Forging a new three-way alliance with Britain and Australia to the anger of the French, US President Joe Biden has again made brutally clear that his top international priority, overriding all else, will be facing China.
Under the alliance christened with the acronym AUKUS, Australia will be the only country other than the UK to have access to US technology to build nuclear-powered submarines — which could deploy in contested waters where Beijing is assertively exerting its claims.
The announcement infuriated China, but also France, which lost a contract to build conventional submarines for Australia that was worth A$50 billion (US$36.5 billion) at the time of signing.
Photo: AP 照片：美聯社
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian denounced the “stab in the back” by the US, and Paris has recalled its ambassadors to the US and Canberra.
AUKUS was unveiled weeks after Biden withdrew remaining US troops from Afghanistan, prompting unusually strong statements from European allies who decried the swift return to power of the Taliban.
Biden had long pushed to end the 20-year war and has repeatedly said that Afghanistan was a costly sideshow to China, which his adminstration has described as the primary US rival in the 21st century.
“The world is changing. We’re engaged in a serious competition with China,” Biden said in a speech after the last US troops left.
Relations between Beijing and Washington look set to continue on their current tricky path, while the Western alliance has also been shaken.
(AFP)
美國總統喬‧拜登不惜激怒法國，與英國及澳洲建立新的三方聯盟，再次殘酷地表明，他的國際事務首要目標，是面對中國。
該聯盟名為AUKUS，為澳、英、美三國的首字母縮寫。根據其協議，澳洲將成為除英國之外唯一能獲得美國技術以建造核動力潛艇的國家——這些核子潛艇可部署在北京強勢主張所有權之爭議水域。
此消息公布，激怒了中國，卻也激怒了法國；法國丟了為澳洲製造傳統動力潛艇的合約，該合約簽署時之價格為五百億澳元（三百六十五億美元）。
法國外交部長尚-伊夫‧勒德里安譴責美國的「背後捅刀」，巴黎已召回其駐美國及坎培拉大使。
拜登完成美軍撤出阿富汗後數週，AUKUS聯盟計畫公布，引起歐洲盟國發出異常強烈的聲明，譴責美國的撤軍讓塔利班迅速重掌政權。
拜登長期以來一直努力想結束這場長達二十年的戰爭，並一再表示與中國問題相較，阿富汗戰爭是一個代價高昂的枝節問題；拜登政府稱中國為美國在二十一世紀的頭號競爭對手。
「世界正在改變。我們正與中國進行一場嚴峻的競爭」，拜登在最後一批美軍離開阿富汗時所發表的講話中說道。
北京與華盛頓之間的關係看來將繼續沿著目前棘手的道路前進，而西方聯盟也受到了動搖。
(台北時報林俐凱編譯)
As the priest Antonius Hambroek stood in the dim chamber of Fort Zeelandia, his eldest daughter clung to him, her voice trembling. “Father, don’t go. They’ll kill you, and what will become of Mother and my sisters?” Outside, the sounds of Koxinga’s relentless canon siege boomed through the fortress. The defenders were on the brink of collapse. Starvation gnawed at their resolve, and the air carried the acrid stench of spent gunpowder and rotting flesh. Dutch reinforcements from Batavia had failed to arrive, leaving the garrison isolated and hopeless. Hambroek’s face was calm, though sorrow weighed heavily on his
As we bundle up in thick coats to stay warm during the winter, there is a population that has already adapted to extremely low temperatures. These people live in the remote city of Yakutsk, the coldest city on Earth. Yakutsk is situated in the heart of Siberia, which is the capital of the Sakha Republic in Russia. This historic mining city began to flourish in the 19th century following the discovery of gold deposits. Given its construction on permafrost, the average temperature in the city remains below 0°C for over half the year, with winter temperatures dropping to an astonishing -50°C.
A: Happy Year of the Snake! Did you do anything special during the Lunar New Year holiday? B: I went to K-pop girl group Apink’s concert. How about you? A: I just stayed at home. But I’m going to girl group 2NE1’s show on Saturday. B: Wow, I really love their megahit “I Am the Best,” better known by its Korean title “Naega jeil jal naga.” A: I’m so glad that 2NE1 reunited last year, eight years after they disbanded in 2016. A: 蛇年快樂！你春節有做什麼特別活動嗎？ B: 我去了南韓女團Apink的演唱會，你呢？ A: 我都宅在家裡，不過這週六要去韓流天團2NE1的演唱會。 B: 我愛該團神曲《我最紅》，韓文歌名《Naega jeil jal naga》超洗腦。 A: 她們2016年解散8年後，去年終於合體真令人開心。 （By Eddy Chang, Taipei
The Dutch introduced the Indian mango (Mangifera indica) to Taiwan in the 17th century. It is a green-skinned mango with thick fibers that get stuck in the teeth, but it boasts a rich aroma and a unique taste. In 1954, Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture introduced several mango cultivars from Florida, USA, including the Irwin, Haden, and Keitt varieties. After seven years of testing and domestication, the Irwin variety was chosen for promotion. Years later, the sample saplings started to bear fruit. These mangoes were large, with thin, vibrant red peels and golden pulp. The Irwin mangoes were mouth-wateringly sweet and
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