May 10th 2007 | TAIPEI From The Economist print edition
Mixed blessings for China 对中国的复杂的祝福
POLITICAL developments in Taiwan rarely bring cheer for China. But the ruling party's surprising choice for its candidate to fight next year's presidential elections will at least provide a little comfort to the government in Beijing. It would be happier still if he were to lose. 台湾的政治发展很少让中国感到愉快。但是执政党关于明年台湾总统大选候选人的出人意料的选择至少给了北京政府一点点安慰。尽管如此如果他输了北京将会更开心。
Frank Hsieh, a former prime minister who wants better relations with China, won the nomination after a decisive victory in a ballot on May 6th among members of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). He got 45% of the vote, compared with 33% for his main rival, the incumbent prime minister, Su Tseng-chang. This was a blow to President Chen Shui-bian, who favoured Mr Su and a tougher stance towards China. 前任的行政院长，愿意与中国大陆拥有更良好关系的谢长廷，在5月6日举行的执政党民进党的党员投票中赢得了一场决定性的胜利。与赢得33%支持的主要对手现任行政院长苏贞昌相比，他赢得了45%的选票。这对于支持对大陆政策更强硬的苏贞昌的陈水扁总统来说是一场打击。
Just as remarkably, given bitter in-fighting within the DPP, Mr Su and the two other candidates withdrew gracefully from the race. According to party rules, they could have fought a further round. Mr Hsieh's nomination will be formally confirmed at the DPP's annual congress on June 30th. 引人注目的是，在党内选举中受挫的苏贞昌和其他两名候选人温文尔雅的退出了这场竞赛。尽管根据党章他们可以进行更深一轮的竞争。对于谢长廷的提名将在6月30日的民进党年度大会上被确认。
Mr Hsieh has a reputation as a scrapper, having survived numerous crises and failures. These include a defeat as a vice-presidential candidate in 1996 and controversy about alleged connections with a cult led by a man claiming to have supernatural powers who has been convicted of fraud. Only five months ago, Mr Hsieh lost a race for the mayorship of Taipei. He hopes his political fortunes will mimic those of President Chen, who won the presidency in 2000 after losing a bid for re-election as mayor of Taipei in 1998. In the presidential election next March, Mr Hsieh's chief opponent will be the man who defeated Mr Chen in 1998, Ma Ying-jeou, the charismatic nominee of the main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT). 经历过无数危机和失败的谢长廷拥有“拳击手”的名声。包括了1996年副总统提名失败以及关于和一名曾经因诈骗而定罪的声称拥有超自然能力的人可能有联系的争议。。仅仅5个月之前，谢长廷还在台北市长选举中失败。他希望自己的政治命运会像在1998年落选台北市长但赢得2000年总统选举的陈水扁一样。在明年三月的总统选举中，谢长廷的主要对手将是曾经在1998年打败陈水扁的马英九，来自反对党国民党的拥有强烈个人魅力的总统提名者。
Mr Hsieh owes his victory partly to the frustration of DPP members with Mr Chen's lacklustre performance. But he faces a tough battle against Mr Ma. A poll released this week by the China Times, a pro-KMT newspaper, put Mr Ma nine points ahead of Mr Hsieh, although he led by 20 points before the primary. 谢长廷将他的胜利部分归功于党员们对于陈总统平庸表现的失望。但是他面临着和马英九的一场激烈争夺。这周由亲国民党的中国时报发表的民意调查显示，马英九领先谢长廷九个百分点，尽管在初选之前领先20个百分点。
Criminal investigations might yet play a role in the contest. Mr Ma is on trial for allegedly embezzling a mayoral special allowance and has vowed to remain in the race even if found guilty. There is speculation that Mr Hsieh, too, might be indicted on corruption charges in a case dating back to his tenure as mayor of the island's second-largest city, Kaohsiung, from 1998 to 2005. Should he be charged, the DPP would probably put pressure on him to withdraw. 罪名调查也许在这场竞赛中将发挥一定作用。马英九涉嫌挪用市长的特别津贴费而且已经确认即使被判有罪也将竞选。谢长廷也可能因在1998-2005年间高雄市长任上涉嫌土地占有而被起诉腐败。如果他被起诉，民进党可能会对他施加压力让他退出。
Like President Chen, Mr Hsieh is a former lawyer who in the past defended dissidents under the authoritarian rule of the KMT. Unlike Mr Chen, who takes an uncompromising stance towards China, Mr Hsieh has called for “coexistence and reconciliation”, though he has also called for constitutional revisions aimed at making Taiwan a “normal country”—a goal that has caused considerable anxiety in both Beijing and Washington, DC. 像陈总统一样，谢长廷曾经作为律师替那些再国民党专制时代的持不同政见者进行辩护。与对大陆持强硬姿态的陈水扁不同的是，谢长廷呼吁“共存与和解”，尽管他也要求修改宪法以求使台湾成为一个“正常国家”。这个目的已经引起了北京和华盛顿的忧虑。
China would prefer a victory for Mr Ma, who has pushed for better ties with China, particularly economic ones. He has not ruled out unification, though he says China must become a democracy first. The coming months are likely to be turbulent ones in Taiwanese politics, something China never likes. 中国大陆大概会比较倾向于马英九取胜。他一直在推动与中国保持更好的关系，尤其是经济上的。他并没有排除统一的可能，尽管他说中国必须先成为一个民主国家。接下来的几个月大概将成为台湾政治剧烈波动的时候，这是中国从来不想看到的。
May 10th 2007 | BEIJING From The Economist print edition
What's worse for artists, communism or capitalism? 共产主义和资本主义，哪个对艺术家更糟？
ONLY a few years ago, to be an avant-garde artist in China was to court trouble with the government. Now racy modern art fetches high prices at international auctions and chic galleries are magnets for tourists in Beijing and Shanghai. Cannily, the government is turning patron. 仅仅几年之前，当一名先锋艺术家意味着会招致政府的麻烦。现在，地道的现代艺术品在国际拍卖会上以高价成交，别致的美术品展览像磁铁一样吸引着北京和上海的旅游者。精明的是，政府正在转变为赞助人。
For the past four years, avant-garde artists in Beijing have staged an annual festival in a cluster of disused 1950s-era factories. This year's festival, which ends on May 12th, shows how government censors are learning to live with art that pokes a bit of fun at the way China works. It also shows how capitalist China is affecting the artists themselves. 在过去的四年中，北京的先锋艺术家们在一串被废弃的50年代工厂中每年举办文化节。今年的文化节，在5月12日结束，表现了政府审查部门正在学着承认那些嘲弄中国工作方式的艺术。它还表现了资本主义的中国怎样正在影响艺术家们自身。
The complex, known as 798 after the official code number given to one of its East German-designed military-equipment factories, has had an uneasy relationship with officialdom since fringe artists began setting up studios and galleries in the late 1990s. The landlord, SevenStar Group, a state-controlled conglomerate, welcomed the rent but had plans to redevelop the area. The artists were supposed to move out by 2005. 这座复杂的，被政府编号为798的曾经的东德设计的军工厂，从边缘艺术家90年代末开始在这里建立工作坊和艺术展之时起与官场的关系不太稳定。它的地产所有者，七星集团，一家国有集团企业，欢迎租金但是有重新开发这块土地的计划。艺术家们本该在2005年之前搬离这里。
By then, however, 798 had become a centre of trendy modernity, complete with bookshops, teahouses and restaurants. Demand for modern Chinese art, fuelled by wealthy collectors in China itself, pushed up prices internationally. The city of Beijing had pledged a new look for the Olympic Games in 2008. Officials saw 798 as an opportunity to show off its cultural vibrancy. SevenStar saw money-making potential. Early last year the city government named 798 as a centre of “cultural creative industry”—a priority, it said 不过，798已经成为了集书店，茶馆，饭店于一身的现代和新潮的中心。对中国现代艺术的需求，受富有的中国收藏者的推动，它在国际市场的价格大大提高。为了08奥运，北京承诺了一个新的形象。官员们把798看作是表现活跃文化的机会。七星集团看到了它赚钱的潜力。去年早些时候，政府把798命名为文化创造型工业的中心，是重点。
Cynics say 798 has become a misleading showcase for liberal expression in a country subject to stifling censorship. But artists also have other things to worry about. SevenStar, which is sponsoring this year's festival, is pushing up rents. Struggling avant-garde artists are having to look elsewhere for cheap digs. 犬儒者们说，798已经成为一个在这遭受沉闷审查制度的国家，误导地宣传自由的地方。但是艺术家们还有其他事情要担心。今年文化节的赞助商七星集团打算提高租金。挣扎中的先锋艺术家们现在不得不寻找其他的便宜的住所。
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