STOP LYING THROUGH YOUR TEETH
Exposure of Ulterior Motives Behind Stigmatization of China with COVID-19 (Part VI)
別再“睜眼說瞎話”
——揭批借新冠肺炎疫情抹黑攻擊中國的叵測居心（六）
By Jun Sheng
■鈞聲
A western idiom goes like this, “There are none so blind as those who will not see”. We’ve long known that lying through their teeth is the “survival skill” for some American politicians, but we never expected it to become their “only skill left”. Unfortunately, this is exactly the reality now. Their desperate attempt to peddle lies only attests to the exhaustion of their tricks.
有句西方諺語說：“視而不見者為瞎子。”人們早就知道，睜眼說瞎話，一向是某些美國政客謀生之“必備技能”；只是沒有料到，睜眼說瞎話，如今竟然會成為這些政客謀生之“僅存技能”。拼了命般睜眼說瞎話，只能說明某些人“黔驢技窮”了。
With the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of American politicians has staged one farce after another. If they just told a lie every once in a while, they would have given themselves away occasionally; now that there is basically no truth left, the audience could only take them as a circus.
一段時間以來，隨著新冠肺炎疫情蔓延，這些政客真是丑態(tài)百出。如果只是時不時撒個謊，那也只是時不時露出“馬腳”；現(xiàn)如今撒著歡兒說瞎話，演給世人的也只能是“馬戲”了。
But how clumsy the performance is! By declaring that “the virus came from China”, or “China caused the spread of the virus by covering it up”, these American politicians have discarded the basic dignity and decency as humans and public servants. They have spurted baseless accusations without any scruple. In the meantime, some western media have played along and made up accusations in defiance of freedom and democracy that they have been priding themselves on, reducing themselves to the politicians’ bullhorns by politicizing the pandemic and exercising double standards.
然而，這戲演得拙劣極了！說什么“病毒源于中國”，說什么“中國隱瞞導(dǎo)致疫情蔓延”……美國一些政客丟棄了做人從政最起碼的尊嚴(yán)和體面，信口開河、肆意栽贓。與此同時，一些美西方媒體也跟著“起哄架秧子”，再也顧不上其一向標(biāo)榜的“自由”、“民主”，捕風(fēng)捉影、詆毀誣陷，將疫情政治化、雙標(biāo)化，淪為隨政客們嗡嗡叫的“政治蒼蠅”。
The truth will teach these contemptible people a hard lesson. Regarding the origin of the virus, China, WHO, and many others with vision have made solemn statements over and over again. The prestigious academic journal Nature apologized to China for once associating the coronavirus with Wuhan. As to the claim that “China caused the spread of the virus by covering it up”, a quick look at the epidemic-control timeline would show who has wasted the time. When looking back on the White House’s epidemic containment efforts, the New York Times pointed out that it squandered a whole month from late January to early March.
對于這些丑惡嘴臉，真相從來不吝惜打臉。關(guān)于病毒源頭，中國、世界衛(wèi)生組織以及國際有識之士已多次嚴(yán)正表態(tài)，國際知名學(xué)術(shù)期刊《自然》更是為其曾將新冠病毒與武漢關(guān)聯(lián)向中國道歉；關(guān)于“中國隱瞞導(dǎo)致疫情蔓延”，只要簡單捋一捋疫情時間線，就能發(fā)現(xiàn)“時間都去哪兒了”，《紐約時報》在追蹤美國政府疫情防控情況時指出，從1月底至3月初，“一個月的時間被白白浪費了”……
Certain American politicians are asking for disgrace between telling lies and having them belied. During the Iraq War, the weapons of mass destruction that they had once been so certain about were eventually unaccounted for; during the Syrian conflict, the iron-clad evidence of the attacks with chemical weapons that they claimed proved to be schemed by the politicians themselves. Having been slapped in the face by truth so many times, the American politicians, this time around, are simply repeating their vicious rumors about the pandemic again and again, which, infuriating as it is, comes as no surprise. Their creed is that “a lie, when repeated a thousand times, may become truth”, with which they intend to bring their unspeakable motives into reality - putting a lock on China’s development and clearing themselves of any responsibility for the epidemic response fiasco. What a pipe dream!
某些美國政客總是在撒謊和打臉間自取其辱：伊拉克戰(zhàn)爭時，曾經(jīng)“言之鑿鑿”的大規(guī)模殺傷性武器最終“下落不明”；敘利亞沖突中，號稱“鐵證如山”的化學(xué)武器襲擊也被證明是這些政客“自導(dǎo)自演”。令人憤怒但不意外的是，一次次被“打腫臉”的美國政客，此次“復(fù)讀機(jī)”一般喋喋不休地重復(fù)其關(guān)于疫情的惡語謠言。他們奉行著“謊言說一次是謊言，但說一千次就可能會成為事實”的可恥信條，懷著不可告人的陰暗目的——給中國發(fā)展“上鎖”，為自身應(yīng)對疫情無能“解扣”。好一場一廂情愿的春秋大夢！
As another western idiom goes, “Lying is the first step in being a thief.” The COVID-19 outbreak, like a mirror, reflects the American politicians’ heinous true colors of “running the country with lips”. When the outbreak hit, the first move they took wasn’t protecting people’s lives and safety, but babbling to find excuses for themselves and flinging mud at others. They have been trying to deflect people’s attention in an attempt to steal votes from the constituencies and pursue personal gains.
還有一句西方諺語說，“撒謊是做賊的第一步”。新冠肺炎疫情猶如照妖鏡，照出了美國一些政客“靠嘴執(zhí)政”的丑惡面目。疫情面前，他們最先想到的不是民眾的生命安危，而是單憑一張嘴，想方設(shè)法替自己找補，千方百計給別人抹黑。歸根結(jié)底，他們轉(zhuǎn)移的是民眾的視線，盜取的是選民的選票，謀求的是自己的利益。
“Liars begin by imposing upon others but end deceiving themselves.” It would not be so absurd if the politicians tell a lie or two now and then, but it’s truly shameful and pathetic that they would rely on lies for sustaining their political career. Just recently, when China was busy helping other countries battle the outbreak, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was flinging mud at China at the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and on other international occasions. Even American scholars couldn’t bear to see such shameless moves on the US part, commenting that Pompeo was busy slandering China while China was busy helping others.
“撒謊者從騙人開始，以騙己告終。”睜眼說瞎話，如果作為政客的政治伎倆不時抖摟一下倒也不足為怪，然而可恥可憐的是，睜眼說瞎話，竟會成為美國一些政客的“立身之本”。近期，就在中國忙于援助他國抗擊疫情時，美國國務(wù)卿蓬佩奧居然在七國集團(tuán)外長會等多個場合給中國“潑臟水”。對其可恥行徑，就連看不下去的美國學(xué)者都評論稱：中國忙著幫助別人，蓬佩奧忙著詆毀中國。
The clownish words and deeds of these American politicians have become a laughing stock in the international community. An ancient fable says that a rabbit used to have a long tail, which becomes short because it is bitten off for telling lies. This fable is both informative and remonstrative for the American politicians - stop lying through your teeth, otherwise your personal credibility, political career, and the “America great again” you promise the American people will, like the rabbit’s tail, be cut short for sure.
美國一些政客滿嘴謊話的丑惡嘴臉，早已淪為國際笑柄。有一則寓言說，兔子的尾巴曾經(jīng)很長，但因為說謊被咬掉一大截，從此尾巴就短了。這則寓言對某些美國政客大有警醒意義：別再睜眼說瞎話，否則你的個人信用、執(zhí)政生涯和向民眾承諾的所謂“再次偉大”，也注定是“兔子尾巴長不了”！
