预备役 规定:《美国驻华大使照片为中国人上了一课》转载自《The?New?York?Times》

   新任美国驻华大使骆家辉上周末来到北京赴任，并通过星巴克咖啡将其平民化作风发挥到极致。61岁的骆家辉曾任美国商务部长及两届华盛顿州州长，昨天作为驻华大使在其北京家中首次会见记者，其妻子与三个孩子也伴随左右。他以外交辞令向内地人保证美国的债务状况不足为虑。但内地博客对他的大部分评论却聚焦于他上周五赴京前在西雅图机场星巴克被拍到的一张照片。

   照片显示，骆家辉与女儿在星巴克试图用一张兑换券购买咖啡，但被店员拒收，最终他只能用信用卡付账。一名内地博主目睹这一幕，将照片刊登到微博上。这张照片在微博用户之间掀起一片赞美之声，许多人将骆家辉与惯於挥霍的中国官员相比。

The word on the street these days, whether in Washington or Beijing, is that the United States is on the decline and China is on the ascent. But it has taken nothing more than a cup of coffee and a backpack to show that American officials can still evoke awe, respect and envy among Chinese, even if unwittingly.

美国衰落和中国崛起已成为华盛顿和北京街头巷尾的热门话题。但仅仅一杯咖啡和一个背包，美国官员就能让中国人肃然起敬甚至艳羡不已。

A photograph taken last Friday of Gary F. Locke, the new United States ambassador to China, buying coffee with his 6-year-old daughter and carrying a black backpack at a Starbucks in the Seattle airport has gone viral on the Chinese Internet. The seemingly banal scene has bewildered and disarmed Chinese because they are used to seeing their own officials indulge in privileged lives.

上周拍摄的一张照片风靡中国网络：美国新任驻华大使骆家辉与女儿在西雅图机场的星巴克柜台前买咖啡。这看似平淡无奇的一幕却令中国人感到困惑并心生敬意，因为他们已对沉溺于权贵生活的某些中国官员见怪不怪。

It was an unintended charm offensive, but this humble image of American officialdom has no doubt helped pave the way for Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who landed in China on Wednesday night for three days of meetings with Chinese leaders.

这是无意间形成的魅力攻势，但这种低调形象无疑有助于为美国副总统拜登的访华之旅铺平道路。

Mr. Locke and his family were waiting to fly to Beijing when a Chinese-American businessman shot the photograph and posted it on Sina Weibo, a popular Chinese social networking site. It has been reposted over 40,000 times and has generated thousands of comments.

当时骆家辉在飞往北京前正和家人候机，一名华裔美国商人拍下这张照片并上传到中国的微博，此后该照片被转发4万多次并引发数千条评论。

The businessman who took Mr. Locke's photograph said in a post on his microblog that even Mr. Locke’s exchange with the Starbucks barista reflected humility. Mr. Locke tried using a discount coupon to pay, Mr. Tang said, but the barista would not honor it for some reason. Without complaining, Mr. Locke paid with a credit card.

拍摄照片的这位商人在自己的微博中说道，即使通过骆与服务生的简单交流，也能显示出他谦逊低调的个性。骆当时还试图用优惠券来购买咖啡，但营业员拒绝了。骆并没抱怨，然后用信用卡进行了支付。

The first impression from the Starbucks episode has been bolstered by another photograph that shows Mr. Locke, his wife, Mona, and their three children carrying their own luggage after landing at Beijing Capital International Airport. “To most Chinese people, the scene was so unusual it almost defied belief,” Chen Weihua, an editor at China Daily, an official English-language newspaper, wrote in an article Wednesday.

另一张照片加固了骆在星巴克的形象：抵达北京机场后，骆家辉夫妇及3个孩子各自提着自己的行李。中国媒体评论说，对大多数中国人而言，这一幕非同寻常甚至颠覆了固有观念。

Cheng Li, a scholar at the Brookings Institution who studies Chinese elite politics, said in an e-mail: “Ambassador Locke’s photo contrasts sharply with the image of the Chinese officials who often live in a secret, insulated, very privileged fashion. This may explain why some Chinese leaders tend to be out of touch with the real life of the ordinary Chinese people — members of the urban middle class, not to mention the farmers and migrant workers.”

美国布鲁金斯学会的陈立（音）表示：“骆家辉大使的照片与通常生活隐秘、隔绝并享有特权的中国官员形成鲜明对照。这或许就是某些中国领导人往往脱离普通百姓——城市中产阶级，遑论农民和农民工——生活的原因。”

The photographs of Mr. Locke have landed in a summer when the Chinese are asking profound questions about whether their officials are still committed to that famous Maoist mantra “Serve the people.” Chinese fed up with self-indulgent behavior by officials often post photographs on the Internet of bureaucrats being chauffeured around in black Audis, buying Louis Vuitton handbags for wives or mistresses and playing golf or strolling on beaches.  

骆的照片出现的这个夏天，中国民众正在追问其官员是否仍继续听从“为人民服务”教导的重大问题。中国人已对某些官员的骄奢放纵行为深恶痛绝，常将某些乘坐黑色奥迪、为妻子或情妇购买奢侈手包、打高尔夫的官员照片传到网上。

The uproar over the photograph of Mr. Locke was not the first time the Chinese had been captivated by the sight of a senior American official performing seemingly humble tasks. In November 2009, President Obama, on his first trip to China, inadvertently set off a firestorm of commentary when he stepped out of an airplane in Shanghai holding a black umbrella during a rain shower. Chinese officials often have aides hold umbrellas above their heads.

对骆照片的热捧，并非中国人首次被美国高层官员看似谦卑的行为所吸引。奥巴马首次访华时在上海的阵雨中手持雨伞走出专机的场景，曾引发中国人如潮的好评。中国官员通常是由随从为其打伞。

The commentary on Mr. Locke written by Mr. Chen, the China Daily editor, was published under the headline “Backpack Makes a Good Impression.” Mr. Chen wrote: “How could someone who holds the rank of ambassador to a big country not have someone carry his luggage, and not use a chauffeured limousine? In China even a township chief, which is not really that high up in the hierarchy, will have a chauffeur and a secretary to carry his bag.” He concluded: “Perhaps it is time for Chinese dignitaries to follow the example of humble Locke.”

有中国媒体写道：一位大使到一个大国上任，怎么会没人帮他提行李......在中国，就连一个上不了官品的乡长都有专车司机和秘书拎包。或许该是中国权贵以低调的骆家辉为榜样的时候了。

Mr. Locke’s first significant duty here is to help shepherd Mr. Biden through meetings, formal dinners and staged photo events. But first, Mr. Biden did his part to show he was a man of the people. Instead of going straight to the St. Regis Beijing Hotel from the airport, Mr. Biden and his entourage made an unannounced drive through the cold rain to the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium to watch a basketball match between the Georgetown Hoyas and a team from Shanxi Province.

骆抵京后的首要工作是协助拜登访华。而拜登做的第一件事是表明与民众打成一片。从机场出来他没直奔酒店，而是与随行人员前往奥体中心观看美国乔治敦大学队和山西球队的篮球比赛。