＊第三季＊【EP. 83】#373 經濟學人新聞評論【日本：同性婚姻、七大工業國組織 (G7)、日本憲法、加密貨幣 (交易所)、Coinbase、比特幣 (Bitcoin)、區塊鏈、美中關係、阿拉斯加州 (Alaska)、美國國務卿、美國國家安全顧問】

🔴Thursday March 18th 2021 🔵2021年3月18日星期四 1️⃣Legalising same-sex marriage in Japan!? 日本亦將同性婚姻合法化！？ A Japanese court ruled that the country’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. Japan is the only country in the G7, a group of rich nations, that does not allow same-sex unions. Its constitution defines marriage as being between “both sexes”, but the court said this violated the right to equality, which is also guaranteed by the constitution. 日本一法院裁定該國禁止同性婚姻是違憲的。日本是七大工業國組織 (G7，由世界七大已開發國家經濟體所組成的國際組織) 之中唯一不允許同性婚姻的國家。日本憲法將婚姻定義為“兩性”之間的結盟/合，但該法院稱這侵犯了平等權，而後者 (平等權) 也是 (日本) 憲法所保障的權利。 2️⃣Cryptocurrency: God knows the game 加密貨幣：老天爺都摸不清 Coinbase, America’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, was valued at $68bn ahead of its planned stockmarket listing. Its previous round of fundraising in 2018 put a value of $8bn on the company. It has surged thanks to this year’s bitcoin rally. A successful public listing would be an important moment for the cryptocurrency sector, which regulators have viewed with scepticism. 美國最大的加密貨幣交易所 Coinbase 在其 (計劃發行股票公開) 上市之前的估值為 680億美元。該公司在 2018年進行的前一輪融資已使該公司的市值達到了 80億美元。由於比特幣在今年狂漲，這也使得 Coinbase 的價值水漲船高。成功的公開上市對於加密貨幣產業而言將是重要之時刻，但監管機構/單位仍對此 (加密貨幣) 抱持著懷疑的態度。 3️⃣Cold opening: America and China in Alaska 美中相約阿拉斯加：從頭冷到尾 Today America and China begin their first high-level meeting of the Biden administration in Anchorage, Alaska. There will be two days of talks between Tony Blinken, America’s Secretary of State, Jake Sullivan, America’s national security adviser, and China’s two most senior diplomats: Yang Jiechi, a Politburo member and Wang Yi, the foreign minister. The choice of icy location, at the conclusion of Mr Blinken and Mr Sullivan’s first trip to Asia, is an unsubtle message. China wants a thaw in relations after the deep freeze under Donald Trump, but Mr Blinken and Mr Sullivan are expected to say that China must first change its behaviour, including the use of economic coercion against Australia and its aggressive posture on Taiwan. They will also raise the crackdown in Hong Kong and human-rights atrocities in Xinjiang—both issues China has declared to be none of America’s business. The atmosphere may be even icier when the meeting is over. 今天美中兩方將在 (美國) 阿拉斯加州最大城安克拉治 (Anchorage) 展開拜登政府上任以來首度的高層會議。美國國務卿布林肯 (Tony Blinken)、國家安全顧問蘇利文 (Jake Sullivan) 與中國兩位最為資深的外交官：中共中央政治局委員楊潔篪與外長王毅，將參與這場為期兩天的談話。選在這個冰天雪地的位置舉行會議，作為布林肯與蘇利文首趟亞洲行的終場，透露著非常含蓄的訊息。中國尋求美中因為川普而急劇冷凍的關係有機會解凍，但布林肯與蘇利文則預計表示，中方必須先改變，包括對澳洲施以經濟脅迫手段、對台灣的侵略姿態等行為。他們也將提及兩個中方一再強調不關美國人事的香港鎮壓與新疆人權暴行問題。雙方的氣氛可能在會議結束後將更為冷淡。 -- Hosting provided by SoundOn