Former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew said the U.S. needs to put its fiscal house in order to recover its competitiveness and suggested U.S. President Barack Obama would improve both his re-election chances and U.S. standing in Asia if he finds a way to work with Republicans and "tackles this problem."

　　新加坡前總理李光耀(Lee Kuan Yew)說，美國要恢復競爭力，就得解決好自己的財政問題。他還暗示，美國總統奧巴馬(Barack Obama)如果能想出與共和黨合作的辦法并“處理好這個問題”，不僅會增加自己獲得連任的機會，還會提升美國在亞洲的地位。

　　The 87-year-old founder of modern Singapore also said in a rare interview with The Wall Street Journal that he thought opposition leaders would pick up some seats in a planned election there early next month in a vote that analysts believe could be one of the most competitive in Singapore's history.

　　Reuters新加坡前總理李光耀(Lee Kuan Yew)現代新加坡國父、現年87歲的李光耀難得地接受了《華爾街日報》的采訪。采訪期間他還說，在新加坡按計劃于下月上旬舉行的選舉中，他認為反對黨領袖將會獲得一定的席位。分析人士相信，這次選舉將成為新加坡歷史上競爭最激烈的選舉之一。

　　Singapore, one of the most important financial centers in Asia, has been an important ally of the U.S. -- although the wealthy city-state has also taken pains to stay on good terms with other Asian powers such as China, especially as trade with those countries has grown. Still, Mr. Lee said it was in the world's interests for the U.S. to remain a pre-eminent power and fully recover from its recent economic troubles, so that it can help preserve the balance of power world-wide.

　　新加坡是亞洲最重要的金融中心之一，一直是美國的一個重要盟友，但這個富足的城市國家也曾花了不少功夫才得以同中國等亞洲大國和睦相處，特別是在它同這些國家的貿易不斷增長的時候。李光耀說，美國保持突出的大國地位、完全擺脫近期經濟困局符合世界的利益，因為那樣它就可以幫助維持整個世界的勢力均衡。

　　Casually dressed but formal in manner, Mr. Lee was clearly concerned about the prospect of a diminished U.S. global role, politically and financially, arguing that its international influence had been a cornerstone of Asia's rapid economic rise. His answers, delivered with a robustness that was in contrast to a somewhat frail physique, revealed a close interest in the ebb and flow of policy debates in Washington.

　　李光耀一身休閑打扮，但舉手投足之間顯得莊重文雅。他顯然對美國全球地位下降、特別是政治和金融地位下降的可能性感到擔心，因為他認為美國的國際影響力是亞洲經濟得以迅速崛起的一個基石。雖然體形顯得有些虛弱，但李光耀回答問題時透著一股活力，他的回答揭示出他對華盛頓政策辯論的消長所保持的濃厚興趣。

　　"The world has developed because of the stability America established," he said. "If that stability is rocked, we are going to have a different situation," he said.

　　他說，世界得到發展的原因在于美國建立的穩定性，如果這種穩定性受到動搖，我們將處于一種不同的形勢。

　　Mr. Lee said he thinks a "challenge may come gradually from China," but he doubts China and the U.S. will come into serious conflict anytime soon. China needs American markets, American investments and American technology, and won't want to "upset the apple cart," he said. "While there will be keen competition, I do not see conflict."

　　李光耀說，他認為“中國可能會逐漸形成挑戰”，但他不相信中美之間會在短時間內形成嚴重沖突。他說，中國需要美國的市場、美國的投資和美國的技術，不會希望打亂既定計劃；雖然會有激烈的競爭，但我認為不會有沖突。

　　The world faces other risks, though, including a Japan weakened by natural disasters and a turbulent Middle East, where the U.S. may be the only military that has the power to play a decisive role in settling conflicts in places such as Libya. "France has taken the lead but they do not have the equipment to settle the issue militarily," he said.

　　然而世界還面臨著其他風險，如自然災害削弱了日本，以及中東形勢動蕩不安。在中東地區，美軍可能是唯一有實力在解決利比亞等地沖突的過程中發揮決定性作用的軍隊。他說，法國已經打了頭陣，但他們不具備通過軍事方式解決問題所需要的裝備。

　　Despite Singapore's outsize success and reputation for transparency and efficiency, Mr. Lee has drawn criticism from human-rights groups and civil-society organizations over the years for cultivating a top-down management style that critics say limits the freedom of the press and suppresses dissent. Freedom House, a Washington-based advocacy group, last year ranked Singapore 151st in the world in press freedom, behind Liberia and Iraq.

　　盡管新加坡取得了巨大的成功、贏得了透明高效的聲譽，多年來，李光耀卻因培養一種自上而下的管理風格而受到人權組織和公民社會組織的批評，批評人士說這樣的管理風格限制了新聞自由、壓制了不同意見。去年，華盛頓維權組織自由之家(Freedom House)在全球新聞自由度排行中，將新加坡排在了第151位，在利比里亞和伊拉克之后。

　　Mr. Lee has dismissed the critics by pointing to Singapore's rise as an economic power in an unstable region and by saying that Western-style democracy isn't appropriate for all countries. He has said freedom of the press sometimes must be subordinated to the needs of nation-building.

　　李光耀反駁了批評意見，他指出新加坡在一個不穩定的地區崛起成為經濟強國，西方式的民主并非適用于所有的國家。他經常說，新聞自由有時必須服從國家建設的需要。

　　In his interview, Mr. Lee said the growth of China and India would help bolster Singapore, as it lifts economies across the region. "We are at the crossroads between the two giants. You've got to pass Singapore to go from the Indian Ocean into the Pacific," he said.

　　李光耀在采訪中說，中國和印度的經濟增長提振了該地區的各個經濟體，也有望推動新加坡的發展。他說，我們處在這兩個大國之間的十字路口上，你必須通過新加坡才能從印度洋進入太平洋。

　　As for the U.S., Mr. Lee said he was confident it would remain strong in the long run, but it faces serious problems, including "budget deficits, debts, [and] high unemployment figures' that have 'lingered on over several administrations."

　　關于美國，李光耀說，他堅信長遠來看，美國將依然強大，不過會面臨嚴重問題，包括預算赤字、債務、高失業率，這些問題已經持續了數屆政府。

　　"My impression is that presidents do not get re-elected if they give a hard dose of medicine to their people," he said. "So, there is a tendency to procrastinate, to postpone unpopular policies in order to win elections. So the problems have been carried forward."

　　他說，我覺得如果總統給選民一劑苦藥，他就無法獲得連任。所以，總統往往會拖延，推遲不受歡迎的政策，以便贏得選舉。這樣，問題就一屆一屆的傳下去了。

　　U.S. President Obama "knows he has got this responsibility but he has got to tussle with the Republicans," he added. "I believe if he tackles this problem, it will improve his chances of re-election. There must be enough reasonable and thinking Americans who know that this is the only way forward to recover their competitiveness."

　　他還說，美國總統奧巴馬知道自己有這樣的責任，但他必須與共和黨糾纏。我認為如果他解決了這個問題，他連任的機會將增大。肯定有很多講道理、有頭腦的美國人知道這是恢復他們競爭力的唯一途徑。

　　Mr. Lee played down the risk of major conflicts between the U.S. and China. "I do not have a crystal ball but I would say for 10, 20, 30 years, it is not in the interests of China to have other than stable relations with America, growing exports to America, imports of American technology, investments from America and sending students to America to learn." He said, it helps that the U.S. is sending more students to China, which should help improve America's understanding of the country.

　　李光耀認為美國和中國不會有發生重大沖突的風險。他說，我沒有水晶球，不過我要說10年、20年、30年內，中國將保持與美國的穩定關系、增加對美出口、進口美國技術、吸引美國投資、派學生赴美學習，這才是中國的利益所在。他說，美國開始向中國派出更多的學生，這將有利于增強美國對中國的了解，是有幫助的。

　　"Why should [Westerners] fear China?" he asked. Despite China's and India's impressive growth, "I believe the Americans will always have the advantage because of their all-embracive society, and the English language that makes it easy to attract foreign talent."

　　他問道，西方人為什么要害怕中國？盡管中國和印度經濟飛速發展，我認為，鑒于美國的多文化社會和英語這些容易吸引外國人才的特點，美國人將一直有優勢。