图1：周五，北朝鲜 炸除了位于 Yongbyon 的核反应装置冷却塔。(纽约时报，June 28, 2008)

图2：Christopher Hill 的明智举动使北朝鲜代表重回谈判桌。(David Deal for TIME)
(一位多么自信而沉稳的外交官   )

图3：2007 年2 月13 日，6 国谈判代表在北京庆祝  6 国会谈结束的仪式上共同握手。 北朝鲜同意以接受燃料援助为条件在60 天内关闭核工厂。(L - R) Japan's chief negotiator Kenichiro Sasae, South Korea 's Chun Yung-woo, North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, China's envoy Wu Dawei, U.S. envoy Christopher Hill and Russia's Alexander Losyukov hold hands before the closing ceremony of the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programme on February 13, 2007 in Beijing, China. North Korea agreed to shut down key nuclear facilities within 60 days in return for vital fuel aid. (Photo by Andrew Wong/Getty Images)

布什政府昨天表示欢迎北朝鲜采取的放弃核武器项目的措施，宣布将会把北朝鲜政府从(极待减少的)美国政府敌人的名单中去除。对此举动，仁者见仁，智者见智。布什政府中极右的鹰派认为这是对北韩网开一面，显示了美国政府的软弱；而不少专家则指出，如果布什7 年前听了当时国务卿鲍威尔(POWER) 的劝告，这个局面早就出现了。

持续了多年的与北朝鲜核政府就核武器项目谈判的真正转机出现在2005 年，当时美国的一位相对年轻(50 岁)的外交官接手了在 6 国谈判中的美国首席代表席位。他就是Christopher Hill。[时代]周刊在今年4月3 号的一篇文章中对他起的这种关键作用有简短介绍。听上去很有些戏剧性。

话说2005 年6 月时，关于北朝鲜核武器的6 国谈判陷入僵局。北朝鲜不但重新启动了核反应装置，且无视于国际社会要求其终止其核计划的呼吁。刚上任仅 5 个月的 Hill 先生试图让北朝鲜重新回到谈判桌上来，但布什政府的强硬立场和谈判策略禁止与金正日的政府官员一对一地直接接触，而国务卿赖斯的折衷策略是，只要有中国官员在场，Hill 先生就可以会见北朝鲜的谈判对手。正是在这个背景下，Hill 先生的才智和勇气发挥了使谈判起死回生的效果。

一天，受邀请的中国官员未出席在北京St. Regis 饭店的晚宴，Hill 先生没有如预期的那样抽身而退，反倒单枪匹马独会北朝鲜代表。结果，两周后，6 国会谈梅开二度。这才有三年后今天的美朝开始向最终解除两国持续了近 55 年的敌对状态的重要一步。设想，如果当天 Hill先生或那位北朝鲜官员一方胃口欠佳，那今天美朝关系又会是怎么个局面呢？自然，也许中国官员当时有意设此诱饵作为试探也未可知。但无论如何，如果不是Hill 先生的大智大勇，恐 6 国谈判还在万里长征的路上呢。

2006 年12 月19 日， Christopher Hill (R) 和北朝鲜代表Chun Yung-woo 在钓鱼台国宾馆向记者招手。

2007 年2 月13 日，钓鱼台国宾馆。 美国的首席代表 Christopher Hill (L) 在6 国会谈的最后一天。

回过头来看，在这场北朝鲜与美国较量的持久战中，恐怕不能不承认北朝鲜外交政策软硬兼施的狡诈和有的放矢。虽然面对美国这样一个在世界上经常是指哪儿打哪儿的主儿，楞是使出比36计还多的招数，不怕威胁利诱，不达到自己的目的决不罢休，死顶软缠地拖到布什第二届政府接近尾声了才摆出放下屠刀，立地成佛的姿态。曾几何时，连咱们中国政府这个经过血的考验的亲密战友都放出要限制燃料的风声，欲逼其“就范”。这个金二世真是不知道吃了哪方的龙肝疯胆，或就是朝鲜本地的豹子胆，居然脸不变色心不跳，回旋于 6 国之中，锊虎须扫虎脸的，让世人大跌眼镜。当然，北朝鲜的人民在这场斗争中经历了百年不遇的饥荒，据说近百万人饿死。金正日政权做此番搏斗于国于民究竟是成就了千秋大业抑或祸国殃民，遗害四方，恐还很难定论。

自然，仗打胜了，最光彩的是统帅和高级将领，但历史恐不会忘记真正在战场上冲锋陷阵，或是在谈判桌上八两拨千斤的勇士们。记得多年前看过一本国内出的(或是翻译的？)介绍美国国务院中职业外交官与政客之间矛盾的书，提到职业外交官虽然在国际外交事务中常操胜卷，但几乎每届政府都会安插自己的毫无经验的嫡系亲信来外行领导内行。当年美国政府在二战胜利后对国民党一党的全力支持就曾遭到象包括费正清这样人士的反对。另外最近在电视中听到，当年美国与北越的停战谈判为了谈判的桌子应该是什么形状的(方的还是圆的？)就争执了数月而不能进入正题，尽管美国在越南战场上损失惨重(当然越南的代价也不小)。后来，还是中方的介入，才使得这样一个“难题”得以解决。

话又说回来，如果美韩的战争状态能最终得到解除，对美国人民也是百喜而无一忧。[时代]周刊的文章最后提到，不久前美国费城交响乐团对北朝鲜的访问虽然不是与Hill先生直接有关，但如果没有他使两国关系改善的突破性的努力，乐团恐难成行。这个世界上，演奏音乐远胜过制造炸弹。

祝Hill 先生这样智勇双全的职业外交官能官运亨通，继续造福于世。FOR PEACE.

履历简介:

Education and Peace Corps service

Hill's father was a diplomat in the US Foreign Service and as a child Hill traveled with the family to many countries.^[1] After US diplomats were expelled from Haiti , Hill's family moved to Little Compton, Rhode Island^[1] where Hill attended Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island, graduating in 1970. ^[2] He then went on to study at Bowdoin College, earning a B.A. in economics in 1974. ^[3]

After graduation from college Hill decided to join the Peace Corps.^[1] “Like most kids graduating college I had no idea what I wanted to do,” Hill said, “so I decided to join the Peace Corps and maybe be a little more adventurous than my dad."^[1]

Hill was a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon from 1974 to 1976.^[4] Hill credits his work with the Peace Corps for teaching him his first lessons in diplomacy.^[4] As a volunteer, Hill worked with credit unions and when he discovered that one board of directors had stolen 60 percent of their members' money, he reported on the malfeasance to their members, who promptly re-elected them because the board reflected carefully balanced tribal interests and it really did not matter to the members if the board directors ran a good credit union or not.^[4] Hill said the lesson was that "When something's happened, it's happened for a reason and you do your best to understand that reason. But don't necessarily think you can change it."^[4] Hill took the Foreign Service exam while he was serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon .^[1]

Hill received a Master's degree from the Naval War College in 1994.^[5] Hill speaks Polish, Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, and Albanian.^[5]

Diplomacy

Hill joined the State Department in 1977. ^[6] Hill served as secretary for economic affairs at the US Embassy in Seoul from 1983 to 1985.^[6] When he returned to Korea in 2004 as US Ambassador he began by saying "I was here for three years in the 1980s, one has to be a little careful about drawing on too much experience from so long ago. So, even though I'll certainly draw on my experience from the 1980s, I think I also need to do an awful lot of listening to people to understand what has been going on lately."^[6]

Hill served as the ambassador to Macedonia from 1996 to 1999, Special Envoy to Kosovo in 1998 and 1999, ambassador to Poland from 2000 to 2004, and ambassador to the Republic of Korea from 2004 to 2005 before being appointed as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.^[5] While on a fellowship with the American Political Science Association, Hill served as a member of the staff of Congressman Stephen Solarz.^[5]

In November 2006 President George W. Bush nominated Hill for the grade of career minister, the second-highest rank for career diplomats.^[7] The elite title is one step below career ambassador.^[7]

Bosnia peace settlement

Hill was part of the team that negotiatied the Bosnia peace settlement.^[1] While working on Balkan issues, Hill worked closely with Richard Holbrooke, serving as his deputy at the Dayton Peace Talks in 1995. Holbrooke described Hill as "brilliant, fearless and argumentative" in his book on the Dayton negotiations and said that Hill manages to be both "very cool and very passionate." The combination, Holbrooke said, enhances Hill's "extremely good negotiating skills."^[4] Hill said the negotiations with because the Bosnians, Serbs and Croats were successful because all the parties “were all ready to settle.”^[1]

Hill had a diplomatic failure as special envoy to Kosovo^[1] “because the Serbs were not ready to relinquish their stranglehold on Kosovo, so we ended up in a NATO bombing campaign.”^[1] “Like a lot of things in life: you’ve got to do everything you can do” Hill said, to ensure “that you have left no stone unturned, that you have really tried.”^[1]

Negotiations with North Korea

On February 14, 2005, Hill was named as the Head of the U.S. delegation to the six-party talks aimed at resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis.^[5]

In the first visit to North Korea by a senior American official in over five years, Hill flew into Pyongyang on June 21, 2007 for a two day visit where he was warmly greeted by Ri Gun, the North’s deputy nuclear negotiator at the airport.^[8] “We want to get the six-party process moving,” Mr. Hill said.^[8] “We hope that we can make up for some of the time that we lost this spring, and so I’m looking forward to good discussions about that."^[8] The visit had been organized in secrecy.^[8] Hill had been visiting Tokyo and flew to South Korea and then on to Pyongyang on a small jet.^[8] Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice informed regional allies Japan and South Korea just before Hill's departure from Tokyo . ^[8]

On July 14, 2007 North Korea informed Hill that they had shut down the nuclear reactor at Yongbyon and admitted an international inspection team.^[9] Hill cautioned that the shutdown was "just the first step."^[9] Verifying the declaration will be difficult, because for now the inspectors are limited to the Yongbyon complex.^[9]

On September 3, 2007 the New York Times reported that Hill met in Geneva for two days of one-on-one negotiations with Kim Kye-gwan, who heads the North Korean negotiating team, and that North Korea had agreed to disable its main nuclear fuel production plant by the end of 2007 and to account for all of its nuclear programs to international monitors.^[10] North Korea had also agreed to turn off its main nuclear reactor this summer.^[10] "One thing that we agreed on is that the D.P.R.K. will provide a full declaration of all of their nuclear programs and will disable their nuclear programs by the end of this year, 2007," Hill told reporters.^[10]

On December 20, 2007 the Korean Times reported that Kathleen Stephens, adviser to Hill at the State Department in the office of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, had been appointed as the next ambassador to South Korea .^[11] Sources said that Hill had recommended Stephens for the ambassadorial position for her understanding and experiences on Korean affairs.^[11] Stephens served as an advisor to Hill during the North Korean nuclear talks, and reportedly was working on a peace treaty for the Korean Peninsula .^[11]

On January 8, 2008 the New York Times reported that North Korea had missed a deadline to submit an inventory of its nuclear arms programs and that Hill said that failure to meet a deadline should be confronted with patience and perseverance.^[12] "They were prepared to give a declaration which wasn’t going to be complete and correct and we felt that it was better for them to give us a complete one even if it’s going to be a late one," said Hill.^[12]

On February 7, 2008 Hill told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that talks with North Korea are at a "critical, challenging" point.^[13] Washington has refused to remove North Korea from its terrorism blackslist until the promised list of its nuclear efforts is provided.^[13] "Let me be clear," Hill said.^[13] " 'Complete and correct' means complete and correct. This declaration must include all nuclear weapons, programs, materials and facilities, including clarification of any proliferation activities."^[13]

On March 2, 2008 Hill said in an interview in Beijing that US diplomatic relations with Korea were possible before the end of the Bush administration if Korea completely dismantled its nuclear program.^[14] "We've told them we are not prepared to do that until they give up their nuclear materials," said Hill.^[14] "We can begin the process of discussing what we are going to do, whether we are going to open embassies, that sort of thing. But we will not have diplomatic relations with a nuclear North Korea ."^[14]

On April 11, 2008 the Washington Post reported that a tentative deal has been reached with North Korea concerning a range of nuclear activities and the lifting of sanctions against North Korea .^[15] The agreement would include North Korea 's disabling of its main nuclear facility and a complete accounting of North Korea 's plutonium.^[15] "We are trying to focus on the plutonium as we try to resolve our suspicions on uranium enrichment," said chief U.S. negotiator Christopher R. Hill.^[15] "That's where the bombs are. We don't have suspicions about plutonium; we have cold, hard facts about plutonium."^[15]

US Relationship with China

Although Hill is not well known in the United States , he has become a celebrity also in China as chief envoy in talks on North Korea 's nuclear weapons program.^[16] Part of the reason is that during negotiations Hill speaks every morning and evening to the media and has an easygoing manner, while his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye Gwan, gives only occasional media access.^[16]

Hill says that the six party talks with North Korea have opened the door for fruitful dealings between the US and China in other areas.^[1] “We’ve worked diplomatically with them shoulder to shoulder. We haven’t done this sort of thing before with China ,” says Hill.^[1] "At some point we have to figure out a way to deal with 1.3 billion people, and I think the six-party process has been a good one for that.”^[1]

Hill said in an interview on April 21, 2008 in the Seattle Times that the United States ' relationship with China is the most important bilateral relationship in the world.^[17] "I would say the China relationship is the most important bilateral relationship we have in the world," says Hill.^[17] "We have some 57 dialogues with Chinese counterparts, ranging from global warming to economic and trade issues. I would say we spend a great deal of time and attention on things Chinese with the understanding that in the long run we have to have a good working relationship with 1.3 billion people."^[17]

Hill says that China has been an active participant in the six-party talks.^[17] " China is a very active participant. It's an area we have succeeded in working with them very productively and pragmatically on an area of mutual concern," says Hill.^[17] " China looks at North Korea in very different ways from how we look at them. You have to recall they were a historical partner and ally. Chinese veterans associations trace their roots to the Korean War. All that said, China is very much convinced that North Korea needs to give up its nuclear ambitions."^[17]

Hill says that recent events in China and protests surrounding the torch relay for the Olympics may not result in improved human rights.^[17] "The Chinese people are very proud of hosting the Olympics. This sense of pride transcends political views within China ," says Hill.^[17] "Even people who are extremely critical of their own government, and there are many Chinese who are very critical of their own government, even those people are filled with a sense of pride that China is hosting these Olympics. Many of them have taken the view that those who would somehow boycott the Olympics are doing so out of a desire to keep China down and otherwise humiliate and embarrass China. So it is an issue with great public resonance in China , going well beyond the question of the government."^[17]

Reputation in East Asia

In Seoul, Hill had one of the happiest moments in his life because his beloved Boston Red Sox defeated their much-hated rival New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series and won the World Series in 2004. One of the subjects Hill spoke about with his South Korean diplomatic counterparts upon his arrival in Seoul as the new U.S. ambassador was the Red Sox' 2003 closing pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim. ^[18] Hill has also won over the media in Japan .^[16] After the Boston Red Sox signed pitching star Daisuke Matsuzaka from the Seibu Lions, Hill turned up for meetings in Tokyo wearing a Seibu Lions baseball cap.^[16]

Hill's mention of Kim was an early indication that the new U.S. ambassador to Seoul would set a new precedent by closely approaching to South Korea 's contemporary culture and society. He frequently had dialogues with South Koreans at universities, cyber chat rooms, and sometimes places that are considered hotbeds of anti-U.S. sentiments. He was the first U.S. ambassador to pay respects at Gwangju's Mangwoldong May 18 National Cemetery for thousands of civilians who stood up for democracy and were massacred by the then-military government in May 1980. Many South Koreans suspected that the U.S. government allowed the attack, and no senior U.S. official had ever visited Mangwoldong before. According to Tami Overby, a senior official with the American Chamber of Commerce in South Korea , Hill served the shortest term in her 18 years of life in Seoul but had the most impact.^[4]

Relations with New Zealand

Main article: New Zealand-United States relations

In May 2006, Hill described the New Zealand's 1985 anti-nuclear legislation as "a relic", and signaled that the US wanted a closer defence relationship with New Zealand. He also praised New Zealand ’s involvement in Afghanistan and reconstruction in Iraq. "Rather than trying to change each other’s minds on the nuclear issue... I think we should focus on things we can make work," Hill said adding that the US would not demand to "put ships back into New Zealand ."^[19]

Awards and honors

Hill was a recipient of the Robert S. Frasure Award for Peace Negotiations for his work on the Kosovo crisis.^[5] The award is named for Hill's friend Bob Frasure, a fellow American diplomat killed in 1995 in Bosnia.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Hill is married and has three children.^[20] After Hill was promoted from US Ambassador to Korea to Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, his wife, Patty Hill, and their two daughters remained in Korea until the end of the school year so his daughters could complete their studies.^[20]

Publications

• "The geopolitical implications of enlargement". In Jan Zielonka (ed.), Europe unbound -- Enlarging and reshaping the boundaries of the European Union. (Routledge, 2002).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_R._Hill