"I was the CIA director. We lied, we cheated, we stole… we had entire training courses." This is a line from a speech made by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Texas. 美国国务卿蓬佩奥在德州演讲时有一段名言：“我曾任CIA的局长，我们撒谎、欺骗、偷盗；还有一套完整的培训课程。”Following a burst of laughter from the audience as a response to that line, Pompeo hastened to add: "It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment."可想而知，这个发言引起现场听众的哄堂大笑。蓬佩奥还不忘补上一句：“这让我想起了光荣的美国实践。”If lying, cheating and stealing do not sound outrageous for someone working at the CIA, what makes it less sensible though is that after becoming Secretary of State, Pompeo has done little to change what he's learned from those "training courses," but carried the practice even further.在CIA时，撒谎欺骗偷盗也就罢了，但在蓬佩奥换了工作，当上国务卿之后，不仅没有改变所受的那种特殊训练，而且变本加厉了。His attacks on China are exact proof of that. At all times and in all places, Pompeo never forgets to lash out at China, using nothing other than lying and cheating as his weapon.比如他对于中国的攻击就是活生生的例子。不论何时何地，他总是不忘记攻击中国，所用的手段无外乎撒谎和欺骗。For example, he alleged that Chinese investments in Africa pose a risk to the sovereignty of African states, pushing them into a debt trap and breeding corruption and dependency. He criticized China's Xinjiang policies by claiming that China is "trying to erase Muslim culture and religion" and also noted that China is an unreliable partner that spreads chaos in Latin America. While in Munich, he accused China of encroaching on the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia. And in many other places, he said Huawei is dangerous and a "Trojan horse for Chinese intelligence".比如在非洲，说中国的投资使非洲国家丧失主权，掉入债务陷阱，滋生了腐败和依赖；在中亚，他指责中国的新疆政策，说中国要“抹去穆斯林的文化和信仰”；在拉丁美洲，他说中国不是可靠的伙伴，在散播混乱；在慕尼黑，说中国正在蚕食越南、菲律宾和印尼的专属经济区；在世界多地，他说华为不安全，是为中国政府窃取情报的“特洛伊木马”。Trump's campaign slogan was "Make America Great Again," but what his Secretary of State has done so far makes people look at it with disbelief.特朗普的竞选口号是让美国再次伟大。但是他这个国务卿的做派让世人对美国能否再次伟大产生怀疑。First, lying undermines the foundation of international relations. The concept of bona fide in international law, meaning good faith, is a universally recognized principle that underpins the formation and fulfillment of international legal obligations and lays the bedrock for international exchanges.首先，撒谎破坏了国际关系的基础。在国际法中，bona fide ,即善意原则，是普世公认的支配国际法律义务创立和履行的原则，是国际间交往赖以进行的基础。Playing the role of foreign minister, the U.S. secretary of state is, supposedly, responsible for promoting relations between the U.S. and other states. However, Pompeo, on top of his lack of good faith and integrity, is also a habitual liar that is bent on stoking up conflicts around the world. He is exactly the one who is hindering the U.S. from getting along with other countries.国务卿作为美国的外交部长，其职责是促进美国与他国的国家关系。但蓬佩奥不仅缺失善意和诚信，而且是到处撒谎，制造矛盾，唯恐天下不乱，阻碍了美国与其他国家的正常交往。Currently, the U.S. relations are strained not only with world powers such as China and Russia, but its relations with almost all its allies including Britain, Germany, France, etc. are also tainted by constant discordance. Pompeo, the chief U.S. diplomat, is undeniably responsible for that. Given such an international environment, how could America be great again?目前，美国不仅与世界大国中国和俄罗斯关系紧张，而且几乎与所有盟国，包括英、德、法，龃龉不断，这不能不说与其首席外交官有关。在这样的国际环境下，美国怎能再次伟大？Second, Pompeo has poisoned America's international trade environment. In international relations, politics and economy are two sides of the same coin. In the Munich Security Conference, Pompeo, on the one hand, blatantly sold his lie that "the West is winning," and on the other hand, he aggressively pressured its Western allies in issues related to Huawei's 5G network, threatening sanctions on Nord Stream 2, a natural gas pipeline project involving Germany. No wonder Donald Tusk, former president of the European Council, once made the sharp remark that "With friends like that [i.e. America] who needs enemies?"其次，蓬佩奥的撒谎毒化了美国的国际经贸环境。在国际关系上，政治与经济互为表里，难以分开。在慕尼黑安全会议上，蓬佩奥一边大言不惭地谎称“西方正在取得胜利”，一边在华为5G使用上蛮横对其西方诸盟国等施压，威胁对德国参与“北溪2号”天然气管道项目进行制裁。难怪欧盟理事会前主席图斯克一针见血地表示：“有像美国这样的朋友，谁还需要敌人？”
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attends the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 7, 2018. /Xinhua
Pompeo recently made a three-nation trip to Africa. In the face of numerous China-Africa cooperation projects and facts, he even denigrated China's aid to Africa as "empty promises." African leaders categorically refuted his nonsense.日前，蓬佩奥跑了一趟非洲三国。在无数的中非合作项目和大量的事实面前，他竟然诋毁中国的援助是“空头承诺”。对此，非洲领导人直截了当进行了驳斥。As the second largest economy in the world, China has contributed over 30 percent to global growth for 13 consecutive years. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, China's imports and exports to the U.S. totaled 3.73 trillion yuan in 2019. The two countries are economically complementary, with China being the third largest market for U.S. exports of goods and services. With its economy deeply intertwined with that of China, the U.S. would hardly achieve significant economic growth without trading with China.作为世界第二大经济体，中国已连续13年对全球增长的贡献率达到30%以上。根据美国商务部的数据，2019年中国对美进出口总额达到3.73万亿元。两国经济互补性强。中国是美国商品和服务贸易出口的第三大市场。中美经济相互交织，相互影响。美国的经济成长离不开与中国的贸易关系。However, Pompeo still clings to the Cold War mentality and keeps throwing mud at China, or even demonizing China, seriously damaging the trade relations between the two countries.但蓬佩奥紧抱冷战思维不放，一直用撒谎和欺骗的手段，在世界各地抹黑，甚至妖魔化中国，严重损害了两国的正常经贸关系。Today, globalization is intensifying the division of labor around the world. How could America be great again without the contribution made by its global trade partners including China?在经济全球化促使产业分工日益明细的今天，没有全球贸易伙伴包括中国的经贸贡献，何来美国的再次伟大？Third, lying runs counter to American cultural traditions, upending the world's perception of the U.S. culture. In the U.S., lying and cheating are offenses. For people across the world, the image of the hard-working Uncle Sam is widely associated with America.第三，撒谎破坏了美国的文化传统，颠覆了世界对美国文化的认知。在美国，撒谎和欺骗是入罪的。在世人眼中，山姆大叔那种诚实勤劳的形象广为传播。After the Cold War, as the only global superpower, the U. S. has gained its cultural dominance in the world. Integrity, being part of the American culture, is also one of the most important virtues shared by nations worldwide. Benjamin Franklin once said: "A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over." Confucius, a sage in ancient China, also said: "If a person lacks trustworthiness, I don't know what s/he can be good for." What the Chinese people believe is: "Be true to your words and be resolute in your action."冷战以后，作为世界上唯一的超级大国，美国文化对全世界的影响和渗透是深远的。诚信是美国文化的一部分，也是世界各民族文化的精髓。富兰克林说过：失足，你可以马上站起来；失信，你也许永难挽回。中国古代圣贤孔子说：人而无信，不知其可也。中国人的信条就是“言必信，行必果”。As the chief U.S. diplomat, Pompeo spews lies at will. How could he be trusted by anyone who has dealings with him?而作为美国首席外交代表的蓬佩奥，动辄以撒谎的面目示人，怎能让与之打交道的人相信他？As a state of ceremonies, China attaches great importance to diplomatic etiquette. Thanks to Pompeo's repeated lies, China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the following statement at the Munich Conference: "I'd only like to say that all his accusations against China are lies. They are not true. But if the U.S. was the accused, then all this would be true."中国是礼仪之邦，外交上更加重视礼节。但鉴于蓬佩奥一而再再而三地撒谎，国务委员兼外长王毅在慕尼黑发表了以下声明：“我只想讲一句话，所有这些对中国的指责都是谎言，都不是事实。但是，如果我们把这些谎言的主角换成美国的话，可能这些谎言就变成真相了，就变成事实了。”More than a century ago, then U.S. President Abraham Lincoln said: "You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."一百多年前，美国总统林肯说过：“你能在某些时候欺骗所有人，也能在所有的时候欺骗某些人，但你不能在所有的时候欺骗所有的人。” Hope Pompeo, whose lies have repeatedly fallen flat across the world, could one day realize that lying will not make America great again.希望在全世界到处碰壁的蓬佩奥认识到：撒谎，不会让美国再次伟大。 推荐阅读：