5月5日，駐美國大使崔天凱在《華盛頓郵報》網站發表題為《指責游戲該結束了》的署名文章（6日刊登于該報紙質版）。

以下為雙語全文：

Since January, China has fought a tough battle against the novel coronavirus and made remarkable progress. In this unprecedented fight, China spared no expense to save lives.
今年一月以來，中國為抗擊新冠肺炎疫情打了一場硬仗，進展有目共睹。在史無前例的抗疫斗爭中，為了治病救人，付出代價我們在所不惜。

However, an unnecessary burden has been distracting our focus and undercutting international efforts to curb the virus: the absurd mind-set of “always blame China.”
遺憾的是，重負之下我們還承受了一些無端的負擔，那就是為了應付“逢中必反”荒謬思維而被轉移的精力。這種思維還嚴重離間國際社會團結、損害抗疫努力。

Simply put, for some people, China has to be wrong, regardless of the facts.
簡言之，“逢中必反”派認為中國必須是錯的，這無關事實。

When China took the decisive step to lock down Wuhan, critics dismissed the move as a medieval practice that violated human rights, something typical of an “authoritarian” China. When China provided updates about the outbreak, they labeled objective facts as disinformation and propaganda. The nature of China’s political system dominates the content of their attacks, and the Communist Party is the ultimate target of their barrage.
他們抨擊中國斷然封城封省是中世紀的做法，“專制”中國又在侵犯人權。他們把中方始終公開、透明、負責任地向國內外通報疫情，說成是在傳播虛假信息和宣傳活動。他們還動輒撻伐中國的政治體制，總想把火引向中國共產黨。

As China’s situation improved, the number of confirmed cases and fatalities skyrocketed elsewhere. Promptly, a few American politicians switched to their default setting of blaming others, ignoring that China has done its best in responding to a new virus. They persistently accuse China of delays and coverups, and some even demand a reckoning with China.
當中國抗疫努力取得積極成效、中國境外確診病例數和死亡數卻無情上升時，他們隨即改口，無視中方為應對這一種全新的病毒所做的積極努力，指責中國沒有及時提出預警，隱瞞實際感染數量，一些人還叫囂著要向中國追責、索賠。

China was blamed for providing second-rate supplies with quality-control problems. When measures were taken to ensure the products’ quality, China was criticized for hoarding supplies and holding up exports. Conspiracy theories abound — and all point to China’s “geopolitical strategies.”
他們還指責中國出口有質量問題的防護物資。看到中方為確保物資質量和出口有序進行出臺了相關措施，就轉口批評中國囤積醫療物資并阻滯出口。陰謀論是其中必不可少的調料，因為中方一定是要利用這些來攫取地緣政治利益。

The World Health Organization has spoken highly of China’s epidemic response, which led the conspiracy theorists to charge that China has either bought the WHO or exerted political pressure on the agency. Naturally, the WHO has been lambasted for taking sides and being incompetent.
因為世界衛生組織自始至終高度贊賞中國抗疫舉措和成效，他們就誣蔑中國對其出資了或者施壓了，斷定世衛組織連帶犯有偏袒和管控不力之錯。

Is China really to blame? Here are some facts:
但是中國有沒有錯，只需讓事實說話。

First, China has taken strict measures and made huge sacrifices to keep the virus in check, which not only saved lives at home but also bought precious time for the world.
首先，有目共睹，正是得益于中國政府采取的最嚴格的防控舉措、中國人民作出的巨大犧牲，中國抗疫工作才取得了今天的階段性成果，保護了中國人民的生命安全，也為阻止疫情在世界蔓延爭取了寶貴時間。

Second, China has done its best to share information about the virus. On Dec. 27, a doctor in Hubei province reported three suspicious cases. In the following four days, local and central governments conducted investigations on the ground. On Jan. 3 — within a week — China began briefing the WHO, the United States and other countries about the outbreak. On Jan. 12, China released the whole genome sequence of the coronavirus, which has proved critical for diagnosis and treatment of the disease globally.
其次，面對這種全新病毒的侵襲，中方已盡力做到公開、透明、負責任通報。2019年12月27日，湖北省一位醫生第一時間上報了3個可疑病例，此后的4天時間里，湖北方面和中央層面先后開展了現場調查。2020年1月3日，僅僅一周之隔，中方開始正式向世衛組織以及包括美國在內的世界各國及時主動通報信息。1月12日，中國又及時向世界公布了新型冠狀病毒全基因組序列，為有關國家確診、治療提供了重要前提。

Third, we shared information with the United States at the earliest possible time and have been supporting its fight against the disease. The two countries’ centers for disease control and prevention and government agencies have been in close communication since Jan. 4, the day after China briefed the WHO. In their phone calls, President Xi Jinping gave detailed accounts of China’s measures to President Trump.
再次，我們早就跟美方分享了信息，也一直在支持美方抗疫努力。1月4日以來，兩國疾控中心及主管部門一直就疫情保持著溝通。更值得一提的是，習近平主席在過去兩個月與特朗普總統的兩度通話中，親自詳細介紹了中方為打好疫情防控阻擊戰采取的舉措。

By April 29, China had provided, according to our customs figures, more than 4 billion masks to the United States, or roughly 14 for every American on average.
截至4月29日，我們向美方提供了44.46億只口罩，按人均分配，每個美國人差不多可以擁有14只來自中國的口罩。

There is no denying that the first known case of covid-19 was reported in Wuhan. But this means only that Wuhan was the first victim of the virus. To ask a victim for compensation is simply ridiculous.
誠然，從目前掌握的情況看，已知的第一個新冠肺炎病例發生在武漢，這只能說明武漢是病毒最早的受害者。要求受害者賠償荒唐至極。

If that made sense, then who was to compensate for the fatalities of the H1N1 flu and HIV/AIDS? Who was to pay for the huge losses caused by the 2008 financial crisis?
按照這個邏輯，誰來為H1N1流感作出賠償？誰來為艾滋病作出賠償？誰來為2008年全球金融危機造成的巨大損失作出賠償？

Behind the mind-set of “always blame China” is a kind of dirty politics, championed by a few people who shift the spotlight for political gain. In their manipulation, China has to be wrong.
“逢中必反”的背后是骯臟的政治，反映了一小撮人通過轉移民眾注意力來追逐自身狹隘政治利益的企圖。在他們的操作中，中國必須是錯的。

It is this blame-shifting that needs transparency.
最需要曝光、最需要透明的恰恰是“逢中必反”背后的政治圖謀。

Blaming China will not end this pandemic. On the contrary, the mind-set risks decoupling China and the United States and hurting our efforts to fight the disease, our coordination to reignite the global economy, our ability to conquer other challenges and our prospects of a better future. The United States would not emerge as a winner from this scenario.
怪罪中國不能結束這場疫情。相反，“逢中必反”將把中美推向脫鉤，貽誤合作抗疫的努力，以及后續恢復經濟增長、應對其他全球性挑戰的合作，也將黯淡我們締造美好未來的前景。這么做，美國從中得不到任何好處。

It is time to end the blame game. It is time to focus on the disease and rebuild trust between our two countries. As President Abraham Lincoln called for “the better angels” in his inauguration speech, I hope that the wisdom of preceding generations will guide us to choose the right side of history and work for our shared future together.
是時候結束指責游戲了。中美之間亟待修復互信，把力用到合作抗疫上來。林肯總統曾經在他的就職演說中呼喚“善良的天使”。希望先賢的良知能引導更多的人站到歷史正確的一邊，站到休戚與共、同舟共濟的人類命運共同體理念一邊。

中文來源：央視新聞（略有改動）

編輯：Helen