〔駐日特派員張茂森／東京一日報導〕日本「產經新聞」一日報導，上海世博的台灣館與香港館、澳門館「事實上是遭同等待遇」，對一般訪問者來說，「台灣館就是中國的附帶設備」，報導同時也強調，中國利用世博「加速對台灣的統一工作」。
該報導引用四月三十日上海「東方早報」的報導指出，胡錦濤二十九日在與連戰、吳伯雄、宋楚瑜等人會談時，大力強調「中華民族的復興」，對共有民族意識是統一工作的基礎充滿自信，胡錦濤又說，「台灣參加世博是兩岸關係改善的重要成果」。
報導指出，台灣館在浦東會場Ａ區緊接中國館，雖然中間隔了一條街，但「事實上，與圍住中國館的香港館、澳門館一樣受到同等待遇」。
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Where an oil spill happens matters more than how big it is
MORE than a week after an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, 11 of the rig's workers are still unaccounted for. The US Coast Guard reckons that 5,000 barrels of oil are leaking out every day, though this is really an informed guess. The great depth of the leaks from the rig makes staunching them a huge technical challenge. Despite the development of some fancy new techniques to deal with oil spills there is a sense of inevitability about the oil's arrival on shore.
The spill is embarrassing for those Republicans who have campaigned for more off-shore drilling. It is embarrassing too for Barack Obama, who accepted more drilling off the coast to ease the passage of legislation on climate change. On April 30th the White House announced that new off-shore drilling would be suspended until the cause of the accident could be verified. ...
低估漏油…英國石油 環保形象重創
〔編譯俞智敏／綜合一日外電報導〕英國石油公司向來自詡為環境的朋友，是「超越石油」的能源公司。但這項價值數百億美元的環保形象，已因英國石油無法控制墨西哥灣油井漏油危機而受到重創。
隨著海面浮油面積不斷擴大，並繼續往路易斯安那州與密西西比州海岸前進，英國石油正面臨自一九八九年艾克森石油公司瓦爾狄茲號油輪漏油事故以來，石油公司在美國最嚴峻的公關挑戰。
英 國石油多年來刻意打造環保形象，可從其選用綠、黃兩色的四射陽光圖案為商標看出，該公司還耗費鉅資在發展太陽能、風力發電計畫及生質燃料研究。英國石油過 去曾平安度過不少重大事故，如二○○五年德州煉油廠爆炸造成十五人死亡，二○○六年又發生阿拉斯加州的油管外洩，但此次墨西哥灣鑽油平台爆炸所引發的海底 油井漏油危機與隨之而來的環保災難，卻正演變為對該公司信譽的嚴重考驗。
自意外發生以來，英國石油的市值已縮水約兩百五十億美元，而該公司表示願負責油污清除工作，每天恐得花上六百萬美元，最後的清理費用更可能高達三十億美元，這還不包括罰款與訴訟賠償費用。
行銷專家與環保人士都認為，英國石油到目前為止的反應，遠比艾克森石油當年處理瓦爾狄茲號油輪漏油事故好得多，英國石油不但用網址首頁報告危機處理進展，更定期召開記者會與外界溝通。
但英國石油也犯下不少錯誤，尤其是事故發生初期遠遠低估了漏油的嚴重程度，英國石油當時估計每天外洩的原油量只有一千桶，美國政府後來卻把估計值調高為五倍。
此外，這場危機還可能成為英國石油未來在墨西哥灣這個全球重要產油區的營運障礙，並讓石油業界以全新角度看待環保威脅。石油業分析家赫頓表示，就算英國石油不必為這起事故直接負責，但英國石油的整體信譽，以及在能源業界繼續經營的能力都會受到衝擊。
美國政府已宣布將暫時停止在外海鑽探原油，這不但將使英國石油獲利大受影響，未來英國石油想獲美國政府同意在外海鑽探原油的計畫恐會受阻，並且面臨更嚴格的管制，整體能源產業也都會受波及。
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時代百大人物 陳樹菊明赴美領獎
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| 在外交部全力協助下，台灣之光台東善心女菜販陳樹菊將在明天飛往美國，接受時代雜誌「全球百大最具影響力人物」獎項。（資料照，記者黃明堂攝） |
〔記 者黃明堂、范正祥／綜合報導〕在外交部全力協助下，台灣之光台東善心女菜販陳樹菊將在明天飛往美國，接受時代雜誌「全球百大最具影響力人物」獎項。在總統 府指示促成下，外交部昨天確認「時代」將於五月四日晚間在紐約林肯中心舉辦頒獎典禮，並協助陳樹菊赴美的護照、簽證、機票等相關事宜，陳樹菊昨天同意這項 安排。
總統府指示協助 陳樹菊同意安排
外交部發言人陳銘政昨晚表示，馬英九總統很關心此事，認為這是國人愛心受到國際肯定，甚至願用國務機要費幫陳樹菊出機票前往美國；外交部透過駐美代表處了解頒獎相關資訊後，部長楊進添已指示全力協助陳樹菊前往美國領獎，外交部也與台東縣長黃健庭聯繫，了解需要趕辦的事項。
陳樹菊捐出辛苦賣菜錢行善，獲美國時代雜誌評選為二○一○年全球百大最具影響力人物英雄類第八名，昨天本報獨家報導台東縣長黃健庭願促成陳樹菊赴美領獎，陳樹菊的態度是「並不排斥」；但她無護照、無美簽、至今也未接到「時代」邀請。
至今還沒出過國 陳心情忐忑不安
此報導引起總統府重視，陳昨天接到總統府來電願意促成她去美國領獎，外交部全力協助護照及美簽問題，台東縣長黃健庭昨天也親赴菜攤遊說陳樹菊接受政府的安排，讓台灣之光被全世界都看到。
陳 樹菊說，她一輩子都沒出過國，連國內旅行也沒有，突然間竟要到美國，她很緊張，還要考慮。不過，外交部告訴她已無猶豫空間，只要她點頭，今天就要她上台 北，由外交部專案趕辦護照，明天美國在台協會一上班就遞上美簽申請書，以外交途徑立刻取得美簽，下午即搭機飛往美國，這樣就趕得上頒獎時間。
外交部支付旅費 並派員全程陪同
陳樹菊忐忑不安的說，她很怕出這趟遠門會迷路，但外交部告訴她，只要她願意去，所有旅費由外交部支付，並且會安排外交人員全程陪同。陳樹菊昨天已經同意外交部的安排，手續齊備後，將在明天飛往美國領獎。
Indonesians Seek Words to Attract China’s Favor
High school students in Lamongan, Indonesia follow their teacher, Achmad Tontowi, as they learn Mandarin Chinese, which must be taught at all schools in the region.
By EDWARD WONG
Published: May 1, 2010
LAMONGAN, Indonesia — When the regent of this coastal rice-growing region on the island of Java first toured China as part of an official delegation, his eyes went wide. Here was the future, he thought: skyscrapers and humming factories and grand highways.
The New York Times
Officials in Lamongan want to expand economic ties with China.
Ed Wray for The New York Times
The influence of Chinese Indonesians in nearby Surabaya can be seen in stores and temples, below, and Indonesian officials hope such ties will help attract more Chinese investment.
Now, the regent, Masfuk, has begun trying to move his Indonesian region toward that future: he has mandated that all the schools in Lamongan, population 1.5 million, teach Mandarin Chinese to prepare the youth for doing business with China.
In classrooms here, girls in white head scarves and boys in button-down shirts are haltingly reciting from Chinese textbooks and scrawling characters on blackboards. The local government has held Mandarin speech contests the past two years.
“It’s like watching kung-fu movies,” Mr. Masfuk said of the wonder of hearing students speaking Mandarin during the contests. Like many Indonesians, he uses just one name.
The policy goes against decades of anti-Chinese hostility in Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population. But things are changing, and the Chinese government is now sending hundreds of teachers to Indonesia, including one who has taught in Lamongan.
As China’s economic power grows, the study of Mandarin is surging around the world. Its rise in Indonesia may be one of the most telling examples of how China’s influence is overflowing even the steepest of barriers.
Leaders here accused China of supporting a failed Communist coup in 1965, and President Suharto banned the teaching of Chinese and all expressions of Chinese culture during his authoritarian rule, from 1967 to 1998. One Javanese man who now teaches Chinese in Lamongan had to study the language secretly in a church group in 1997.
Mr. Suharto’s policies contributed to tensions between various Indonesian ethnic groups and Chinese Indonesians, who make up less than 4 percent of the population but are a powerful presence in the economy. In 1998, populist rioting over economic grievances led to the killings of about 1,000 Chinese.
The riots resulted in Mr. Suharto’s resignation, and the ban on Chinese culture was lifted. The teaching of the language has gained momentum in recent years. One example: the State University of Surabaya, in Indonesia’s second largest city, will start offering Mandarin this year.
Many Indonesian students of Mandarin are ethnic Chinese eager to reconnect with their culture. But there are also students of other ethnicities, like those in Lamongan, who want to capitalize on growing economic ties between Indonesia and China. The two countries did $28.4 billion of trade in 2009, and a free trade zone that took effect this year between China and Southeast Asian countries has already led to a huge trade surge, according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
“I think Chinese is important for me to learn because I’ve heard of the free trade between China and Indonesia,” said a student in Lamongan, Andresya Bargiyyatul, 16. “So I think there must be Chinese businesspeople coming to Indonesia, and I want to communicate with them.”
That attitude is exactly what China has been seeking to cultivate by aggressively supporting the expansion of Mandarin programs here and in many other countries. President Hu Jintao has publicly called for China to exercise greater global influence through the spread of culture and diplomacy, or “soft power.” The Ministry of Education is one instrument in that campaign — last year, it sent 4,800 teachers to about 110 countries.
Last December, the Chinese Ministry of Education opened a Confucius Institute to teach Chinese in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital. The ministry operates 554 Confucius programs — what it calls institutes and classrooms — in 90 countries and regions. The United States has the most, with 68.
The ministry sent about 380 teachers to Indonesia between 2004 and 2009, most on three-year contracts. But perhaps because of the recent anti-Chinese history, China prefers to play down any soft-power influence. In Jakarta, the Confucius Institute has done little to advertise itself, and it refused to grant this reporter an interview.
Among Indonesian officials, attitudes toward China’s growth are complicated. Indonesia has had a trade deficit with China in recent years, and some officials fear China’s colossal economic might. Then there are optimists like Mr. Masfuk.
“I’m looking at trade and investment between Lamongan and China, which has fantastic prospects for the future,” said Mr. Masfuk, grinning broadly in his office.
Mr. Masfuk began mandating the teaching of Chinese in 2007, two years after his trip to China. The policy has become much more entrenched this school year, which began in July. Education officials here say about half of the hundreds of elementary, junior high and senior high schools in Lamongan now offer at least an extracurricular Chinese class. Many of the 148 junior and senior high schools, both public and private, have mandatory classes. The main limitation on the policy is a lack of qualified teachers and Chinese textbooks, school officials say.
The policy has won Mr. Masfuk some national fame — he was interviewed by a popular Indonesian news network and has spoken to the minister of education.
“It’s a brave policy,” said Mu’ad, a local education department official. “No other regency has this policy. It’s a first for Indonesia.”
“We hope 5 to 10 years from now, there will be working-age students who will be able to speak Chinese,” he added. “If Chinese businesspeople or investors come to Lamongan, we hope our students will be able to explain Lamongan to them.”
Lamongan’s economy grew 5.8 percent last year. Lamongan is one of the top sources of rice, fish, corn, tobacco and soybeans in East Java. Some of those products could be exported to China, officials here say, and Lamongan could build factories for Chinese companies.
“Ever since we put in place this policy, there are more investors from China coming here to talk to me,” Mr. Masfuk said. He declined to give more details.
At Negeri 2, a senior high school with more than 1,000 students, Chinese became mandatory for all three grades starting this school year. On a recent morning, 30 students dressed in uniforms repeated after a teacher as he recited a phrase in Mandarin: “Every day, Monday through Friday, I attend school.”
The teacher, Achmad Tontowi, has a good command of grammar and written Chinese but struggles with pronunciation. He moved here three years ago, when Mr. Masfuk first put out a call for Chinese teachers. Mr. Tontowi began studying Chinese in 1997 after learning Japanese in college. The teaching of Chinese was still banned then, and Mr. Tontowi took part in secret classes at a church in Surabaya whose congregation was mostly ethnic Chinese.
“There were about 30 to 40 students,” he said. “Only four were ethnic Javanese; the rest were second- or third-generation Chinese.”
One sign of how far the Indonesian government has come is its willingness to post mainland Chinese teachers across Indonesia. Officials in Lamongan asked the central government in Jakarta to send native speakers, and in November 2008 Wang Kairui arrived from China. He stayed for eight months before moving on to Aceh Province, and he has a continuing three-year contract with the Chinese Ministry of Education to teach in Indonesia.
“I think this is a really great decree,” Mr. Wang, 29, said of Mr. Masfuk’s policy in a telephone interview. “But they definitely have some difficulties ahead of them. They just don’t have enough teachers. They don’t have enough textbooks. These are all problems. It really depends on how serious they are.”
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