For many people in the Australian island state of Tasmania, the bond formed between Chinese President Xi Jinping and locals, especially students, in 2014 and even before has been an example of a wonderful meeting of hearts and minds.

對于澳大利亞塔斯馬尼亞州的許多人來說，中國國家主席習近平在2014年甚至更早以前和當地人——尤其是學生們——建立的感情紐帶堪稱“心相通”的典范。

 

Andy Muller, the principal of a primary school that Xi visited in 2014, said that it was an incredible moment in the students' lives.

習近平在2014年訪問過的一所學校的校長安迪·穆勒表示，那是學生們人生中的一個永生難忘的時刻。

 

Xi's trip to Tasmania was one of the highlights of his state visit to Australia between Nov 17 and 19 that year, after he attended a Group of 20 summit there.

2014年11月15日—19日，習近平主席應邀出席二十國集團(G20)領導人布里斯班峰會并對澳大利亞進行國事訪問。訪澳期間，習近平赴塔斯馬尼亞州進行了參觀訪問。

 

Until then, Tasmania had sister-state ties with Fujian province, where Xi was once governor. In 2001, Xi awarded honorary Fujian citizenship posthumously to Jim Bacon, who had served as Tasmania's premier from 1998 to 2004 and who had been a regular visitor to Fujian since his early university days.

2001年，習近平擔任福建省省長期間，曾接待過時任塔斯馬尼亞州州長的吉姆·培根訪問。兩人一道簽署了福建省和塔斯馬尼亞州建立友好省州關系20周年聯合聲明，習近平還授予培根福建省榮譽公民稱號。培根于1998年至2004年間擔任塔斯馬尼亞州長，他從剛上大學起就多次來訪福建。

 

Before 2014, Tasmania had made several agreements with China on initiatives ranging from wind farms to agriculture.

到2014年，塔斯馬尼亞已與中國簽訂了從風電農場到農業等多個領域的系列協議。

 

On the day that Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, arrived in Hobart, the Tasmanian capital, a local newspaper carried an effusive front-page editorial, which ran under the headline "Welcome, Mr President" and ended: "We look forward to continuing a long and prosperous friendship. Enjoy."

習近平主席和夫人彭麗媛到達塔斯馬尼亞首府霍巴特的那天，當地一家報紙在頭版刊登了一篇熱情洋溢的社論，標題是“歡迎您，主席先生”，結尾寫道：“我們期待友誼地久天長。希望您能享受在這里的時光。”

 

However, the most memorable part of the visit to Tasmania was a meeting with the students of Scotch Oakburn College in the city of Launceston, who had traveled to Hobart for the occasion.

習近平在訪問塔斯馬尼亞州期間，看望了來自朗塞斯頓市斯科奇—歐克伯恩學校的學生們。這些孩子們為了此次會面專程來到霍巴特市。

 

In May that year, a Chinese class at the school, whose students range in age from 3 to 12, had sent a letter, written in Chinese, to Xi and his wife via the Chinese embassy in Canberra, telling them about Tasmania's attractions.

2014年5月，該校16名小學生曾給習近平和彭麗媛寫信，用稚嫩的漢字表達了邀請他們訪問塔斯馬尼亞州的愿望。

 

Xi and his wife greeted these students warmly, with Xi telling them: "We should sow the seeds of the China-Australia friendship and make them take root, germinate and flourish."And he encouraged young Australians to continue to write to him.

會見當天，習近平和彭麗媛微笑著同孩子們打招呼。“我們要播撒中澳友誼的種子，讓它們生根發芽、枝繁葉茂。”習近平鼓勵這些澳洲孩子繼續給他寫信。

 

"As part of a standard Chinese-language lesson in early 2014, a Year 5 class was tasked with writing, in Chinese, about their favorite places in Tasmania," said Muller, the principal.

斯科奇—歐克伯恩學校校長穆勒說：“2014年初，當時五年級的學生在上中文寫作課，老師要求孩子們每人寫封信，寫上自己最喜歡的塔斯馬尼亞的3個景點。”

 

"The students wanted the letters to go somewhere, and so the teacher suggested they address them to President Xi and send them to the Chinese embassy in Canberra, assuming that would be the end of the matter.

“學生們想把信寄出去，于是老師建議他們可以寫給習主席，信寫完后就寄給了中國大使館。老師以為這個事情就這樣結束了。”

 

"The Chinese ambassador to Australia passed them on to the president's office and a response came, inviting them to meet him in November in Hobart, at Government House," Muller said. "It was an event they will never forget."

穆勒說：“沒想到習近平和夫人不僅讀了孩子們的信，而且還回了信。這件事讓孩子們終生難忘。”

 

Today, it is compulsory for all students at the school, of which Muller is still principal, to learn about the Chinese language and culture.

如今，穆勒仍然是這所學校的校長，中文和中國文化是該校所有學生的必修課。

 

"Meeting President Xi provided excitement among the students and another tangible link to the language and why it's important to learn about other cultures and languages," Muller said. "It resulted in many of the students taking a greater interest in the world beyond Australia, and especially China, and a broader outlook on life in general."

穆勒說：“習主席的會見讓學生們很激動，語言和現實世界的連接也讓學生們明白學習其他文化和語言的重要。這次會見大大拓展了學生們的國際視野。許多學生都對澳大利亞以外的世界尤其是中國產生了更大的興趣，整體的人生觀也更開闊了。”

 

When Xi was in Australia, apart from visiting Hobart, Sydney and Brisbane－where the G20 summit was held－he also visited the capital, Canberra, where he addressed a joint sitting of both houses of the Australian Parliament.

習近平主席2014年訪澳期間，除了到訪霍巴特、悉尼和布里斯班外，還訪問了澳大利亞首都堪培拉，并在澳大利亞聯邦議會發表了演講。

 

Xi concluded his speech by saying, "Let us join hands and work shoulder to shoulder to create a brighter future for the China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership and to enhance peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific."

習近平主席在此次演講結尾呼吁：“讓我們手拉手、肩并肩，共同開創中澳全面戰略伙伴關系更加美好的未來，共同譜寫亞太地區和平、穩定、繁榮的新篇章！”

 

His speech was warmly received across the political spectrum in Australia, with then prime minister Tony Abbott pledging that "Australia is willing to join hands with China to jointly create a bright future of peaceful prosperity".

習近平的演講在澳大利亞政界受到了熱烈歡迎，時任澳大利總理托尼·阿博特承諾“澳大利亞愿意和中國攜手共建和平繁榮的光明未來”。

 

Among those who observed the proceedings that day was Colin Mackerras, emeritus professor at Griffith University and one of Australia's leading Sinologists, whose contribution to the bilateral friendship Xi cited in his speech.

格里菲斯大學名譽教授、澳大利亞著名漢學家馬克林也親眼見證了這一演講，習近平主席在他的演講中還贊揚了馬克林對兩國友誼做出的貢獻。

 

"It was a great honor and pleasure for me to be present during President Xi Jinping's speech," Mackerras said. "He did me the honor of mentioning me by name, calling me a bridge of friendship between the Chinese and Australian peoples. This has always been an aspiration of mine, and I was delighted that he believed I had realized it. Later I had the great pleasure of meeting him, though only briefly. He was, and remains, a great inspiration to me."

馬克林說：“我非常榮幸能夠在現場聆聽習近平主席的演講。習主席提到了我的名字，把我稱作中澳人民友誼的橋梁，這對我來說是莫大的榮譽。成為兩國友誼的橋梁一直是我的愿望所在，我很高興習主席認可了這一點。后來我還有幸和習主席會面，盡管很短暫。他過去和現在都一直給我帶來極大的鼓舞。”

 

In Sydney, Xi chatted with more locals. Jiang Changgeng, a Chinese-Australian photographer, felt honored to be asked to photograph Xi at an event on Nov 19, the last stop of Xi's stay in Australia that year.

在悉尼，習近平和更多當地人進行了交談。澳大利亞華裔攝影師姜長庚曾受邀為習近平在2014年澳大利亞之行的最后一站拍照，他感到非常榮幸。

 

To secure a good location for taking photographs, he arrived at the site three hours before the event, carrying three cameras.

為了找到好的拍攝位置，他提前三個小時到達了拍照地點，還帶了三臺攝像機。

 

"I (felt) so excited to be able to witness the visit by President Xi, and words cannot describe my feelings," he said. "It was a sacred job that I could not fail."

他說：“能夠親眼見證習主席來訪，我感到非常激動，這種心情是語言無法表達的。這是一份神圣的工作，我必須認真對待。”

 

He felt he was able to contribute to China-Australia relations by capturing and documenting many of the memorable moments of the official exchanges between the two countries, he said.

他說，他覺得自己能夠通過捕捉和記錄兩國官方交流的諸多難忘瞬間來為兩國邦交盡一份力。

 

Mackerras, the Sinologist, said, "I think China is indeed adhering to the path of common development, but I don't think other major countries are making things easier."

馬克林表示：“我認為中國確實一直堅持走共同發展道路，但我不認為其他大國也在往同一個方向努力。”

 

A lot has happened in the China-Australia relationship since then. For one thing, the international environment has changed greatly since Xi's visit in 2014, Mackerras said.

馬克林說，自那以后，中澳關系變了很多。其中一個原因可能是，國際環境在2014年之后發生了很大改變。

 

"The United States and many other Western countries have moved to regard China as a kind of enemy, their purose being to maintain their own supremacy in the world.

“美國和其它一些西方國家轉而將中國視為敵人，他們的目的無非是維持自己在世界上的霸權。”

 

"Australia has been quite deliberate about this, framing China as an enemy and a threat. It is neither of those things, and I regard it as a disgrace that virtually nobody in the political sphere challenges this narrative."

“澳大利亞一些政客處心積慮地將中國構陷為敵人和威脅，其實中國既不是敵人也不是威脅。我認為（澳）政界幾乎無人挑戰這一說法很可恥。”

 

Mackerras said that while Xi has consistently talked about the shared future of humanity, trying to frame countries as equals and trying to get people to cooperate, some current officials "have resisted that at all times, preferring to compete, not to cooperate".

馬克林說，盡管習近平主席始終倡導構建人類命運共同體，堅持各國平等相待、團結合作，但是現在澳大利亞一些政府官員“始終都在抗拒，更愿意競爭而不是合作”。

 

He added that what especially saddens him is the fact that some Australian politicians no longer regard China as a friend.

他補充道，讓他尤其感到悲傷的是一些澳大利亞政界人士不再將中國視為朋友的事實。

 

Referring to the possibility of things changing under the new Labor government, Mackerras said, "I'm not sure, but there's at least a chance of improvement."

在談及澳新工黨政府可能帶來的改變時，馬克林說：“我不確定，但至少有改善的機會。”

 

He said he believes that China still hopes to have Australia as an important partner, and that Xiao Qian, who has been China's ambassador to Australia since January, "is doing a very good job".

他說，他認為中國仍然希望能和澳大利亞成為重要的合作伙伴，中國駐澳大利亞大使肖千自今年1月上任以來“一直做得非常好”。

 

"I look back on 2014 as a golden year, and things are much worse now," Mackerras said. "Labor will be better in its style and, I hope, in the content of its policy toward China.

馬克林說：“我認為2014年是一個黃金之年，而現在情況已經大不如前。工黨的行事風格會好一些，我希望工黨政府對中國的政策能有所改善。”

 

"So I'm not holding my breath for a reset, but there's a good chance... and I'm optimistic."

“我并不指望一切能重新開始，但是仍有很多機會……我對此持樂觀態度。”

 

英文來源：中國日報

記者： KARL WILSON / XU WEIWEI

翻譯：丹妮