US Aircraft Carrier Kitty Hawk Makes Last Port Call
小鹰号航母停靠香港象征意义重大

 
The Kitty Hawk is making its first visit to Hong Kong since Beijing refused to let the U.S. aircraft carrier drop anchor in the city last year. It is the last port call here for America's oldest active warship before it will be decommissioned.

美国小鹰号航空母舰群访问香港，这是自从中国政府去年拒绝让小鹰号停靠香港后，该舰首次停靠香港。这是这艘仍在服役的美国最老航空母舰在退役前的最后一次在亚洲港口停靠。

Thousands of casually dressed sailors left the U.S. aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk on Monday, ready for a few days of rest and recreation in Hong Kong.

美国小鹰号航空母舰战斗群的数以千的名水兵星期一换上便装，离开舰艇，准备在香港休息、娱乐几天。

The last time the warship tried to enter the city, in November, the crew had to stay on board. Unexpectedly, Beijing refused to allow the Kitty Hawk to stop in Hong Kong, disappointing hundreds of relatives who had flown there to celebrate the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday with crew members. The move caused a diplomatic spat between the United States and China.

小鹰号航空母舰群上一次来港是在去年11月，但是水兵们却没能上岸。中国政府出人意料地拒绝让小鹰号停靠香港，让等候在香港的几百名亲属非常失望，他们从美国飞到香港准备和水兵欢度美国的节日感恩节。北京的举动引发美国和中国之间的一次外交摩擦。

Rear Admiral Richard Wren said on board the Kitty Hawk on Monday that Beijing never gave a satisfactory explanation for the incident. But he says things are back on track now.

海军少将理查德.雷恩星期一在小鹰号上说，北京方面对以上事件从未提出一个令人满意的解释。不过他说，现在情况已经回到正轨。

"It's normal. I would say we are status quo," Admiral Wren said. "And I would think other than that one little hiccup with Kitty Hawk - if you look at the history of the past few years and then if you watch what happens in the next year - you know it's still in planning - I think you kind of go - well, it's just a little blip!"

雷恩少将说:“现在正常了。我认为，我们是保持现状。我认为，这是小鹰号遭遇的一个小插曲，如果你看看过去几年的历史，再观察一下明年计划中的行动，你就会说，这仅仅是一个小插曲。”

Other U.S. war ships have already visited Hong Kong this year, including the carrier the Nimitz and the command ship Blue Ridge. On average, 40 U.S. navy vessels make port call in Hong Kong each year, and the sailors spend millions of dollars in stores, hotels, restaurants and bars.

其他美国战舰今年已经访问香港，包括尼米兹航空母舰战斗群和蓝岭号两栖登陆指挥舰。每年平均有40艘美国军舰访问香港，美国的水手在香港商店、酒店、餐馆和酒吧花费数以百万计美元。

The Kitty Hawk is on its normal spring cruise schedule. But Wren says the U.S. navy also is there to closely watch what is going on in the Taiwan Strait - in the crucial time before the inauguration of Taiwan's newly elected President Ma Ying-jeou on May 20.

小鹰号航母战斗群正在进行例行春季巡洋行动。不过雷恩说，目前正值台湾新的总统当选人马英九5月20号宣誓就职前的关键时期，美国海军还要在那里紧密观察台湾海峡的动向。

Hong Kong is expected to be the last port call in Asia for the 47-year-old Kitty Hawk, America's oldest active warship. At the end of May, the United States' last conventionally powered aircraft carrier will be replaced by the George Washington, a nuclear-powered carrier. Like the Kitty Hawk, its home base will be Yokosuka in Japan, the home of the United States' Seventh Fleet.

小鹰号航母战斗群服役年头长达47年，是美国仍在服役的最老的战舰。预计香港是她在亚洲最后停靠的一个港口。美国的这一常规动力航母将在5月底退役，取代她的是核动力乔治.华盛顿号航母战斗。跟小鹰号一样，乔治.华盛顿号将驻扎在美国第七舰队的基地日本横须贺港。

Wren says it is the first time that a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier will be deployed in Japan.

雷恩少将说，这将是核动力航母战斗群首次部署在日本。

"We are determined to continue to support stability in this region so by bringing forward the most significant asset, the best asset that we can bring today and that's USS George Washington," he said.

他说：“我们决心继续支持该地区的稳定，因此我们把今天我们所拥有的最有战斗力的战舰部署在这里，那就是乔治.华盛顿航空母舰战斗群。”

The decision to base the George Washington in Japan raised some opposition among the Japanese public. The country, which is the only nation to have experienced a nuclear attack, when the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on it to end World War II, has a policy of opposing the use of nuclear weapons.

The Kitty Hawk will be brought back to the United States later this year where it will be deactivated.

小鹰号航母战斗群将于今年晚些时候回到美国， 在那里退役。