Traitor Translators: Frustrating The CCP's use of Diplomatic Doublespeak.
Chinese authorities have traditionally used language barriers to send differing messages to different audiences. It is the duty of Australian academics to undermine this in defence of our nation.
Thoughts on UTS ACRI DOC 20220923
what follows is best read with a copy of the above document open for reference and a glass of red wine.
叮咚 （Ding Dong) September 26, 2022
Key Takeaways
Official MOFA translations intentionally convey different messages from their Chinese source:
The quality of MFA translations may be sub-optimal and should ideally be substituted by professional translations where possible; Despite having enormous resources to translate accurately, they deliberately do not;
They sometimes differ from the Chinese original because they address different reader cohorts: Chinese-language MFA statements are directed more towards a domestic audience relative to their official translations - thus understanding what was said in Chinese is important to knowing the true intention, and informs our counter strategy in national negotiation. Knowing what has been written in English is important to understanding and countering their propaganda strategy directed at the Australian audience.
MFA official translations are worth noting, because they are the result of deeply considered propaganda strategy. Effective translation is an important counter strategy.
Chinese idioms should be translated properly, eg calling a 法宝 (fa bao) a magic weapon is, let’s be honest, a bit dodgy. Just because no one uses the word “Talisman” these days is no excuse. Same for 100 Year Marathons…
Much CCP political discourse is repetitive and vague. Translators should resist the temptation to get straight to the point, even if it’s due on Monday, and it’s 5 pm on a Friday and everyone else has gone to the pub.
‘Core interests’ might be ‘Core Interests’: Assertions of relationship expectations – especially in joint statements – typically start vague, then the contents/scope of these obligations will be subject to redefinition by the PRC side. This is especially relevant for policymakers. eg Taiwan policy agreements that gave Australia or the US wiggle room in the past, are now being redefined by China as a One China / No Taiwan policy, in line with what they always wanted.
English translations whose focal point is unclear may have allowed the representation of domestic attempts at CCP image maintenance to obscure their core message and/or misrepresent their tenor. Reports or analyses focused on more immediate policy responses should seek to isolate their core message. Strip out the bits you don't like and then you can go to the pub. Note this completely contradicts the point two paragraphs above, but you do get to leave the office earlier this way if you choose this option.
Introduction:
Sun Tzu advises:
Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak
So if you are Khrushchev and your country is weak, pretend you will nuke your opponents (use strong statements like “we will bury you”) and bang your shoe on the table at the UN. Old Niki was wearing two shoes, the one he was banging the lectern with, was a prop.
The Chinese situation is a bit different. The leadership want to appear aggressive and bold to the Chinese population, while sometimes modifying and massaging the message sent to the outside world, to facilitate the progressive achievement of strategic goals in those countries.
PRC’s leader Xi Jinping will say ‘those who play with fire will perish by it’, and ‘heads bashed bloody against a Great Wall of steel’ to look tough to to the Chinese audience. When communicating with world leaders, or in English language press releases, he may use words with the same meaning, which are slightly more polite.
要求 Suggestion or Demand ? Who Cares ?
Irrespective of how you categorise the terminology to describe the 4 “dot points” (in UTS ACRI English) or request / demand in Chinese (要求）， stripping away the “nuance”, they were unacceptable concessions required for Chinese officials to consider simply talking to Australian officials. They are in practice demands, irrespective of how they are accurately translated.
The Chinese authorities want to say one thing aggressively in Chinese and another less aggressively in English, and the “Broadway Brigade” of shills at UTS and Usyd (Camperdown Ultimo Propaganda Complex) seem obsessed with the idea that softening the message is important, which suggests that the CCP has decided that this is important.
chūkǒu zhuǎn nèixiāo 出口转内销
– The shift to domestic consumption of that which was produced for export.
Chinese authorities want to bifurcate their messaging, it is the role of translators to expose this, and make Australian audiences clearly understand what was actually said to the Chinese audience, and not be fooled by gentler English language renderings.
Recent Examples:
玩火自焚 to play with fire. Irrespective of nuance and historical complexity, it’s a warning with malicious intent.
头破血流 word for word it’s head smash blood flow.
中国人民也绝不允许任何外来势力欺负、压迫、奴役我们，谁妄想这样干，必将在14亿多中国人民用血肉筑成的钢铁长城面前碰得头破血流
The Chinese people will never allow any foreign force to bully, oppress or enslave us. Whoever delusions of doing so will encounter the Great Wall of Steel built with flesh and blood of more than 1.4 billion Chinese people.
Khrushchev’s “ We will bury you” might be more succinct. A more polite casual, plain spoken translation might be as follows:
We really don’t like people even talking about Xinjiang and if we occupy the South China Sea or kill people in Taiwan to tidy up the map then that’s our business. If you try to stop us we will use violence to achieve our ends.
You might die.
Any way you look at the original, there is no way that ACRI and other apologists can sugar coat this.
中俄友好没有止境、合作没有禁区、互信没有上限。中方将进一步加强同俄方的战略沟通与协作
There is no limit to Sino-Russian friendship, no restricted zone for cooperation, and no upper limit on mutual trust. China will further strengthen strategic communication and cooperation with Russia.
China and Russia have been edging closer for about a decade. They have participated in military exercises together, and Chinese media has normalised the idea of them as allied nations in the nations mind. In the movie “The Wandering Earth” Russia helps China save the world.1
The NO LIMITS message was delivered shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, essentially warning the West: Don’t interfere, China has Russia’s back. Seems we missed the message.
AND FINALLY:
中俄合作无上限，我们争取和平无上限，维护安全无上限，反对霸权无上限。中俄关系不结盟，不对 抗，不针对第三方.
China-Russia cooperation has no upper limits; there are no upper limits to our endeavours for peace, no upper limits to our preservation of security; no upper limits to our opposition to hegemony. The China-Russia relationship is not an alliance, nor is it antagonistic, nor is it directed at any third party.
This one does require some interpretation and “nuance” based on context.
中俄合作无上限 China-Russia cooperation has no upper limits
translation: China will help Russia as much as possible in any and all spheres, and it happens to be invading Ukraine right now.
我们争取和平无上限 there are no upper limits to our endeavours for peace
translation: back off and let Russia win
维护安全无上限 no upper limits to our preservation of security
translation: back off and let Russia win
反对霸权无上限 no upper limits to our opposition to hegemony
translation: We both hate America
中俄关系不结盟 The China-Russia relationship is not an alliance
translation: We’re not putting anything down on paper, at least not publicly, and to some extent we are still trying to figure out where this is going.
不对 抗，不针对第三方 nor is it antagonistic, nor is it directed at any third party.
translation: we both hate America, but this is directed at anyone who stands in our way.
So we have yet to see China become the Arsenal of Autocracy, but as Russia runs out of weaponry, “Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You” (Another popular Chinese phrase).
MORAL OF THE STORY:
Comparing messaging in Chinese to the Chinese public in China and messaging to the Chinese reading public outside China is important because the Chinese text may be different.
Comparing these with English language versions is also important.
Knowing what the different messages are and discerning the reasoning behind the different messaging may inform how we deal with China.
Exposing the two faced nature of MOFA communications is important, so that the public in Australia are not lulled into thinking what Chinese propaganda organs want them to think.
Identifying and calling out shills who use taxpayer funded positions to undermine Australia’s solidarity against Chinese aggression, influence and interference, is of vital importance to recovering Australia’s sovereignty.
We must progress the stalled reforms that started with the baby steps of the National Security Legislation Amendment (Espionage and Foreign Interference) Act 2018, but have since been successfully derailed by China’s propaganda efforts and attacks on trade.
叮咚 （Ding Dong) is a freelance writer dedicated to exposing propaganda and CCP shill activity.
A Russian astronaut helps A Chinese Astronaut save the world. Then the Russian dies and the Chinese finishes the job. It’s symbolic of lots of things, including China Russia cooperation.