英属苏格兰发布"独立白皮书"

Scotland’s government yesterday unveiled its vision of a future independent from the UK, with promises of economic growth, transformed childcare, easier immigration and lower corporate taxes.

苏格兰政府昨日公布关于未来从英国独立的构想，许下了促进经济增长、调整儿童保育政策、放松移民政策、降低企业税等多项承诺。

Edinburgh released a paper setting out how Scotland would negotiate an end to its 300-year union with England and Wales, if people vote for independence in a referendum in September, and policies for a future Scottish National party government.

苏格兰政府发布文件称，如果明年9月举行的公投同意独立，苏格兰将协商终结与英格兰和威尔士缔结的长达300年之久的联盟。文件还阐明了苏格兰民族党(Scottish National Party)如果上台执政将奉行的政策。

“With independence we would have the powers and responsibilities to be able to seize the opportunities to build a wealthier and fairer nation – but also to face our challenges,” Alex Salmond, Scotland’s first minister and SNP leader said.

苏格兰首席部长、苏格兰民族党领袖亚历克斯?萨尔蒙德(Alex Salmond，见上图左)表示：“独立后，我们将拥有权力和责任，能够抓住机遇建设一个更加富裕、更加公平的国家，但也将面临挑战。”

“We will also have to tackle a legacy of debt, low growth and social inequality bequeathed to us by Westminster’s control of our economy.”

“威斯敏斯特对我们经济的控制给我们造成了债务、低增长和社会不平等问题，我们将不得不解决这些遗留问题。”

However, the 667-page “guide to an independent Scotland” white paper that he launched gave no details on what an independent Scotland might do if the rump of the UK declined to continue with the shared use of sterling. Edinburgh has proposed that if people vote for independence, Scotland would split from the UK on March 24 2016.

然而，萨尔蒙德公布的这份667页的《苏格兰独立规划》白皮书没有说明，如果苏格兰独立后，英国拒绝继续让苏格兰使用英镑，苏格兰要怎么做。爱丁堡表示，如果独立公投获得通过，苏格兰将于2016年3月24日脱离英国。

But a pro-union campaign has been consistently ahead in the polls.

但在民调中反对独立的人数比例始终处于领先地位。

In nine polls over the past three months, the average support for independence has been 32 per cent, according to What Scotland Thinks, an impartial organisation tracking public attitudes towards independence.

What Scotland Thinks的数据显示，在过去3个月举行的9次民调中，平均有32%的人支持独立。What Scotland Thinks是一家追踪公众对独立态度的公正组织。

But there is significant variation between polling companies. The most recent survey, by Panelbase, showed the No campaign on 47 per cent, with Yes at 38 per cent.

但民调机构之间也存在巨大的差异。Panelbase最近的调查显示，47%的人反对独立，38%的人支持独立。

The Scottish government paper called for a cut of up to three percentage points in corporation tax, halving air passenger duty and the removal of Trident nuclear missiles from Scotland “within the term of the first parliament” of an independent nation.

苏格兰政府在白皮书中提议，在独立后的“首届议会的任期内”，将企业所得税税率最多下调3个百分点，将机场税削减一半，并将“三叉戟”核导弹撤出苏格兰。

Immigration policy would be transformed, with a points-based system to attract skilled workers and possible incentives to encourage them to settle in geographically remote areas.

独立后的苏格兰将调整移民政策，出台积分制度来吸引熟练工人，并可能出台激励措施来鼓励他们定居在偏远地区。