🔴Friday January 8th 2021
🔵2021年1月8日星期五
1️⃣Moderna’s vaccines: a potentially upsetting news…
莫德納疫苗：可能有個壞消息…
The covid-19 vaccine developed by Moderna will probably offer protection against the virus for up to two years, according to the company’s chief executive. The speed at which vaccines have been developed means scientists have less data than they usually would about the longevity of any inoculation. The Moderna shot was approved by the EU on Wednesday.
根據美商莫德納 (Moderna) 的執行長表示，該藥廠所開發的新冠疫苗可能 (僅能對人體) 提供最多兩年時間的病毒防護作用。(新冠) 疫苗的開發速度/進程意謂著科學家們所掌握之有關疫苗接種壽命的數據資料比平常時候來得少。莫德納的新冠疫苗已於 (本) 週三獲得了歐盟 (藥品管理局) 的批准。
2️⃣US politics: something you don’t see everyday…
美國政治：此景難得一見…
After the storming of the Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump on Wednesday—during which a woman was shot and killed and three more people died in “medical emergencies”—Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader of the House and Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate, called for his removal from office. Besides Ms Pelosi and Mr Schumer, Adam Kinzinger, a Republican representative for Illinois, Karl Racine, the attorney-general for the District of Columbia, and the previously pro-Trump National Association of Manufacturers said Vice-President Mike Pence should invoke the 25th Amendment. The Democratic leaders threatened to impeach Mr Trump if he was not otherwise removed. Elaine Chao, the transportation secretary, became the first member of Mr Trump’s cabinet to resign following the attack on Congress. Twitter, Instagram and Facebook all suspended the president’s accounts.
在支持美國總統川普的選民於 (本) 週三襲擊美國國會山莊 (一名女子遭擊斃，另有三名死者因緊急醫療狀況而不治) 後，民主黨在參、眾兩院的黨團領袖舒默 (Chuck Schumer) 與裴洛西 (Nancy Pelosi) 一同呼籲川普下台。除了舒默與裴洛西之外，共和黨籍的伊利諾州 (Illinois) 眾議員金辛格 (Adam Kinzinger)、華府特區檢察總長拉辛 (Karl Racine) 以及先前挺川普的美國全國製造商協會 (National Association of Manufacturers) 紛紛表示副總統彭斯 (Mike Pence) 應該啟動 (美國) 憲法第25修正案 (譯註：當總統失能被免職時，副總統將立即成為總統)。民主黨籍的 (政治/國會) 領袖們威脅若川普沒有依其他方式提前下台，則將考慮啟動彈劾。美國 (聯邦) 運輸部長趙小蘭 (Elaine Chao) 成為了第一位因國會襲擊事件而辭職的川普內閣成員。推特、IG、臉書紛紛暫停了川普的美國總統帳號之使用權限。
3️⃣The best laid plans: North Korea
北韓：計畫永遠趕不上變化
Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s dictator, opened the congress of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea this week with a bald admission of failure. His country’s five-year economic plan had, he admitted, “immensely underachieved in almost all sectors”. The get-together, the first since 2016, aims to set a new course for North Korea. The country could hardly be heading in a worse direction. In response to covid-19 Mr Kim closed its borders, including that with China, an economic lifeline. That compounded the country’s isolation. Trade collapsed by an estimated 80%; food prices are rising sharply. If Mr Kim cared about his people, he would welcome foreign vaccines and initiate the kind of market reforms that set communist China and Vietnam on the path of growth. Instead yesterday he was reported to have told the congress of plans to increase the country’s defence capabilities.
北韓獨裁者金正恩 (Kim Jong Un) 在北韓勞動黨第八次全國代表大會之開幕上坦承其“國家五年經濟計畫 (國民經濟發展五年戰略)”以失敗告終。金正恩承認他的 (五年經濟) 計畫“在幾乎所有領域都沒有達標”。這次的全國代表大會是自 2016年以來的首次，旨在為北韓樹立新的方針，而該國也幾乎不可能朝更糟糕的方向前進 (指狀況已經夠糟了，要更糟還很難)。為了因應新冠病毒，金正恩關閉了包含與其經濟命脈相連的中國之邊境。此一舉措加劇了北韓的孤立，而估計貿易減少了 80％；食品價格也急劇上漲。如果金正恩真的關心他的人民，那他應該歡迎外國疫苗 (進入北韓) 並發起使共產主義的中國以及越南走上變革道路的市場經濟改革。然而在昨天，金正恩反倒在全代會上提交了增加北韓國防動能的計畫。
