圣多美和普林西比与台湾断交
The tiny African nation of São Tomé and Príncipe has cut diplomatic relations with Taiwan as Beijing steps up its efforts to isolate the self-governing island, which it considers part of China.
随着北京方面加大力度孤立处于自治状态的台湾，非洲小国圣多美和普林西比(São Tomé and Príncipe)断绝了与台湾的外交关系。北京方面认为台湾是中国的一部分。
The Chinese government has intensified the pressure on Taiwan since the election earlier this year of President Tsai Ing-wen, whose party wants the democratically ruled island to reduce its economic reliance on China and remain effectively independent.
自今年早些时候蔡英文(Tsai Ing-wen)当选为台湾总统以来，中国政府便加大了对台湾的压力。蔡英文领导的政党想让这个实行民主统治的岛屿降低对中国大陆的经济依赖，维持实际上的独立地位。
The fate of Taiwan has been thrust back into the international spotlight by US president-elect Donald Trump, who angered Beijing by talking directly to Ms Tsai and calling into question the “One China” principle under which most of the world refuses to maintain diplomatic ties with Taipei.
美国当选总统唐纳德.特朗普(Donald Trump)令台湾的命运再度成为国际关注焦点。他与蔡英文直接通话，并对“一个中国”原则提出质疑，这激怒了北京方面。世界上大多数国家遵循“一个中国”原则，拒绝与台湾保持外交关系。
Ranking as the world’s 209th economy by size and with a population of less than 200,000 people, São Tomé is hardly a diplomatic heavyweight.
就规模而言，圣多美和普林西比在世界各经济体中排名第209位，其人口不到20万，在外交方面很难算得上一个重量级角色。
But its decision to abandon Taiwan is a symbolic blow to the island, leaving it with just 21 diplomatic allies remaining, most of them small, developing nations such as Palau and El Salvador.
但是，圣多美和普林西比决定与台湾断交给后者造成了具有象征意义的打击，台湾的邦交国这下子只剩21个，大多是帕劳和萨尔瓦多这类的发展中小国。
Beijing welcomed the move, with the Chinese foreign ministry saying that it appreciates the African nation’s “return to the right track of the One China principle”.
北京方面对圣多美和普林西比的举动表示了欢迎。中国外交部对这个非洲国家“回到一个中国原则的正确轨道上来”表示赞赏。
Taiwan’s foreign ministry attacked the São Tomé government for its “abrupt and unfriendly” action, which it said “ignored 20 years of friendly diplomatic relations, playing both sides of the Taiwan Strait while holding out for the highest bidder”.
台湾外交部抨击了圣多美和普林西比政府这一“轻率且不友好”的行径，称该国“罔顾两国近20年邦谊，试图游走两岸，待价而沽”。
In the decades after China was admitted to the United Nations in 1971, most countries established diplomatic relations with Beijing and de-recognised the Republic of China, as Taiwan is formally known. But Taipei and Beijing battled it out for the support of a handful of mostly developing nations, which often lent their recognition to the government offering the most generous aid package.
在1971年中国加入联合国(UN)后的几十年里，大多数国家与北京方面建立了外交关系，不再承认中华民国——台湾的正式称谓。但台北方面和北京方面为赢得少数几个国家（大多为发展中国家）的支持展开了激烈争夺，这些国家往往是哪方向其提供最慷慨的援助就承认哪方。
This diplomatic war was halted during the administration of Ma Ying-jeou, the previous Taiwanese president, who tried to build closer economic and political ties with Beijing.
在上任台湾总统马英九(Ma Ying-jeou)任内，两岸暂时停止了外交战。马英九努力与北京方面建立更紧密的经济政治关系。
But China ended the apparent truce after Ms Tsai was elected in a landslide in January. It has also taken other measures against Taiwan, from curbing the number of Chinese tourists visiting the island to blocking its participation in international meetings.
但蔡英文今年1月以压倒性优势当选台湾总统后，北京方面终止了这一明显的休战。它还采取了其他针对台湾的措施——从限制大陆赴台游客数量，到阻止台湾参加国际会议。
