贲圣林：信任测试——英国不应从深陷危难中的欧洲逃离

英国的确在谈判方面有着出色的技巧，从而在欧盟中获得了“特殊的地位”。然而也许正是因为他们纯熟的技巧，半数欧洲人（乃至世界其他地区的人）可能会因此认为英国人太狡猾，从而对英国的国际声誉和其他方面带来不好的影响。对于英国欧盟成员国身份的争论出现的不是时候。此时的欧盟正处于争议之中，其他欧盟成员国最不愿看到的就是英国的仓皇出逃。 我早年做学生的时候，以及后来在西方公司工作的日子里，都曾被教导当危难发生的时候，真正强大的领导力是指引你正视危难，解决并战胜它，而非逃离它。从亚洲人的角度来看，忠诚和信任被认为是坚固友谊和持久合作的重要基础。在西方世界里，同样有这样一句谚语：“A friend in need is a friend indeed（患难之交才是真正的朋友）”。毫无疑问，英国政府一直在做它所认为的短期内最符合国家利益的事情。然而，任何人都不能低估Brexit（英国脱欧）这件事对英国与欧洲其他国家的关系以及其自身的国际声誉所带来的负面影响。 我们大多数人都喜欢周围的朋友是聪明人。然而，我们却不希望他们过于狡猾，一直只关注于自己的利益。我们对从别人的弱点中获取利益的狡猾者报以警惕的态度，也珍惜那些真正可靠而又乐于助人的朋友。 英国与欧盟的博弈理应被关注。当你在百度搜索框里输入“脱欧”，可以得到570万条相关信息，而在谷歌中搜索“Brexit”会得到约2580万条相关信息。相比之下，如果你在百度里搜索“两会”，信息量高达7500万条。 这些数字表明境内境外事务对于中国人来说的相对重要性。中国人理所应当地会更加关注国内的一些重要事件（比如两会的召开），因为毕竟中国仍是一个处于转型期的大国，面临着更多比英国是否脱欧更加重要紧迫的问题亟待解决。 除此之外，我们中国人当然也对欧洲以及英国可能的脱欧行动给予持续的关注。欧洲是中国最重要的贸易伙伴。中欧之间的投资往来，对于双方来说都是贸易总量中的重要部分。一个强大而团结的欧洲对于中国乃至世界来说都是有益的。 很长时间以来，中国人都对英国与欧盟之间的复杂关系倍感困惑。英国是欧州的一部分吗？英国人认为自己是欧洲人吗？欧洲与欧盟之间的差异是什么？ 国家之间关系与个人之间关系的处理方式是不同的，这一点我也十分赞同。然而，一些民主选举出来的国家领导人，过多地关注于自己国家短期的利益，甚至只关注于自己是否当选。他们的权力被选民和其他方面的限制所束缚。尽管如此，考虑到国际影响，英国在欧洲采取的任何行动都要慎之又慎。 英国的领导人固然要考虑国内选民的意见，但也必须与欧洲大陆以及国际社会充分地沟通。他们所传递的关键信息应当是，无论怎样，英国人仍是欧洲人。最重要的是，他们必须要向全世界表明，无论公投前后他们都是值得信赖的合作伙伴。 以下为英文版： Britain has done a wonderful job in negotiating the best terms to stay in the European Union with ‘special status’. But perhaps it has been too skilful. Continental Europeans (and the rest of the world) may perceive the Brits as too clever by half. The debate over British membership comes at a bad time. The ‘House of European Union’ is on fire. The last thing the other residents need is a footloose member of the community heading for the exit. In my early years as a student, and later as an executive working for western companies, I was taught that, when there is a fire, true leadership dictates that you run towards it and try to put it out. You don’t run away from it. From an Asian perspective, loyalty and trust are considered critical for solid and sustainable friendship. In the West, too, there is a saying: ‘A friend in need is a friend indeed.’ Britain has undoubtedly been doing what it considers best for its own short-term national interest. Yet no one should underestimate Brexit’s potential negative impact on Britain’s relationship with Europe and its wider international reputation. Most of us like smart people around us as friends. Yet we don’t want them to be over-clever. We are wary of crafty people who take advantage of others’ vulnerability. We cherish friends who are reliable and helpful. Of course, the debate over Britain and the EU has to be put into perspective. When you type ‘tuo-ou’ (脱欧), the invented Chinese expression for ‘Brexit’, into Baidu, China’s Google, you get 5.7m hits. As a comparison, a similar Google search for ‘Brexit’ in English would lead to 25.8m items. By contrast, typing ‘lianghui’ (两会), the annual National People’s Congress meeting, into Baidu results in more than 75m leads. These numbers indicate the relative importance of Brexit inside and outside China. Naturally enough, the Chinese are much more focused on domestic issues such as lianghui. After all, we are a large country in transition, with a lot more pressing issues to talk and worry about than Britain’s European future. Beyond this, though, we Chinese do care about Europe and the dynamics of a possible British departure. Europe is China’s most important trade partner. China-Europe investment flows, in both directions, account for a significant part of each partner’s total. A strong and united Europe is good for China and the world. From our distant vantage point, the Chinese are perplexed about the intricacy of the UK-European relationship. Is Britain part of Europe? Do the Brits consider themselves Europeans? Nations do not deal with each other exactly the same way as individuals. I do not advocate it, either. Yet some government leaders, elected in democracies, focus too much on their country’s short-term goals or, even worse, their own electability. Despite these caveats, whatever Britain does in Europe has to be done with due international sensitivity. The UK’s leaders have to engage with British voters, but they must also communicate better with continental Europeans and the wider international community. They must make clear that the British are, after all, Europeans. Most of all, they must tell the world that they will remain reliable partners. 【原文链接】贲圣林：信任测试——英国不应从深陷危难中的欧洲逃离