Who lost China? This cry went up in the US after Mao Zedong’s victory in China’s civil war in 1949. It was a strange question. When did the US own China? Strange or not, this cry helped Republicans win power in 1952. It promoted the rise of Joseph McCarthy, whose politics had similarities to those of Donald Trump — above all, in the charge that traitors infest the US government. In the senator’s case, the target was the state department; for Mr Trump, it is the FBI. The question today is: who lost America? And is it lost for good?
誰丟掉了中國？ 1949年毛澤東贏得中國內戰後，美國國內發出了這樣的吶喊。這是一個奇怪的問題。美國什麼時候擁有過中國？不管奇怪與否，反正這一吶喊幫助共和黨人在1952年贏得了權力。它推動了約瑟夫•麥卡錫(Joseph McCarthy)的崛起，此人的政治觀點與唐納•川普(Donald Trump)的有相似之處——最主要的表現就是，兩人都認爲美國政府裏淨是叛徒。麥卡錫當年的靶子是美國國務院；而川普瞄準的則是美國聯邦調查局(FBI)。今天的問題是：誰丟掉了美國？是永久地丟掉了嗎？