But, in large parts of Asia, the national interest – whether building commercial ties or bolstering security – is often subordinated to history and its hold on the popular imagination. As US Vice President Joe Biden just discovered on his tour of Japan, China, and South Korea, the American novelist William Faulkner’s observation – “The past is never dead.
东京—一国外交政策的首要目标应该是促进其国家利益。但是，在亚洲大部，国家利益——不管是构建商业关系还是增强安全——常常屈服于历史和民众印象。正如美国副总统拜登在其日本、中国和韩国之旅中刚刚发现的，美国小说家福克纳的观察——“过去永远不会死去。过去甚至不曾过去”真是再正确不过了。