Atlanta coined the catchphrase that it was the city that was “too busy to hate”. During the past 30 years, the countries of Asia have informally adopted that slogan and transferred it to a whole continent. Since the end of the 1970s, the biggest Asian nations have forgotten about fighting each other – and concentrated on the serious business of getting rich. The results have been spectacular. But there are alarming signs that east Asia’s giants are pursuing dangerous new priorities, and diverting their energy into angry nationalism and territorial disputes.
美国亚特兰大市曾发明一句流行语,称自己是一个“因为太忙而顾不上仇恨”的城市。过去30年里,亚洲国家非正式地采纳了这一口号,将其应用到整个亚洲。自上世纪70年代末以来,亚洲最大的几个国家忘记了相互打架,而是一门心思忙着致富的正事。迄今成效斐然。但有一些令人不安的迹象显示,东亚大国正在追逐一些危险的新重点,将精力投入愤怒的民族主义和领土争端上。