達沃斯論壇爲何迴避爭議 Muting the Global Dialogue in Davos

The invitation was sent. And then, two weeks later, revoked.

邀請已經發出，但兩週後，邀請被撤銷了。

The World Economic Forum, which on Wednesday begins its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, brings together political and business leaders to discuss the world’s most pressing problems. In years past, Vladimir V. Putin has attended. So has Bill Gates. This year, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will attend.

世界經濟論壇(World Economic Forum)將於週三在瑞士達沃斯召開年會，政界和商界領袖匯聚一堂，討論全球最緊迫的問題。過去數年裏，弗拉基米爾·V·普京(Vladimir V. Putin)出席了會議。比爾·蓋茨(Bill Gates)也出席了。今年，副總統小約瑟夫·R·拜登(Joseph R. Biden Jr.)將出席會議。

And so it wasn’t a complete surprise to see that the foreign minister of North Korea, Ri Su-Yong, had accepted an invitation to attend the summit meeting in the Swiss Alps.

因此，朝鮮外相李洙墉(Ri Su-yong)接到前往瑞士阿爾卑斯山參加今年峯會的邀請，也不是特別出人意料。

But in early January, after North Korea’s fourth nuclear test, which was broadly condemned, the World Economic Forum revoked Mr. Ri’s invitation. North Korea said the forum had “unilaterally canceled the participation” of its delegation “based on unjust political motivation, which clearly runs counter to the nature and position of WEF as an international forum for discussion of economic issues.”

但在1月初，朝鮮進行了第四次核試驗，遭到了廣泛譴責，然後世界經濟論壇就撤銷了這份邀請。朝鮮表示，論壇“單方面取消”其代表團的參會資格是出於“不公正的政治動機，這顯然違背了世界經濟論壇作爲一個討論經濟問題的國際論壇的性質和定位”。

The World Economic Forum, through one of its board members, Philipp , explained its decision. “We decided after the nuclear test that at the moment there would be no opportunity for an international, global dialogue in the spirit of the World Economic Forum,” he said.

世界經濟論壇委派董事會成員菲利普·羅斯勒(Philipp )對該決定作出瞭解釋。“在這次核試驗之後，我們認爲，目前沒有本着世界經濟論壇的精神，開展國際化、全球化對話的機會，”他說。

But why? If the World Economic Forum isn’t an opportunity to have an “international, global dialogue” about North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, especially with its foreign minister in attendance, then what’s the point? After all, the forum’s stated purpose is to “improve the state of the world.”

但爲什麼呢？如果世界經濟論壇不是一個就朝鮮的核野心，開展“國際化、全球化對話”的機會，特別是在該國外相出席的情況下，那它還有什麼意義呢？畢竟，這個論壇的既定宗旨就是“改善世界狀況”。

Even though Davos has sometimes been criticized as a boondoggle for the business elite, it has often been the stage for meaningful debate and compromise among Policy makers. In 1994, for instance, the Palestinian leader, Yasir Arafat, and the Israeli foreign minister, Shimon Peres, entered the stage holding hands. Six years before, in 1988, Greece and Turkey signed a no-war agreement called the “Davos Declaration.” Its so-called multistakeholder approach — which was adopted in the recent climate change negotiations in Paris — can yield notable results.

儘管達沃斯有時被詬病爲商業精英的清談之所，但它也常常提供舞臺，讓政治決策者進行有意義的辯論和妥協。例如在1994年，巴勒斯坦領導人亞西爾·阿拉法特(Yasir Arafat)和以色列外長希蒙·佩雷斯(Shimon Peres)在這個舞臺上握了手。在那六年之前的1988年，希臘和土耳其簽署了稱作《達沃斯宣言》(Davos Declaration)的不交戰協議。該論壇讓多方利益相關者參與的方式，有時會帶來可觀的成效——最近在巴黎舉行的氣候變化談判就採用了這種模式。

At the same time, however, it seems like much of the conversations in Davos are a form of sanitized debate.

然而與此同時，達沃斯的很多對話都是一種“消過毒”的辯論。

“To attract all these famous politicians, billionaires and celebrities,” Bill Emmott, former editor of The Economist, once wrote, “they have made the event safe.”

“爲了吸引各種著名的政治人物、富豪和名人，”《經濟學人》(The Economist)前主編比爾·艾默特(Bill Emmott)曾經寫道，“他們把這個會議開得很安全。”

“I don’t mean safe from terrorism, though I hope that is true,” he continued. “I mean safe from surprises and controversy. Things are arranged to avoid argument, confrontation, provocation.”

“我說的安全不是指不會受到恐怖襲擊，雖然我也希望能保障那種安全，”他接着說。“我指的是沒有意外，不發生爭議的安全。他們做了安排，來防止爭論、對抗和挑釁的發生。”

Two years ago, the Ukrainian prime minister, Mykola Azarov, who had flown to Davos and was scheduled to speak on a Friday afternoon, was disinvited from the conference after several protesters were shot in Kiev. He stayed in his hotel room, and criticized the snub in an interview with The Financial Times.

兩年前，烏克蘭總理米克拉·阿扎羅夫(Mykola Azarov)已經飛抵達沃斯，原本定於在一個週五的下午發表講話，但幾名抗議者在基輔遭到槍擊後，主辦方撤回了對他的邀請。他待在酒店房間裏接受英國《金融時報》(The Financial Times)採訪時，批評了這種怠慢的態度。

“The forum had a unique opportunity to listen to the head of government of Ukraine, to get a wider point of view — it’s hard to tell who lost more in this affair,” Mr. Azarov said in the interview.

阿扎羅夫接受採訪時說，“該論壇本來有一個獨一無二的機會，來傾聽烏克蘭政府首腦的意見，瞭解更廣泛的觀點。很難說在這件事上誰的損失更大。”

For several years at Davos, the topic of WikiLeaks dominated the conversation among policy experts and business leaders. Was Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, ever asked to address the forum? No. Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked millions of documents about electronic surveillance by the United States government, has taken part in several events by video from Russia, where he is exiled. But he has never been invited, either.

多年來，維基解密(WikiLeaks)一直是政策專家及商業領袖在達沃斯論壇上討論的主要話題。維基解密的創始人朱利安·阿桑奇(Julian Assange)曾受邀到該論壇發言嗎？沒有。美國國家安全局(National Security Agency)前承包商僱員愛德華·J·斯諾登(Edward J. Snowden)在泄露了數百萬份有關美國電子監控計劃的文件後流亡俄羅斯。他在俄羅斯通過視頻參加了幾次活動。但他也從未受到邀請。

Of course, the forum has to be vigilant in creating its guest list and programming, as it does not want to become a weeklong stage for world leaders to blast each other or promote dangerous ideas.

當然，該論壇在邀請嘉賓、安排日程時需要保持警惕，因爲它不想讓這一週的時間成爲世界領導人互相抨擊或宣揚危險思想的舞臺。

But some critics have long said that the conference is too carefully curated.

但一些批評人士早就表示，該論壇的組織工作過於謹慎。

“The World Economic Forum is an intensely orchestrated event with nothing left to chance,” Frank Vogl wrote in the Global Policy Forum in 2001. “Every topic for discussion is carefully considered and researched, every participant is thoroughly prescreened and every moment of every day is micromanaged. The Forum is programmed to tick like the best Swiss watch.”

“世界經濟論壇是一場縝密安排的活動，一切都不能有差池，”弗蘭克·福格爾(Frank Vogl)於2001年在《全球政策論壇》(Global Policy Forum)上寫道。“每個討論話題都經過了仔細考慮和研究，每個參與者都經過預先篩選，每一天的每一個時刻都受到了細緻入微的管理。該論壇就像最好的瑞士表一樣精準運轉。”

Certain subjects have been avoided. Until last year, for example, discussions that focused on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people were not on the agenda, in part, because certain delegations from the Middle East and Eastern Europe objected to the topic.

某些話題會被避開。比如，直到去年，有關男女同性戀、雙性戀或跨性別人羣的權利的討論，都沒有進入過議事日程。部分是因爲一些來自中東及東歐的代表團反對討論這種話題。

As for North Korea, the situation was perhaps untenable. The country’s participation at Davos would have made it difficult for someone like Mr. Biden and Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain to attend without being criticized.

至於朝鮮，情況或許會變得很棘手。如果朝鮮參加論壇，拜登、英國首相戴維·卡梅倫(David Cameron)等嘉賓很難不遭到批評。

Choe Myong-nam, deputy ambassador at North Korea’s diplomatic mission in Geneva, said, “the decision by WEF is based on political motivation because the organizer has suddenly decided to cancel, taking sides with the belligerent United States and its allies that are pursuing hostile policies against” the country. “We are 100 percent sure there is pressure and even blackmail.”

朝鮮駐日內瓦外交使團副大使崔明南(Choe Myong-nam)表示，“世界經濟論壇是基於政治動機做出這一決定的，因爲組織者突然決定取消邀請，選擇支持好戰的美國和那些對朝鮮奉行敵對政策的盟友。”他說，“我們百分之百確定，有人在施壓，甚至是要挾。”

North Korea, of course, is just one challenge in a world that has become increasingly complex and dangerous. In today’s environment, with escalating terrorist attacks and heightened economic and political instability, it is perhaps unfair to look to Davos as some sort of panacea for the world’s problems. A conference of disparate voices works only if all parties attend. But in an increasingly divisive world, it may be harder to get them all in the same room.

當然，朝鮮只是這個愈發複雜和危險的世界面對的挑戰之一。在當今的環境中，恐怖襲擊不斷升級，經濟及政治動盪不斷加劇，把達沃斯的世界經濟論壇看作解決世界問題的靈丹妙藥或許是不公平的。要想舉行一場存在不同聲音的會議，首先要各方都參與才行。但在這個分歧加劇的世界，把他們請進同一間屋子，或許更難了。