Givingthe Lai

　　遣返赖昌星

　　JOHNBAIRD, Canadas foreign minister, insists therewasno hidden political hand behind his governmentsdeportation on July 23rd ofLai Changxing to Beijing,where he was promptly arrested on charges relating toa multi-billion dollar smuggling ringwhich acted there with apparent officialconnivance in the 1990s. The Chinese authorities havebeen pressing Canada tohand over Mr Lai since 1999. The decision to do so, says Mr Baird,was takenfreely by an independent judiciary and we wouldnt and couldnt intervene.

　　加拿大外交部长John Baird，坚持认为加拿大政府对赖昌星的遣返背后没有政治操控。作为发生在九十年代的这场显然得到官方默许的数十亿美金走私大案的参与者，赖昌星7月 23号一到北京就立即被捕。中国当局从1999年开始就开始为赖昌星遣返而向加拿大施压。遣返的决定，Baird 先生说，是由法官独立作出的，我们不想也不能干预。

　　On theface of things, that is true. The federal court order of July 21st capped along legal battlebetween Mr Lai and the immigration authorities that began inJune 2000, when Canada decidedhe was not a legitimate refugee and issued adeportation order. His deportation came only afterhe exhausted every avenue ofappeal, of which there were many.

　　从表面上看，事实的确如此。联邦法院7月21号作出的这个决定是赖昌星和移民局漫长司法斗争的结果。早在2000年6月加拿大方面就已经拒绝赖昌星的难民申请并且启动了遣返程序。赖昌星曾经多次上诉，而每次上诉均被驳回，至此遣返才生效。

　　But digdeeper and the hidden hand appears. Both the immigration official who lastreviewed thecase and the judge based their decisions on assurances sought andreceived by the governmentthat Mr Lai would not be tortured, subjected tocruel and unusual punishment or killed if hewere sent back.

　　但是如果继续深究就会发现隐藏的幕后推手。无论最后审核案件的移民局的官员还是法官都是基于政府的保证才做出的决定，即赖昌星被遣返之后不会受到刑讯、非常规的惩罚或者被判死刑。

　　GivingChina the benefit of the doubt on human rights is a relative novelty forStephen HarpersConservative government. Shortly after he won office in 2006,Mr Harper pledged that Canadawould not sell out in talking about humanrights with China. His first foreign minister accusedChina of industrialespionage. When Mr Harper visited China in 2009, his hosts chided himforwaiting almost four years before coming.

　　在人权问题上对中国让步的做法对于Stephen Harper 保守派政府来说还是很新鲜。在2006年上台之后不久， Harper就承诺加拿大对中国的人权问题不会妥协。他的第一任外交大臣曾指责中国的商业间谍。当Harper2009年访问中国的时候，接待方曾责备他等了四年才来。

　　Thatvisit marked the start of a courtship. China is afriend and important ally,Mr Baird said when hevisited the country this month. Though he stressedthathe could not interfere in Mr Lais case, he addedthat the Canadian people andthe Chinese peopledont have a lot of time for white-collar fraudsters.

　　那次访问是加拿大向中国示好的一个开始。Baird上过月访问中国的时候称其为朋友和战略伙伴。尽管他强调自己不会干预赖昌星的案子，但他还补充说加拿大和中国人民都不愿意在白领骗子身上浪费太多的时间。

　　Thischange of tune owes much to Canadas searchfor new export markets tocompensate for the stagnation of its main economic partner, theUnited States.Chinas share of Canadian exports has almost doubled in the past fiveyears. China has become animportant marketfor Canadian fuels and softwood lumber. Investment by Chinesestate companies, once reviled,is now welcomed. This month a Chinese oilcompany bought OPTI Canada, an ailing tar-sandsproducer, for C$2.1 billion.

　　这个态度上的转变很大程度上是由于加拿大在寻找新的出口市场以弥补其主要经济伙伴，美国的不景气。在过去五年里，中国占加拿大出口的份额翻了一番。中国已经成为了加拿大的燃料和软木材的主要市场。而加拿大对中国国企的投资的态度也由指责变为了欢迎。这个月一中国石油公司以21亿加元的价格收购了加拿大一家不景气的含油砂生产厂OPIT Canada。

　　Likeothers, Canada also sees ties with China as a potential source of leverage withthe UnitedStates. There is a real sense in Canada now that the Americans takeus for granted and thatCanada has to strengthen relations with China in orderto get more respect in the US, saysDavid Emerson, a former foreign ministerwho is now a consultant. Delays by the AmericanStateDepartment in granting approval for a cross-border pipeline to carry crudefrom the tarsands to the Gulf Coast have prompted calls for apipeline from Alberta to the west coast, forshipment to China.

　　与其他国家一样，加拿大也把与中国的紧密联系看作是潜在的制约美国的资本。加拿大的普遍看法是，美国并不重视我们，因此加拿大需要强化跟中国的关系以从美国那里获取更多的尊重作为顾问的前外交部长DavidEmerson说道。美国国务院推迟批准了一条将含油砂中提取的原油运送到墨西哥湾的跨国境输油管道，这在客观上增加了对另一输油管道的需要，该管道从Alberta到西海岸，以方便原油向中国的运输。

　　MrBaird says the push for business does not mean Canada has abandoned its concernaboutChinas record on human rights. But when provincial leaders join thefederal government for atrade mission to China next year, the topic isunlikely to feature on the agenda. Judging fromthe rapturous official responsein China to the deportation of Mr Lai, the mission is likely to geta warm welcome.

　　Baird称商业上的压力并不意味着加拿大放弃了对中国人权纪录的担忧。但是如果明年加入联邦政府的地方领导人以与中国之间的贸易为目标，那么相关内容恐怕将不得不被提上议程。从中国官方对赖昌星遣返的欣喜态度上来看，这些目标很可能被热烈欢迎。

　　Givingthe Lai

　　遣返赖昌星

　　JOHNBAIRD, Canadas foreign minister, insists therewasno hidden political hand behind his governmentsdeportation on July 23rd ofLai Changxing to Beijing,where he was promptly arrested on charges relating toa multi-billion dollar smuggling ringwhich acted there with apparent officialconnivance in the 1990s. The Chinese authorities havebeen pressing Canada tohand over Mr Lai since 1999. The decision to do so, says Mr Baird,was takenfreely by an independent judiciary and we wouldnt and couldnt intervene.

　　加拿大外交部长John Baird，坚持认为加拿大政府对赖昌星的遣返背后没有政治操控。作为发生在九十年代的这场显然得到官方默许的数十亿美金走私大案的参与者，赖昌星7月 23号一到北京就立即被捕。中国当局从1999年开始就开始为赖昌星遣返而向加拿大施压。遣返的决定，Baird 先生说，是由法官独立作出的，我们不想也不能干预。

　　On theface of things, that is true. The federal court order of July 21st capped along legal battlebetween Mr Lai and the immigration authorities that began inJune 2000, when Canada decidedhe was not a legitimate refugee and issued adeportation order. His deportation came only afterhe exhausted every avenue ofappeal, of which there were many.

　　从表面上看，事实的确如此。联邦法院7月21号作出的这个决定是赖昌星和移民局漫长司法斗争的结果。早在2000年6月加拿大方面就已经拒绝赖昌星的难民申请并且启动了遣返程序。赖昌星曾经多次上诉，而每次上诉均被驳回，至此遣返才生效。

　　But digdeeper and the hidden hand appears. Both the immigration official who lastreviewed thecase and the judge based their decisions on assurances sought andreceived by the governmentthat Mr Lai would not be tortured, subjected tocruel and unusual punishment or killed if hewere sent back.

　　但是如果继续深究就会发现隐藏的幕后推手。无论最后审核案件的移民局的官员还是法官都是基于政府的保证才做出的决定，即赖昌星被遣返之后不会受到刑讯、非常规的惩罚或者被判死刑。

　　GivingChina the benefit of the doubt on human rights is a relative novelty forStephen HarpersConservative government. Shortly after he won office in 2006,Mr Harper pledged that Canadawould not sell out in talking about humanrights with China. His first foreign minister accusedChina of industrialespionage. When Mr Harper visited China in 2009, his hosts chided himforwaiting almost four years before coming.

　　在人权问题上对中国让步的做法对于Stephen Harper 保守派政府来说还是很新鲜。在2006年上台之后不久， Harper就承诺加拿大对中国的人权问题不会妥协。他的第一任外交大臣曾指责中国的商业间谍。当Harper2009年访问中国的时候，接待方曾责备他等了四年才来。

　　Thatvisit marked the start of a courtship. China is afriend and important ally,Mr Baird said when hevisited the country this month. Though he stressedthathe could not interfere in Mr Lais case, he addedthat the Canadian people andthe Chinese peopledont have a lot of time for white-collar fraudsters.

　　那次访问是加拿大向中国示好的一个开始。Baird上过月访问中国的时候称其为朋友和战略伙伴。尽管他强调自己不会干预赖昌星的案子，但他还补充说加拿大和中国人民都不愿意在白领骗子身上浪费太多的时间。

　　Thischange of tune owes much to Canadas searchfor new export markets tocompensate for the stagnation of its main economic partner, theUnited States.Chinas share of Canadian exports has almost doubled in the past fiveyears. China has become animportant marketfor Canadian fuels and softwood lumber. Investment by Chinesestate companies, once reviled,is now welcomed. This month a Chinese oilcompany bought OPTI Canada, an ailing tar-sandsproducer, for C$2.1 billion.

　　这个态度上的转变很大程度上是由于加拿大在寻找新的出口市场以弥补其主要经济伙伴，美国的不景气。在过去五年里，中国占加拿大出口的份额翻了一番。中国已经成为了加拿大的燃料和软木材的主要市场。而加拿大对中国国企的投资的态度也由指责变为了欢迎。这个月一中国石油公司以21亿加元的价格收购了加拿大一家不景气的含油砂生产厂OPIT Canada。

　　Likeothers, Canada also sees ties with China as a potential source of leverage withthe UnitedStates. There is a real sense in Canada now that the Americans takeus for granted and thatCanada has to strengthen relations with China in orderto get more respect in the US, saysDavid Emerson, a former foreign ministerwho is now a consultant. Delays by the AmericanStateDepartment in granting approval for a cross-border pipeline to carry crudefrom the tarsands to the Gulf Coast have prompted calls for apipeline from Alberta to the west coast, forshipment to China.

　　与其他国家一样，加拿大也把与中国的紧密联系看作是潜在的制约美国的资本。加拿大的普遍看法是，美国并不重视我们，因此加拿大需要强化跟中国的关系以从美国那里获取更多的尊重作为顾问的前外交部长DavidEmerson说道。美国国务院推迟批准了一条将含油砂中提取的原油运送到墨西哥湾的跨国境输油管道，这在客观上增加了对另一输油管道的需要，该管道从Alberta到西海岸，以方便原油向中国的运输。

　　MrBaird says the push for business does not mean Canada has abandoned its concernaboutChinas record on human rights. But when provincial leaders join thefederal government for atrade mission to China next year, the topic isunlikely to feature on the agenda. Judging fromthe rapturous official responsein China to the deportation of Mr Lai, the mission is likely to geta warm welcome.

　　Baird称商业上的压力并不意味着加拿大放弃了对中国人权纪录的担忧。但是如果明年加入联邦政府的地方领导人以与中国之间的贸易为目标，那么相关内容恐怕将不得不被提上议程。从中国官方对赖昌星遣返的欣喜态度上来看，这些目标很可能被热烈欢迎。