中国去哪儿了？国际宇航联大会的灵魂发问亮了！

当地时间21日，第70届国际宇航大会在美国华盛顿召开。然而，就是这样的国际大会，却缺少了中国的身影，而这背后的原因就更“深”了！

“在这个会议上，我想念一个重要的航天局。中国（航天局）去哪儿了？”在第70届国际宇航大会开幕当天的第一场全会活动上，1000多名现场听众通过手机投票将这一提问置顶了。

"I miss an important space agency in this panel. Where is China?" Attendees at a plenary of the ongoing weeklong International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Washington brought the question atop the panel voting system and demanded an answer.

出现这个场面的原因是，大会的官方议程上预定在华盛顿会议中心发表演讲的中国国家航天局副局长吴艳华没有出现。按照计划，吴艳华会和其他五个国家宇航机构的官员发言。

The crowd-sourced question popped up after the audience found that Wu Yanhua, vice administrator of China National Space Administration (CNSA) scheduled to speak at the IAC kickoff event on Monday with officials from five other national space agencies, was conspicuously absent.

现场记者一开始还在推特上写道，来自德国、美国、俄罗斯、加拿大、印度、法国、日本和中国的宇航部门领导登场。



而他的下一条推文就表示，吴艳华没有出场，尽管吴应该是要出场的。



即将担任国际宇航联合会主席的帕斯卡莱埃伦弗罗因德将其归因于“时间冲突”，但并未进一步解释。而会场的一些人士说，中国代表团赴美签证受阻了。

Pascale Ehrenfreund, the incoming president of International Astronautical Federation (IAF), which is IAC's organizer, attributed Wu's no-show to "time conflict," but some attendees at the meeting hinted at "visa problem."

另一名记者发推表示：“欧洲航天局局长扬韦尔纳告诉我，由于获取美国签证遇到困难，吴艳华没能出席。”



来自中国的出席者因签证问题受阻

而中国科学界人士难以获得美国签证的问题已经持续了一段时间。在20日举办的记者会上，国际宇航大会组委会共同主席文森特博尔斯说，他18个月前就同美国国务院沟通，确保参会者及时拿到签证。目前看来，结果并不理想。

The difficulty for Chinese scientists in obtaining a U.S. visa has been an issue of concern for a while. At a press conference last Sunday, the IAC organizing committee co-chair Vincent Boles said they started working with the U.S. State Department 18 months ago to ensure timely grant of visas for attendees. But such efforts seemed to be of little avail.

据新华网报道，展厅里来自北京的天文相机制造商QHYCCD是为数不多的中国参展企业之一。这家公司负责销售业务的毕婷婷接受采访时表示，据她所知，她本人因为不是技术人员才勉强获签，公司其他同事均未能成行。

QHYCCD, an astronomical camera maker, is among a small number of Chinese companies that made it to this year's IAC exhibit hall. Bi Tingting, the startup's sales manager, told Xinhua all technicians with her company had failed to get a U.S. visa.


2019年10月21日，第70届国际宇航大会在美国华盛顿开幕。新华社发（沈霆摄）

中国历来是主张在航天领域进行国际合作的国际宇航大会的重要参与方。2018年在德国不来梅举办的第69届大会上，中国代表团“阵容强大”：中国航天科技集团公司、中国航天科工集团公司等企业展示了中国航天的最新成就。而今年在华盛顿举办的这届大会上，并未看到这些企业的身影。

China has always been an active participant in the conference which championed international collaboration in space exploration. At IAC 2018 in Bremen, Germany, China Aerospace Science & Technology Corporation and China Aerospace Science & Industry Corp, two rocket-making giants, made quite an impact when they showcased their latest technologies, but they didn't appear at the ongoing Washington conference either.

彭斯：要与“志同道合的热爱自由的”国家合作

在21日上午的国际宇航大会开幕式上，美国副总统彭斯宣称，要推动美国为主导的国际航天合作，而美国只与“志同道合的热爱自由的”国家合作。

At the opening ceremony, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence claimed that his country would only "work closely with like-minded, freedom-loving nations, as we lead mankind into the final frontier."

彭斯这番试图将科技领域合作政治化的讲话遭到部分与会人员抵制。实际上，一些航天界人士17日就曾发起一封致大会的公开信，认为彭斯出席开幕式与国际宇航大会主张国际合作的宗旨相悖，约200人参与署名。

Pence's apparent attempt to politicize science collaboration is not welcome even in the United States. About 200 people from the country's astronautical community signed a letter condemning the inclusion of Pence at the opening ceremony. They considered his attendance at odds with the IAC's mission of global collaboration.


2019年10月21日，第70届国际宇航大会在美国华盛顿开幕。新华社发（沈霆摄）

在活动当天，同样投票的热门问题还包括：“为什么不让中国参加美国‘登月门户’建设，如同我们几十年来与俄罗斯合作那样？”以及“如果国际合作的基础是‘热爱自由’，那么谁来决定‘热爱自由’的程度是否充足呢？”

"Why not work with China on the 'international' Gateway (a U.S. moon-orbiting lab to be built) like we have with Russia for decades?" "If international collaboration is dependent on being 'freedom-loving,' who should decide on what level of 'freedom-loving' is sufficient?" Those two questions from the audience were also spotlighted in the voting system on Monday.

我外交部：美方把签证问题“武器化”

10月23日，外交部发言人华春莹主持例行记者会，证实了中国代表团赴美签证受阻并介绍更多情况。



华春莹：“我从媒体上看到了有关消息。之后马上向中国国家航天局进行了解和核实。的确，中方代表团集体缺席今年的国际宇航联大会，原因就是美方没有及时发放签证。”

"I saw the news in media reports. After timely checking with the China National Space Administration (CNSA), we have confirmed that the reason for the Chinese delegation's absence from the IAC is that the US side did not issue them visas in time. "

“大家都知道，国际宇航联大会是由国际宇航联合会以及国际宇航科学院、国际空间法学会联合举办的航天领域大会，每年至少有几千名各国政府官员、企业家和科技人员参会，被称为宇航界的“奥运会”。中国一直是航天多边合作的支持者，也是国际宇航联大会的重要参与方，每年都派代表团参加宇航联大会。”

"As is well known, the IAC is a major event in the space sector held by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), the International Academy of Astronautics and the International Institute of Space Law. Known as the Olympics in the space sector, the IAC is attended annually by thousands of government officials, entrepreneurs and scientists all over the world. As a supporter for multilateral space cooperation, China has been a major participant in the IAC that sends a delegation to the congress every year. "

“今年7月，中方在会议召开前3个月就向美方提交了参加国际宇航联大会的初步人员名单，中国国家航天局代表团于10月12日前往美国驻华使馆面签，但直到会议开始那一天，中方代表团团长仍然没有获得美国签证，这导致中方代表团无法如期赴美参加今年宇航联大会的开幕式、局长论坛等重要活动，因此才出现了你提到的、媒体也特别关注的那一幕，也就是“没有中国参与的国际宇航联大会”。对此，1000多名现场观众都感到不可思议，用手机提出“在这个会议上，我想念一个重要的航天局，中国国家航天局去哪里了”，这个问题在会场大屏幕上被置顶，引起了国际社会广泛的关注。”

"China submitted a preliminary list of delegates attending the IAC to the US in July, three months ahead of the event. On October 12, the CNSA delegation went to the US embassy in China for visa interviews. However, the head of delegation was not issued a US visa when the IAC opened. That's why the Chinese delegation could not attend the opening ceremony, the heads of agency forum and other important events. That's the cause of the trending topic "IAC without China" that you mentioned. More than 1,000 attendees baffled by this brought the question "I miss an important space agency in this panel. Where is China?" atop the panel voting system via their smart-phones. The picture showing this question on a big screen at the IAC venue came out, drawing much attention in the international community. "



“根据我的了解，现任国际宇航联合会副主席、中国航天科技集团公司副总经理，以及国际宇航联合会选举委员会委员、中国宇航学会秘书长等一批人员也没有获得美国签证。”

"As I understand, among those who did not obtain US visas are the incumbent IAF Vice President, Vice President of the China Aerospace Science & Technology Corporation, IAF electoral committee member and Secretary-General of the Chinese Society of Astronautics. "

“而有意思的是，大家也都知道，美国副总统彭斯在今年宇航联大会开幕式上发表了讲话，他没有就美国的航天政策或者国际合作宣布什么新东西，但却宣称要推动以美国为主导的国际航天合作，要与“志同道合的热爱自由的”国家合作。这番极富政治色彩的讲话引起了台下多国观众一致的反感，认为这与国际宇航联主张国际合作的宗旨相悖。”

"You may know that US Vice President Mike Pence delivered remarks at the opening ceremony. Interestingly, instead of announcing anything new in US space policy or international cooperation, he declared US-led international space cooperation with "like-minded, freedom-loving nations". His remarks with strong political implication found a repulsed audience who see this as something against the IAF purpose that calls for international cooperation. "

“事实上，这次中国国家航天局遭遇的赴美签证问题只是冰山一角。我们近期也介绍过了，一段时间以来，美方对中方的学者、学生、企业界人士和科技人员等赴美频频采取拒签、拖延签证申请、吊销赴美长期签证、盘查骚扰等措施，阻挠中美之间正常的人文交流与人员往来，损害了中方人员的安全与合法权益。”

"As a matter of fact, this case involving CNSA is only a tip of the iceberg. As we recently stated, the US has for some time been denying visas to, delaying processing visa applications of and revoking long-term visas for Chinese scholars, students, entrepreneurs and scientists as well as searching and harassing them. Such obstruction in normal people-to-people and cultural exchange between China and the US infringes upon Chinese personnel's security and lawful rights and interests."



“此外，大家可能也注意到了有媒体报道，近期美方违反1947年《联合国和美国关于联合国总部的协定》中规定的义务，拒绝向多名俄罗斯和伊朗等国赴美出席第74届联大的代表团成员发放签证。”

"Besides, you may also noticed reports on the US denying visas to Russian and Iranian delegates to the 74th UNGA, which is a violation of the 1947 Agreement Between the United Nations and the United States Regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations. "

“美方把签证问题“武器化”，一再藐视国际责任和义务，阻碍正常的国际交流与合作，对国际社会各方的正当的合法权益造成了损害。我们敦促美方认真反省，切实改正。”

"The US is weaponizing visa in defiance of its international responsibilities and obligations. Its obstruction of normal exchange and cooperation has harmed the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of relevant parties of the international community. We urge the US to do some earnest self-reflection and correction. "

综合来源：新华网，环球时报微信公众号，央视新闻，外交部官方网站