主题：强烈推荐：布莱尔华尔街日报撰文谈京奥后的中国和世界 -- 平天下

英国前首相布莱尔《华尔街日报》撰文谈京奥后的中国和世界

布莱尔一直是我比较尊敬的政治人物。这篇文章写的比较中肯，能够激发读者的思考。

本人在此翻译摘要，与大家分享：

－ 布莱尔在《华尔街日报》发表题为《帮助中国拥抱未来》的文章

－ 布莱尔: 北京奥运会开幕式登峰造极，可能永远无法被超越。

－ 布莱尔: 北京奥运会留给中国的遗产是：标志着一个新纪元，展现了一个开放不可逆转的中国。随着现代化中国的形象日益鲜明，（西方）人们对中国的无知和恐惧也将逐渐消失。

－ 布莱尔：中国人民和青年对中国及其取得的进步成就展现出真正的、真诚的骄傲和自豪。（而不是西方某些媒体一直宣称的生活在 internal oppression 内部压迫、external aggression 对外侵略 的tyranny 暴政政权的阴影中。哈哈。）

－ 布莱尔：东方的崛起对我们（西方）不应是威胁，而是巨大的机会。

－ 布莱尔承认：政治稳定对于中国经济和政治改革的必要性。

－ 布莱尔承认：一个中国政策的正当性，以及对维护世界和平和稳定的积极作用。（西方）对于西藏问题应当有敏感性。 （终于承认了！）

－ 布莱尔：在21世纪，如果没有中国的充分参与，我们难以做好任何事情。我们今天面临的挑战是全球性的，而中国现在是环球的主要力量。因此，不论是气候变化、非洲事务、全球贸易，还是无数的安全问题，我们都需要中国发挥建设性作用。

－ 布莱尔：数个世纪以来，世界的权力中心都在西方，首先是大英帝国，然后是20世纪的美国。我们要能够容忍和接受与崛起的远东分享世界权力这一新的事实。

－ 2012年伦敦奥运会提供了一个向东方展示现代西方的窗口。

－ 布莱尔：（西方和东方）应该相互学习、相互尊重。这是21世纪的行事之道。

原文：

We Can Help China Embrace the Future

By TONY BLAIR

August 26, 2008; Page A21

Wall Street Journal

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 Tibet is not simply a religious issue for China but a profoundly political one -- Tibet 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.