The Guardian - China-One shared dream of China and America Letter
November 19, 2023 2 min 322 words
这篇报道以亚太经济合作组织峰会为契机，探讨了中美关系的历史和两国的共同梦想。从旧金山成为美国第一个唐人街开始，到中国移民参与西部征服、淘金热和横贯大陆铁路的建设，这一历史见证了美中两国曾共同建构的美国梦。然而，1882年的《排华法案》使得美中对话受阻，近一个世纪的隔阂。 文章引用中国思想家康有为的话指出：“不存在黄祸，不存在白祸。” 1907年，他呼吁文明国家共同合作，超越不同，共同推动全球事业。尽管存在差异和错误，美中两国仍然有着共同的历史观，认为彼此贡献于人类进步，并应继续为未来合作。经济合作创造了前所未有的财富，促进了亚太地区的和平。期望中美政府为人类福祉找到共同点，继续合作。 这篇报道通过历史的镜头，呼吁美中两国超越分歧，找到共同的理念和目标，为全球事业做出贡献。然而，对于两国关系的未来，仍需警惕历史的教训，以共同发展为导向，避免再次陷入隔阂和误解。
It is symbolic that the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit took place in San Francisco, a place of significance in the history of US-China relations and both nations’ narratives (‘Planet Earth is big enough for two’: Biden and Xi meet for first time in a year, 15 November). From 1848, San Francisco became the first Chinatown, the de facto capital of the Chinese in America. This was the time of the conquest of the west, when, just annexed from Mexico, California became a symbol of the American dream, helped by the gold rush and the transcontinental railroad, constructed with Chinese labour. That dream was once shared and built by white settlers and Chinese migrants together, until the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 would hinder dialogue between America and China for almost a century.
Many Americans worried California would become a Chinese colony, the so-called “yellow peril”, while the Chinese were struggling at home with foreign imperialism. In 1907, Kang Youwei, a famous Chinese philosopher and reformer, exiled in America, wrote: “There is no yellow peril. There is no white peril … The great question that is presented to civilised nations today is not whether their unimportant differences will lead them to clash, but rather whether their inherent similarities and oneness will inspire them to unite in the great global work that needs to be done.”
Despite their differences and mistakes, the American and Chinese nations share a sense of history, an idea that they have contributed to human advancement and should continue doing so in the future. Economic cooperation has created unprecedented wealth and promoted peace in the Apec region. It is hoped the US and Chinese governments will continue to find common ground, this time for humanity’s sake.
Hugo Wong
Author, America’s Lost Chinese