forward 10 years and everyone will know it.
For centuries, the power has resided in the West, with various European powers including the British Empire and then, in the 20th century, the U.S. Now we will have to come to terms with a world in which the power is shared with the Far East. I wonder if we quite understand what that means, we whose culture (not just our politics and economies) has dominated for so long. It will be a rather strange, possibly unnerving experience. Personally, I think it will be incredibly enriching. New experiences; new ways of thinking liberate creative energy. But in any event, it will be a fact we have to come to terms with. For the next U.S. president, this will be or should be at the very top of the agenda, and as a result of the strength of the Sino-U.S. relationship under President Bush, there is a sound platform to build upon.
The Olympics is now the biggest sporting event in the world, and because of the popularity of sport it is therefore one of the events that makes a genuine impact on real people. These Games have given people a glimpse of modern China in a way that no amount of political speeches could do.
London 2012 gives Britain a tremendous chance to explore some of these changes and explain to the East what the modern West is about. One thing is for certain: Hosting the Olympics is now a fantastic opportunity for any nation. My thoughts after the Beijing Games are that we shouldn't try to emulate the wonder of the opening ceremony. It was the spectacular to end all spectaculars and probably can never be bettered. We should instead do something different, drawing maybe on the ideals and spirit of the Olympic movement. We should do it our way, like they did it theirs. And we should learn from and respect each other. That is the way of the 21st century.
Mr. Blair, former prime minister of Great Britain, is teaching a course on faith and globalization at the Yale Schools of Management and Divinity.