Xi Leverages Former Taiwanese President to Send Signal to U.S.


在拜登于华盛顿接待日本和菲律宾领导人之际，习近平与台湾前领导人马英九在北京举行了历史性会晤，这凸显了习近平对台湾问题的高度关注。


台湾前总统马英九周三在北京会见了中国国家主席习近平。

周三，习近平欢迎台湾前总统马英九访问北京，凸显出这位中国领导人对台湾问题的高度关注。与此同时，华盛顿方面正与两个最有可能卷入台海冲突的亚洲盟友举行峰会。 6park.com
Xi Jinping welcomed former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou to Beijing on Wednesday, underscoring the Chinese leader’s preoccupation with Taiwan as Washington hosts a summit with the two Asian allies most likely to be pulled into a conflict around the island. 6park.com
    
周三，中国中央电视台和台湾媒体都播出了习近平和马英九在北京会面的报道和图片。报道显示习近平和马英九握手并交换了意见，展望两岸关系改善的前景。台湾与中国大陆隔着宽达100英里的台湾海峡。 6park.com
Reports and images of the meeting in Beijing were carried by state broadcaster China Central Television and by Taiwanese media on Wednesday, showing Xi and Ma shaking hands and exchanging remarks touting the prospects for improved relations across the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait that separates Taiwan from mainland China.  6park.com
   
视频报道称，习近平说，“两岸同胞都是中国人”，他“高度评价”马英九为促进两岸关系所做的努力。习近平说：“没有什么问题不能商量，没有什么势力能把我们分开。” 6park.com
“Both sides of the Taiwan Strait are Chinese people,” Xi said, according to the footage, saying that he “highly appraises” Ma’s efforts in promoting cross-strait ties. “There is no problem that cannot be discussed. There is no force that can separate us.”  6park.com
    
2015年，习近平与时任台湾总统马英九在新加坡举行了历史性会晤，那是自1949年中国共产党在中国内战中取得胜利以来两个敌对政权领导人之间的首次会晤，标志着两岸关系达到新高度。 6park.com
Nearly a decade earlier in 2015, a historic meeting between Xi and then-President Ma in Singapore—the first between leaders of the two rival regimes since the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War in 1949—marked a high point in cross-strait relations. 6park.com
   
这一次，马英九已卸任八年，他所在的国民党是在野党，在北京眼中怀有敌意的台北新政府下个月上台前，两人的握手作为习近平的象征性之举受到了更多关注。 6park.com
This time, with Ma out of office for eight years and his party in the political wilderness, the handshake between the two men is being watched more closely as a symbolic maneuver by Xi in the run-up to the inauguration next month of a new administration in Taipei that is deeply inimical to Beijing. 6park.com
   
今年1月，马英九在台湾总统大选前发表讲话，称就两岸关系而言必须相信习近平。这在民主自治的台湾引起了轩然大波，外界认为这是国民党连续第三次在总统大选中失利的原因之一。 6park.com
Remarks that Ma made in the lead-up to Taiwan’s presidential election in January, in which he argued that Taiwan should trust Xi in order to maintain peace, caused an uproar on the democratically self-governed island, and was regarded as having helped his Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang, lose its third presidential election in a row. 6park.com
    
地缘政治分析人士认为，周三的习马会对于改变两岸关系的发展轨迹不会有太大作用，原因是马英九对台湾政治的影响力已经减弱。不过，这些分析人士表示，北京方面可能利用马英九这次访问向民众发出对台政策正在发挥作用的信号。 6park.com
Geopolitical analysts don’t think Wednesday’s meeting between Xi and Ma will do much to alter the trajectory of cross-strait relations, citing Ma’s diminished influence in Taiwanese politics. Still, they said Beijing could use the visit to signal to its people that its Taiwan policy is working. 6park.com
   
“他们想表达的是，‘我们没有失去台湾民心。我们之间仍存在着文化和历史渊源，’”国际危机组织(International Crisis Group)驻台北分析师Amanda Hsiao说。“这是北京在向民众宣告，‘我们仍控制着台湾局势，两岸统一仍有可能实现。’” 6park.com
“What they’re saying is, ‘We have not lost the hearts and minds of the Taiwanese people. There remains cultural and historical connections that bind us,’” said Amanda Hsiao, a Taipei-based analyst at International Crisis Group. “This is Beijing telling its people, ‘We remain in control of the Taiwan situation, and unification is still possible.’” 6park.com
   
在习近平所说的中华民族复兴愿景中，台湾占据着至关重要的位置，而且对于日益加剧的中美紧张关系，台湾也是重中之重。中共政府领导人将台湾视为中国领土的一部分，尽管他们从未统治过台湾，他们已表态将收复台湾，必要时不惜使用武力。 6park.com
Taiwan occupies a crucial place in Xi’s vision for what he calls the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and sits at the heart of increasing tensions between Beijing and Washington. Communist Party leaders in Beijing view Taiwan as part of its own, despite having never ruled there, and have vowed to take control of it, by force if necessary. 6park.com
    
作为更凌厉外交政策的内容之一，北京方面已加大在台湾周边的威胁，这种外交政策不仅在国外引发怨气，同时也挑起了国内民族主义狂热情绪。但最近，由于中国经济仍在极力摆脱新冠疫情的遗留影响，中国领导层对外交冲突的态度有所缓和，集中精力重振经济增长。 6park.com
Beijing has increased its threats around Taiwan, part of a more aggressive foreign policy that has rankled abroad while feeding a nationalist fervor at home. But lately, with China’s economy still struggling to shake its pandemic hangover, its leadership is pulling back from diplomatic conflicts as it concentrates on reviving growth. 6park.com
    
周三，负责处理两岸关系的台湾大陆委员会对习近平对马英九的讲话表示反对，称两岸间的差异不在于语言或文化，而是政治体制与生活方式。声明称，尽管中共施压力度越来越大，但马英九未能向中方公开传达台湾人民对捍卫民主自由体制的坚持，令人“深感遗憾”。 6park.com
On Wednesday, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Office, which handles relations with Beijing, objected to Xi’s remarks to Ma, saying: “The difference across the strait does not lie in language or culture, but in political system and ways of life.” The statement called it “regrettable” that Ma didn’t convey Taiwan’s commitment to democracy despite increasing Chinese pressure. 6park.com
    
习马会次日，美国总统拜登(Biden)在白宫与日本首相岸田文雄(Fumio Kishida)和菲律宾总统小费迪南德·马科斯(Ferdinand Marcos Jr.)举行了三边会晤。这是美国与两个直接毗邻中国的重要战略伙伴首次举行此类会晤。鉴于日本和菲律宾驻扎着大量美军，且在地域上靠近台湾，预计台湾问题将成为此次会晤的重要议题。 6park.com
The Xi-Ma meeting comes just a day before President Biden hosts a trilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.at the White House, a first of its kind involving the U.S. and two key strategic partners in China’s immediate neighborhood. The Taiwan issue is expected to be high on the agenda, given Japan and the Philippines’ heavy U.S. military presence and their proximity to Taiwan. 6park.com
    
习马会也正值美国颁布《台湾关系法》45周年之际。自1979年美国与中国正式建交以来，该法一直规范着美台之间的关系。 6park.com
The Xi-Ma meeting also came on the 45th anniversary of the U.S.’s enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act, which has governed ties between Washington and Taipei since the U.S. formally switched its diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979. 6park.com
    
来自国民党的前台湾国安会秘书长苏起周三在台北对一群听众表示，在地缘政治动荡之际，习近平很可能试图利用与马英九的会面给美国吃下一颗定心丸。 6park.com
Su Chi, a former top national security official in Ma’s Nationalist Party, told an audience in Taipei on Wednesday that Xi was likely seeking to use the Ma meeting to send a reassuring signal to Washington at a time of geopolitical turmoil. 6park.com
    
苏起表示，习近平要向拜登传递信息，拜登被选举、乌克兰和加沙地带问题束缚了手脚。苏起被视为倡导维持两岸长期现状的主要人士之一，这种现状下两岸关系能暂时缓和。 6park.com
“It’s for him to send a message to Biden, whose hands are tied down by an election, by Ukraine and by the Gaza Strip,” said Su, who is seen as one of the chief proponents of the longtime cross-strait status quo in which Beijing and Taipei were able to strike a tentative detente. 6park.com
   
苏起描述了他认为习近平试图向白宫传达的信息：你不必担心台海，至少我没有在这件事上给你添麻烦，我对台湾的态度仍然是和平。 6park.com
“You don’t have to worry about the Taiwan Strait. At least I’m not giving you any trouble on this. My approach to Taiwan is still peaceful,” Su said, paraphrasing the message he believed Xi was trying to send the White House. 6park.com
    
此次访问之前，马英九于去年开创性地访问了大陆，那次访问也使他成为自1949年以来首位访问大陆的台湾前领导人。 6park.com
Ma’s visit to China follows a groundbreaking trip that he made to the mainland last year, when he became the first former Taiwanese leader to visit China since 1949. 6park.com
    
这次，马英九在他的“第一次”清单上再添一笔，这是前台湾领导人唯一一次在中国内地与现任中国领导人会晤。周三与习近平握手是马英九11天行程的高潮，此次行程的站点包括中国南方大都市深圳、国民党创建人孙中山的故乡中山和中国历史名城西安。 6park.com
This time around, Ma added another item to his list of firsts, marking the only time that a former Taiwanese leader has met a current Chinese leader on Chinese soil. Wednesday’s handshake with Xi marked the high point of an 11-day journey that included stops in the southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen; the hometown of party founder Sun Yat-sen in Zhongshan; and the historic Chinese capital of Xi’an. 6park.com
    
据一位知情人士称，马英九在今年1月台湾大选前几天接受德国广播公司“德国之声”(Deutsche Welle)电视采访后，北京方面向他发出了邀请。 6park.com
Beijing extended the invitation to Ma following his television interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle days before January’s presidential election, according to a person familiar with the matter. 6park.com
    
马英九呼吁台湾民众相信习近平，这在台湾引起了对马英九及国民党的强烈反弹。这位知情人士说，北京方面的反应则完全不同。 6park.com
Ma’s call for the Taiwanese public to trust Xi caused a fierce backlash in Taiwan against Ma and his party. However, the reaction was completely different in Beijing, the person said. 6park.com
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据说习近平和他的高级副手们看过马英九的访谈片段后深受感动，于是邀请马英九访问北京。 6park.com
After the clip of Ma’s interview was shown to Xi and his top lieutenants, the officials were said to have been deeply moved by the former Taiwanese president’s remarks, leading to the invitation for Ma to visit Beijing. 6park.com
   
尽管马英九在台湾政坛被视为边缘人物，他提出的拉近与中国关系的呼声越发无人理睬，但他仍被许多人看作北京推动和平统一目标的最佳选择。 6park.com
Although Ma is seen as a marginal figure in Taiwanese politics as his calls for closer ties with China increasingly fall on deaf ears, he is still seen by many as Beijing’s best bet for promoting its goal of peaceful unification. 6park.com
   
在台湾淡江大学(Tamkang University)教授国际关系的张五岳说，马英九已经与中国大陆建立了一定程度的互信，北京仍把他视为所谓的领袖人物，可以通过习马会这类对话来表达北京的对台政策。 6park.com
“Ma Ying-jeou has established a certain degree of mutual trust with mainland China,” said Chang Wu-ueh, who teaches international relations at Taiwan’s Tamkang University. “Beijing still regards him as a so-called leading figure who can, through such a dialogue between Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou, express Beijing’s policy toward Taiwan.” 6park.com
   
“中国政府正试图向国际社会表明，他们对与台湾对话以及和平统一都持开放态度。”国际危机组织的Hsiao还表示。“所有这些都是在试图让中国显得更加通情达理。” 6park.com
“Beijing is trying to show for an international audience that they are open to dialogue with Taiwan—open to peaceful unification,” added Hsiao of International Crisis Group. “All of which is an attempt to try to make China appear more reasonable.” 6park.com
   
马英九此行中的其他细节也充满了政治象征意义。在北京期间，他参观了中国人民抗日战争纪念馆——在拜登接待日本首相之际，这是一个意味深长的姿态。 6park.com
Other details of Ma’s itinerary were redolent with political symbolism. While in Beijing, he paid tribute at a memorial to China’s fight against Japanese aggression in World War II—a pointed gesture as Biden hosts the Japanese prime minister. 6park.com
    
Hsiao还提到，马英九来访的时间恰逢清明节。这是海峡两岸的一个传统节日，两岸家庭都会在这一天缅怀先人。 6park.com
Hsiao also noted the timing of Ma’s visit, coinciding with the Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional holiday celebrated on both sides of the Taiwan Strait in which families honor their forebears. 6park.com
   
她说，这相当于直接影射两岸拥有共同祖先。 6park.com
“There’s a sort of direct reference there to shared ancestry,” she said. 6park.com
   
尽管如此，台湾最近的民意调查显示，只有约2.4%的极少数民众认为自己是纯粹的中国人，而不是台湾人或其他身份。 6park.com
Still, recent polling in Taiwan shows that only a vanishingly small percentage of the public—roughly 2.4%—regard themselves as purely Chinese, as opposed to Taiwanese or other variations. 6park.com
   
在中国外交工作繁忙的一周里，马英九并不是北京唯一的客人。中国政府官员还接待了美国财政部长耶伦(Janet Yellen)和俄罗斯外交部长拉夫罗夫(Sergei Lavrov)；前者本周二离开北京，后者与习近平进行了会晤。 6park.com
Ma wasn’t the only guest in Beijing during a busy week for Chinese diplomatic efforts. Officials in the Chinese capital also rolled out red carpets for U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who departed on Tuesday, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who scored a meeting with Xi. 6park.com
   
与此同时，台湾执政党民进党的当选总统赖清德周三在台北也受到了媒体关注。赖清德介绍他即将上任的内阁成员，包括行政院院长和副院长。国防部长和外交部长等一些其他重要职位人选预计将在未来几周内宣布。 6park.com
Meanwhile in Taipei on Wednesday, Taiwanese President-elect Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party also sought to grab a piece of the spotlight, introducing members of his incoming cabinet, including his premier and deputy premier. Other key positions, including Lai’s defense and foreign ministers, are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.