一位想獲得中國公民身份的美國參議員候選人

KEYSER, W.Va. — Don Blankenship is running for the U.S. Senate as a proud West Virginian with Appalachian roots, but his primary residence is a $2.4 million villa with palm trees and an infinity pool near Las Vegas.

西弗吉尼亞州基瑟——作為一名有著阿巴拉契亞背景的驕傲的西弗吉尼亞人，唐·布蘭肯希普(Don Blankenship)正在競選美國參議員，但他的主要居所是坐落在拉斯維加斯附近一幢價值240萬美元的別墅，帶有棕櫚樹和無邊界的泳池。

Blankenship, a Republican loyalist of President Donald Trump, is running an America First-style campaign and calls himself an “American competitionist,” but he admires China’s state-controlled economy and has expressed interest in gaining Chinese citizenship.

布蘭肯希普是一位忠于唐納德·特朗普總統(tǒng)的共和黨人，他目前正在開展一場“美國優(yōu)先”風格的競選，自稱是一位“美國競爭者”，但他卻仰慕中國由國家把控的經(jīng)濟，并表示有意獲得中國公民身份。

The former coal mining executive is widely known for spending a year in prison for his role in a mining explosion that claimed 29 lives. Yet he is running as a champion of miners and has bought TV ads that challenge settled facts about his role in the disaster.

很多人都知道，這位前煤礦高管因為一起煤礦爆炸事故而入獄一年，那次事故導致29人喪生。然而，他仍然作為一名煤礦工人的捍衛(wèi)者參加競選，而且還購買了電視廣告時段，對他在那場災難中所負責任的公認事實發(fā)起了挑戰(zhàn)。

And even as Blankenship seeks to join the Republican majority in Washington, a super PAC linked to the party establishment is attacking him as a “convicted criminal” and a hypocrite.

此外，就在布蘭肯希普謀求加入華盛頓的共和黨多數(shù)派的時候，一個與共和黨建制派有關聯(lián)的超級政治行動委員會正在攻擊他是“已被定罪的罪犯”和偽君子。

No Republican candidate in the 2018 midterms embodies so many contradictions as pointedly as Blankenship, who was found guilty of conspiracy to violate mine safety standards in federal court and yet has plenty of supporters in coal country.

沒有哪位2018中期選舉的共和黨候選人像布蘭肯希普這樣，身上匯聚了這么多尖銳的矛盾，聯(lián)邦法院判他密謀違反煤礦安全標準，他卻在煤炭縣有著眾多支持者。

He is one of three leading Republican contenders heading into the May 8 West Virginia primary, even though he is lugging around enough political baggage to disqualify a candidate most anywhere else.

他是進入5月8日西維吉尼亞州初選領先的三位共和黨候選人之一，盡管拖著在其他任何地方都無法獲得候選人資格的政治包袱。

That Blankenship retains a political hope is a consequence of West Virginia’s sharp shift to the right, driven by seething hostility to the Obama presidency, both its social changes and its perceived “war” on coal. The emergence of a former coal boss with a criminal record as a potential Senate nominee seems partly an expression of many West Virginia voters’ desire to poke a thumb in the eye of the Washington establishment, Republicans very much included.

布蘭肯希普仍然存有政治希望，是西弗吉尼亞急劇右轉的結果，對奧巴馬總統(tǒng)的強烈敵意起到了驅動作用，包括該任期內發(fā)生的社會變革，以及圍剿煤炭的“戰(zhàn)爭”。一位有著犯罪記錄的前煤炭老板成為潛在的參議院提名人，在一定程度上體現(xiàn)了許多西弗吉尼亞州選民對華盛頓建制派的不滿，共和黨人當然也是包括在內的。

Blankenship offers no apology for his many contradictions and personal and business decisions, some of them previously undisclosed. Though he lives a baronial lifestyle thanks to a fortune built on coal scratched from West Virginia’s mountains, he says the size and origins of his wealth are no one’s business. He is the only candidate in either party in the Senate race who has not disclosed his personal finances as required by law to the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. There isn’t “much of a penalty” for flouting the law, he explained in an interview, justifying his refusal.

布蘭肯希普對于自己身上的許多矛盾之處，以及個人和商業(yè)上的決策從未作出道歉，其中一些決定此前還從來沒有公開披露過。盡管過著貴族般的生活——這要得益于他從西弗吉尼亞的山里搜刮來的財富，他說自己的財富規(guī)模和來源不關別人的事。在參議院選舉中，他是兩黨唯一一個未根據(jù)參議院道德委員會(Senate Select Committee on Ethics)規(guī)定披露個人財務狀況的候選人。蔑視該規(guī)則“不會受到多少懲罰”，他在一次采訪中為自己拒絕披露的做法辯解道。

“I don’t personally think anybody should have to disclose private information,” he said while awaiting the start of a “meet the candidates” event last week in Cabin Creek, West Virginia.

“我個人認為，任何人都不應該披露個人信息，”在上周西弗吉尼亞卡賓溪舉行的“見見候選人”(meet the candidates)的活動上，他在候場時說。

National Republican leaders are alarmed that Blankenship could emerge as the winner of the primary, which they fear would cost them a winnable seat in November against Sen. Joe Manchin, a vulnerable Democrat.

共和黨的全國領袖擔心，布蘭肯希普可能會贏得初選，他們擔心這樣的結果會讓他們在11月針對參議員喬·曼欽(Joe Manchin)的競選中損失一個原本能夠拿下的席位，曼欽是一位不難打敗的民主黨人。

In a highly unusual move, a super PAC linked to Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky senator and Republican leader, began saturating the West Virginia airwaves last week with an ad attacking Blankenship for poisoning local drinking water from his former coal mines. The nearly $745,000 campaign of TV and digital ads is meant to boost the chances of two conventional Republicans in the race, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Rep. Evan Jenkins. A Fox News poll conducted last week found a fluid race, with Blankenship trailing his rivals but about one in four voters undecided.

一個與肯塔基州參議員、共和黨領袖米奇·麥康奈爾(Mitch McConnell)有關的超級政治行動委員會，做出了極度不同尋常的舉動，上周開始鋪天蓋地地推出了一條攻擊布蘭肯希普的廣告，說他此前的煤礦污染導致當?shù)仫嬘盟卸?。這個耗資近74.5萬美元的宣傳活動包括電視和數(shù)字廣告，意在增加競選中兩位傳統(tǒng)共和黨人的機會，這兩人分別為總檢察長帕特里克·莫里西(Patrick Morrisey)和眾議員埃文·詹金斯(Evan Jenkins)。?？怂剐侣勆现艿囊豁椕裾{發(fā)現(xiàn)，這場競選勝負難料，布蘭肯希普緊追在對手之后，但每四個選民中就有一人尚未決定投誰。

On Monday, responding to the attack ads, Blankenship brought up McConnell’s marriage to Elaine Chao, the secretary of transportation, and questioned whether the majority leader faced a conflict of interest in foreign relations. Chao’s father is “a wealthy Chinaperson,” Blankenship said, speaking on a West Virginia radio show, adding, “And there’s a lot of connections to some of the brass, if you will, in China.”

周一，布蘭肯希普在對攻擊廣告作出回應時，提到了麥康奈爾與交通部長趙小蘭(Elaine Chao)的婚姻，質疑這位多數(shù)黨領袖是否在外國關系方面存在利益沖突。布蘭肯希普在西弗吉尼亞一檔電臺節(jié)目中說，趙小蘭的父親是一位“非常富有的中國人”，并且補充道，“而且如果要說的話，與中國身居高位的一些人有著許多聯(lián)系”。

“I read in books that people think he’s soft on China,” he said of McConnell.

“我在書里看到，人們認為他對中國的立場軟弱，”他如此評價麥康奈爾。

China, as it happens, is a topic of personal interest to Blankenship. His fiancee, Farrah Meiling Hobbs, was born there. The two met on a flight from Atlanta to Las Vegas about eight years ago, Blankenship said. According to the website of an international trading company Hobbs founded, she is “a former Chinese professional basketball player and part-time model” who moved to the United States in 1996.

碰巧的是，中國也是有關布蘭肯希普個人利益的話題。他的未婚妻法拉·梅玲·霍布斯(Farrah Meiling Hobbs)生于中國。布蘭肯希普說，他們兩人在八年前相識于亞特蘭大飛往拉斯維加斯的航班上。根據(jù)霍布斯建立的一家國際貿易公司網(wǎng)站，她曾是中國專業(yè)籃球運動員、兼職模特，于1996年搬到美國。

It was purchased just before Blankenship began a one-year prison sentence following his conviction on a misdemeanor count related to the 2010 explosion at Upper Big Branch mine, the deadliest U.S. mine accident in 40 years.

在布蘭肯希普開始一年的服刑之前，他們購置了這棟房屋。他因2010年Upper Big Branch煤礦爆炸事件被判輕罪，這是美國40年來死亡人數(shù)最多的礦難。

Though Blankenship stepped down that year as chief executive of Massey Energy Co., he exited with his sumptuous earnings intact. Massey paid him $17.8 million in his last year. He gained an additional $86.2 million when the company was later sold, by one estimate.

盡管布蘭肯希普在那一年辭去了梅西能源公司(Massey Energy Co.)的首席執(zhí)行官職務，但他帶著豐厚的收入全身而退。最后一年，梅西公司付給了他1780萬美元。后來公司出售時，有人估計他額外獲得了8620萬美元。

Part of Blankenship’s assets are now paying for some $2 million of TV and digital ads — far more than his rivals — that seek to muddy the picture of his 2015 conviction by painting him as a victim of a politically driven “Obama judge” and “Obama prosecutors.”

布蘭肯希普的部分資產(chǎn)現(xiàn)在正用于支付200萬美元左右的電視和數(shù)字廣告——遠遠多于他的競選對手。這些廣告試圖攪渾他2015年的罪名，將他描繪成了受政治驅動的“奧巴馬法官”和“奧巴馬檢察官”的受害者。

In his campaign, Blankenship positions himself as a West Virginia populist, an “American competitionist” who stands for unfettered capitalism. The heart of the government’s case against him at trial was that he rapaciously sought profit while ignoring mine safety.

在競選活動中，布蘭肯希普把自己定位為一個西弗吉尼亞民粹主義者，代表著自由放任資本主義的“美國競爭主義者”。政府在審判中對他提起訴訟的核心便是他貪求利益，卻忽視了礦場安全。

Yet he identifies the new frontier of uninhibited capitalism as China. In a telephone conversation he recorded in 2009, introduced at his trial, Blankenship said he might move to Asia where governments enforce fewer regulations.

但他認為無拘束的資本主義新領域在中國。在審判中拿出的一段2009年的電話錄音里，布蘭肯希普表示他可能會搬到亞洲，因為那里的政府管制較少。

“I’m actually considering moving to China or somewhere and being more like George Washington if I can get citizenship,” he said. “I can probably get citizenship in India. I’d rather be in China.”

“我實際上正在考慮搬去中國或是其他地方，要是我能獲得公民身份的話，就更像喬治·華盛頓，”他說。“我可能在印度獲得公民身份。但我還是寧愿在中國。”

In the interview, he repeated this sentiment and freely discussed his financial history in China, though he said foreign citizenship was no longer a priority for him — perhaps dual citizenship would be useful, he mused.

在采訪中，他重申了這個觀點，并洋洋灑灑地談論了他的未婚妻在中國的財務歷史，盡管他說，外國公民身份已經(jīng)不再是他的重點——但又若有所思地說，或許雙重國籍身份有所幫助。

He expressed admiration for how Beijing exercises central control over its economy.

他對中國政府如何對其經(jīng)濟實施中央控制表達了欽佩。

“Americans confuse the words communism and dictatorship,” he said. “The Chinese are running a dictatorial capitalism and it’s very effective. That’s the way corporations are run. Corporations are not a democracy.”

“美國人混淆了共產(chǎn)主義和獨裁專制這兩個詞，”他說。“中國人搞的是獨裁資本主義，它非常有效。這就是企業(yè)運營的方式。企業(yè)并不是一種民主體制。”

Although Blankenship maintained in numerous court proceedings that his principal residence was Nevada, he still owns a home in West Virginia, in Mingo County not far from where he was raised. He said he paid property taxes in West Virginia but not income taxes.

盡管布蘭肯希普在多次訴訟程序中都堅稱，他的主要居住地是內華達州，但他還是在西弗吉尼亞的明戈縣擁有一所房屋，那里離他長大的地方不遠。他表示，他在西弗吉尼亞繳納房產(chǎn)稅，但沒繳納所得稅。

There is nothing legally barring him from seeking a Senate seat from the state if he declares a primary residence elsewhere.

就算他聲稱自己的主要居住地在別處，法律也不會阻止他尋求該州的參議院席位。

He scoffed at the notion that voters might regard him as an outsider, even a carpetbagger, because he lives mostly in Nevada.

對于選民或許會因為他主要居住在內華達州，而把他視為一個外來者，甚至是一個手提包政客的觀點，他嗤之以鼻。

“Many people have two homes,” he said. “Most coal miners now have one in Tennessee and one in West Virginia.”

“很多人有兩個家，”他說。“現(xiàn)在大多數(shù)的煤礦工人都是田納西州一個，西弗吉尼亞州一個。”