纽约时报中文网 - 中英对照版-中英中国国防部长李尚福被免职此前已近两月未公开露面

Just four months ago, China’s defense minister, Gen. Li Shangfu, was at a forum for regional officials in Singapore, serving as the face of his country’s bold vision for reshaping Asia’s balance of power. He cast China as a force for stability and accused the United States of stirring trouble in the region, suggesting that its leaders should “mind your own business.”

就在四个月前，中国国防部长李尚福上将还代表着中国重塑亚洲力量平衡的大胆愿景，出席了在新加坡举行的一个地区官员论坛。他将中国描绘成能带来稳定的力量，并批评美国在该地区制造麻烦，建议美国领导人“管好你自己”。

Now, General Li has been dismissed after nearly two months out of public view — the latest example of China’s capricious rules of power under the strongman leader Xi Jinping.

如今，在公众视野中消失近两个月后，李尚福遭到免职，这是强人领袖习近平任内中国强权统治反复无常的最新例证。

China’s announcement on Tuesday ended some uncertainty about General Li’s professional fate but leaves open questions about whether he is being investigated for any offenses. Officials in the United States had earlier said that Chinese authorities had placed him under investigation for corruption.

中国周二的声明终结了关于李尚福官场命运的一些猜测，但仍留下了悬而未决的问题，比如他有没有因犯罪行为遭到调查。美国官员此前曾透露，中国当局已对他展开腐败调查。

General Li is the second Chinese minister to be purged this year without explanation and under a cloud of suspicion; the foreign minister, Qin Gang, was dismissed in July. The general’s removal also followed an abrupt shake-up in the leadership of China’s nuclear force, the highest-level upheaval in China’s military in recent years.

李尚福是中国今年第二位在没有任何解释的重重疑云之下遭到清洗的部长级官员。外交部长秦刚在7月也被免职。在李尚福被免职前，掌管中国核力量的领导层突遭撤换，这是近年来中国军队发生的最高级别的剧变。

General Li’s removal from his post was announced by Chinese state media in brief reports that noted other official appointments and dismissals. The reports said the decision was made on Tuesday at the end of a meeting of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress — a council in the country’s Communist Party-controlled legislature that formally appoints senior government officials.

中国官方媒体在简短的报道中宣布了李尚福的免职，并提及了其他官员的任免情况。报道称，这一决定是在周二中国全国人大常务委员会的会议上作出的。该委员会属于由中共控制的立法机关，负责政府高级官员的正式任命。

General Li was last seen in public in late August, when he spoke at a forum in Beijing attended by officials from African nations.

李尚福最后一次公开露面是在8月下旬，当时他在北京举行的一场有非洲国家官员参与的论坛上发表了讲话。

For much of his career, General Li was involved in China’s space and rocket programs, developing missiles and other advanced weapons — a part of his résumé that has been the subject of scrutiny since the reports emerged about the potential corruption probe.

李尚福在生涯大部分时间里从事中国的太空和火箭计划，负责了导弹和其他先进武器的研发。自从有报道称他可能遭到腐败调查后，他的部分履历就受到了密切关注。

In late July, Mr. Xi abruptly replaced the two top commanders of the Rocket Force, the arm of the Chinese military that oversees its nuclear missiles and much larger array of conventional missiles. The Chinese government gave no explanation for their ousting, but news reports in Hong Kong have linked the upheaval to a probe into corruption or other misconduct in the Rocket Force, which Mr. Xi created in late 2015.

7月底，习近平突然撤换了火箭军的两名最高指挥官，火箭军是负责监管核弹以及更大规模的常规导弹的军种。中国政府没有对这两位指挥官的罢黜做出解释，但香港媒体报道称，此番动荡与对火箭军内部腐败和其他不当行为的调查有关，该军种由习近平在2015年设立。

General Li was under U.S. sanctions for his role in buying Russian fighter planes and missiles, and China rejected calls from the United States for talks between General Li and his American counterpart unless Washington lifted the penalties.

李尚福因在购买俄罗斯战斗机和导弹过程中起到作用遭到美国制裁，中国曾拒绝美国提出的李尚福与美国国防部长进行会谈的请求，除非美国取消制裁。

(This story will be updated.)

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