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."

　　新加坡前总理李光耀(Lee Kuan Yew)说，美国要恢复竞争力，就得解决好自己的财政问题。他还暗示，美国总统奥巴马(Barack Obama)如果能想出与共和党合作的办法并“处理好这个问题”，不仅会增加自己获得连任的机会，还会提升美国在亚洲的地位。

　　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新加坡前总理李光耀(Lee Kuan Yew)现代新加坡国父、现年87岁的李光耀难得地接受了《华尔街日报》的采访。采访期间他还说，在新加坡按计划于下月上旬举行的选举中，他认为反对党领袖将会获得一定的席位。分析人士相信，这次选举将成为新加坡历史上竞争最激烈的选举之一。

　　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.

　　新加坡是亚洲最重要的金融中心之一，一直是美国的一个重要盟友，但这个富足的城市国家也曾花了不少功夫才得以同中国等亚洲大国和睦相处，特别是在它同这些国家的贸易不断增长的时候。李光耀说，美国保持突出的大国地位、完全摆脱近期经济困局符合世界的利益，因为那样它就可以帮助维持整个世界的势力均衡。

　　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.

　　李光耀一身休闲打扮，但举手投足之间显得庄重文雅。他显然对美国全球地位下降、特别是政治和金融地位下降的可能性感到担心，因为他认为美国的国际影响力是亚洲经济得以迅速崛起的一个基石。虽然体形显得有些虚弱，但李光耀回答问题时透着一股活力，他的回答揭示出他对华盛顿政策辩论的消长所保持的浓厚兴趣。

　　"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.

　　他说，世界得到发展的原因在于美国建立的稳定性，如果这种稳定性受到动摇，我们将处于一种不同的形势。

　　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."

　　李光耀说，他认为“中国可能会逐渐形成挑战”，但他不相信中美之间会在短时间内形成严重冲突。他说，中国需要美国的市场、美国的投资和美国的技术，不会希望打乱既定计划；虽然会有激烈的竞争，但我认为不会有冲突。

　　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.

　　然而世界还面临着其他风险，如自然灾害削弱了日本，以及中东形势动荡不安。在中东地区，美军可能是唯一有实力在解决利比亚等地冲突的过程中发挥决定性作用的军队。他说，法国已经打了头阵，但他们不具备通过军事方式解决问题所需要的装备。

　　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.

　　尽管新加坡取得了巨大的成功、赢得了透明高效的声誉，多年来，李光耀却因培养一种自上而下的管理风格而受到人权组织和公民社会组织的批评，批评人士说这样的管理风格限制了新闻自由、压制了不同意见。去年，华盛顿维权组织自由之家(Freedom House)在全球新闻自由度排行中，将新加坡排在了第151位，在利比里亚和伊拉克之后。

　　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.

　　李光耀反驳了批评意见，他指出新加坡在一个不稳定的地区崛起成为经济强国，西方式的民主并非适用于所有的国家。他经常说，新闻自由有时必须服从国家建设的需要。

　　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.

　　李光耀在采访中说，中国和印度的经济增长提振了该地区的各个经济体，也有望推动新加坡的发展。他说，我们处在这两个大国之间的十字路口上，你必须通过新加坡才能从印度洋进入太平洋。

　　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."

　　关于美国，李光耀说，他坚信长远来看，美国将依然强大，不过会面临严重问题，包括预算赤字、债务、高失业率，这些问题已经持续了数届政府。

　　"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."

　　他说，我觉得如果总统给选民一剂苦药，他就无法获得连任。所以，总统往往会拖延，推迟不受欢迎的政策，以便赢得选举。这样，问题就一届一届的传下去了。

　　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."

　　他还说，美国总统奥巴马知道自己有这样的责任，但他必须与共和党纠缠。我认为如果他解决了这个问题，他连任的机会将增大。肯定有很多讲道理、有头脑的美国人知道这是恢复他们竞争力的唯一途径。

　　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.

　　李光耀认为美国和中国不会有发生重大冲突的风险。他说，我没有水晶球，不过我要说10年、20年、30年内，中国将保持与美国的稳定关系、增加对美出口、进口美国技术、吸引美国投资、派学生赴美学习，这才是中国的利益所在。他说，美国开始向中国派出更多的学生，这将有利于增强美国对中国的了解，是有帮助的。

　　"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."

　　他问道，西方人为什么要害怕中国？尽管中国和印度经济飞速发展，我认为，鉴于美国的多文化社会和英语这些容易吸引外国人才的特点，美国人将一直有优势。