風雲詭譎 古巴顯現"開放"曙光

Cuba is using the internet to experiment with toning down its political censorship in a sign that a glimmer of glasnost has arrived on the Communist-run Caribbean island.

古巴正在利用互聯網進行放寬政治審查的試驗。這一跡象表明，一絲“公開化”(glasnost)的曙光已照到這個共產黨執政的加勒比島國上。

Havana’s decision to open up on the once-taboo subjects of the electoral system and civil society — by allowing Cubans to question policy in two online forums — is reminiscent of the early days of free speech in what was the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

古巴通過允許本國民衆在兩個在線論壇上質詢政策、放開昔日禁忌話題——選舉制度和公民社會——的決定，讓人聯想起蘇聯上世紀80年代開放言論自由的早期。

For a number of years there has been public discussion over the pros and cons of market-oriented reforms in Cuba, and ample criticism of the bureaucracy. But public criticism has stopped short of questioning the political status quo, aside from a fledgling dissident press, such as the online newspaper , run by writer Yoani Sánchez.

多年來，古巴國內一直有關於市場化改革利弊的公開討論，以及大量對官僚主義的批評。但公開批評沒有觸及對政治現狀的質疑，除了羽翼未豐的異見媒體以外，比如作家尤阿尼•桑切斯(Yoani Sanchez)開辦的在線報紙。

The new forums, run on state-media websites, brought together officials and academics to interact online for a few hours with an audience encouraged to send in questions and views.

這兩個國家媒體網站上的新論壇,讓官員和學者一起與網民進行幾個小時的在線互動，並鼓勵網民發佈問題和觀點。

The opening has some similarities to glasnost, when Soviet authorities relaxed limits on the discussion of political and social issues and allowed the freer dissemination of news. The difference is that Cuba’s move comes in the age of the internet.

這些開放性舉措與前蘇聯的“公開化”政策有些相似，當時蘇聯當局放鬆了對討論政治和社會問題的限制，並提高了新聞傳播的自由度。不同的是，古巴此舉發生在互聯網時代。

The forums follow an announcement this month that the country is preparing a new electoral law, due to come into force before the next general election in 2018 when President Raúl Castro will step down, in effect ending the Castro era in Cuba that began with his brother Fidel in 1959.

這兩個論壇出現之前，古巴於本月宣佈正在制定新選舉法，該法將在2018年下屆大選舉行之前生效。屆時，勞爾•卡斯特羅(Raúl Castro)將卸任總統，在事實上終結其兄菲德爾•卡斯特羅(Fidel Castro)1959年開創的卡斯特羅時代。

“These openings may be small and experimental, but they signal something important: criticism becomes legitimate discourse,” Bert Hoffmann, a Cuba expert at the German Institute of Global and Area Studies in Hamburg, said.

位於漢堡的德國全球和區域研究所(German Institute of Global and Area Studies)古巴問題專家伯特•霍夫曼(Bert Hoffmann)說：“這些開放也許力度很小，而且是試驗性的，但它們發出了一些重要信號：批評變成了合法言論。”

In a remarkably transparent forum on Cuba’s electoral system, sponsored by the Union of Young Communists’ daily, a participant called GCR said: “I would like to know if direct elections for the principal leadership positions of the country are under consideration . . . as the current system is [in my view] highly unpopular.”

在由古巴共產主義青年聯盟(Union of Young Communists)的日報發起的一個討論選舉制度的非常透明的論壇上，一位名爲GCR的參與者說：“我想知道，對國家最重要的領導職位採取直選的可能性是否正在討論之中……因爲現行制度（在我看來）非常不得人心。”

During a forum on civil society, published online this month by the Cuban Workers Federation’s weekly Trabajadores, Joan asked: “How can the Cuban Workers Federation be a non-governmental organisation when its secretary-general is a member of the Council of State?”

在一個由古巴工人聯合會(Cuban Workers Federation)的週報Trabajadores本月發佈上線的討論公民社會的論壇中，Joan問道：“既然古巴工人聯合會的祕書長是國務院成員，它怎麼能是一個非政府組織？”

Another participant, going by the name Tumblr, charged: “The federation is an appendage of the state it represents . . . carrying out the policies of the Communist party.”

另一位網名爲Tumblr的參與者指責說：“該聯合會是其代表的政權的附屬品……執行共產黨的各項政策。”

Most of those taking part in both forums defended Cuba’s political system, but what was unique was the expression of differing political opinions.

這兩個論壇的大多數參與者都爲古巴的政治制度進行了辯護，特別的地方在於，不同的政治觀點得到了表達。

“The debate in these forums signals a willingness on the part of authorities to allow a range of expression and acknowledge a range of opinions that were heretofore not recognised as legitimate,” William LeoGrande, a Cuba analyst at American University in Washington and co-author of Back Channels to Cuba, said.

華盛頓美國大學(American University)古巴問題分析師、《Back Channels to Cuba》作者之一威廉•李歐格蘭(William LeoGrande)說：“這些論壇中的辯論表明，當局有意願允許各種意見的表達，並認可一些迄今仍不被承認是合法的觀點。”

“However, it would be very premature to say it portends any significant change in the political system.”

“但是，要說這預示着古巴政治制度將出現重大變化，那還爲時尚早。”

The small crack in the dam on political discussion comes as the EU’s foreign affairs chief visits Cuba and as Washington and Havana work to normalise diplomatic relations and begin to discuss a range of issues, including human rights and expanded travel and telecoms, such as direct phone calls.

隨着歐盟外交事務負責人訪問古巴，華盛頓和哈瓦那共同推進美巴外交關係正常化，並開始討論包括人權、擴大旅行和電信（如直接通電話）合作等一系列問題，古巴阻礙政治討論的大壩開始出現了細小的裂縫。

However, discussions on opening embassies in Washington and Havana have dragged on for two months, in part because of Cuba’s continued status as a US-designated sponsor of terrorism and its inability to obtain banking services in the US. A clash with Washington over Venezuela, Cuba’s closest ally, which led Raúl Castro to deliver a fulminating tirade on March 17 against new US sanctions placed on several Venezuelan officials, has not helped.

然而，關於在華盛頓和哈瓦那互設大使館的討論已經拖延了兩個月，部分原因是美國仍認定古巴支持恐怖主義以及古巴無法在美國獲得銀行業服務。與華盛頓之間圍繞委內瑞拉（古巴最親密的盟友）問題爆發衝突更加雪上加霜。3月17日，勞爾•卡斯特羅發表了長篇演說，強烈譴責美國對多位委內瑞拉官員實施新制裁。

The Obama administration’s hope that the embassies would open before April’s Americas Summit, which both countries’ presidents will attend for the first time in decades, now appears out of reach. Efforts to lift the trade embargo in Congress also face opposition from the Republican leadership.

奧巴馬政府想要在4月份美洲峯會(Americas Summit)召開前——兩國總統將是數十年來首次共同出席該峯會——實現互設大使館的希望現在看來很渺茫。在國會中尋求解除貿易禁運的努力也面臨共和黨領導人的反對。

Cuba’s new electoral law, the details of which have not been revealed, will be discussed in grassroots meetings along with other measures on the agenda of a Communist party congress set for April 2016, an opportunity to offer a critique the political system.

古巴新選舉法的細節尚未披露，但將與黨代會議程中的其他舉措一起在基層會議上得到討論。古巴共產黨定於2016年4月召開黨代會，這次大會將爲批評政治制度提供一次機會。

“We call for the opening of a multi-party system in Cuba: well regulated so that no foreign power or financial company can finance or corrupt electoral campaigns,” the Observatorio Critico de Cuba, a social network of Cuban intellectuals on and off the island, said in a post to the civil society forum.

島內外古巴籍知識分子經常上的社交網絡Observatorio Critico de Cuba在一篇發佈於公民社會論壇上的帖子中說：“我們呼籲在古巴開放多黨體制：實行良好的監督管理，以使外國列強或金融公司無法資助或者腐蝕選舉活動。”

The policy shift is also taking place as pressure builds on the Cuban government to authorise unlimited internet access. While only 5 per cent of Cubans are estimated to have access to the internet, 30 per cent have access to the government-controlled intranet, with its thousands of local pages and blogs and where the forums are occurring.

隨着古巴政府面臨越來越大的壓力，要求其放開互聯網接入限制，政策變化也在發生。據估計，僅有5%的古巴人可以接入互聯網，而30%的人口可以接入政府控制的內聯網，內聯網中有成千上萬的本地網頁和博客，也是這些論壇開設的地方。

“Raúl Castro’s policies include not only economic reform but also a more tolerant relation between state and society . . . and digital non-state media have become tolerated to a considerable extent,” Mr Hoffmann said.

“勞爾•卡斯特羅的政策不僅包括經濟改革，也包括在國家政權與社會之間建立更加相互包容的關係……而且，數字化非國有媒體已經在相當程度上被容忍，”霍夫曼說。