While it may seem like a fairly straightforward question, it's actually quite complicated.

這聽起來是個一翻兩瞪眼的問題，可事實上卻相當複雜

The problem is - it depends on who you ask as to what answer you get and

問不同的人會得到不同的答案，

there is no one generally accepted answer. Also, the word 'country' has no official meaning.

而且沒有一個答案是所有人都接受的。再說，「國家」這個詞也沒有標準的定義。

A good place to start might be an organisation that knows what they're talking about - the United Nations.

從聯合國開始找答案也許會是個好的開始

There are currently 193 members of the UN.

現在聯合國有193個會員國

This is why this is the lowest number you'll ever hear to how many countries there are.

這也就是為什麼當有人問「世界上有幾個國家」時，你會聽到的答案至少是193以上

Along with the 193 members, the UN also has two permanent non-member observer states -

除了這193個會員國外，聯合國還有兩個常任非會員觀察國

the Holy See (representing the Vatican City State), and the State of Palestine.

教廷（代表梵蒂岡）、以及巴勒斯坦國

Despite not being a member, the Vatican City is a country and is recognised by everyone as such.

雖然梵蒂岡不是成員國，但是它被所有成員國承認是個國家

Despite being a country within a city within a country and small not only by country or

儘管梵蒂岡是一個在其他國家（義大利）裡的一個城市（羅馬）裡的國家，而且不管以國家或者

city standards but more comparable in size to that of a small village with a population of around 800

城市的角度來看，都是一個相當小的地方，跟一個小村莊差不多大，人口也只有大約800人

and a land area of less than half a square kilometre. It is officially the smallest country in the world

土地則不到0.5平方公里。它是世界上面積最小的國家

and compared to the largest country, it is 38 million times smaller than Russia.

而且比世界上面積最大的國家俄羅斯比還要小3億8百萬倍

But size doesn't matter and the fact of the matter is the Vatican City is a country.

不過反正大小不重要，重要的是梵蒂岡是個國家

So... logic would dictate that the State of Palestine is also a country then, right?

所以，邏輯上來說，巴勒斯坦也是個國家，對嗎？

Well... no. Not yet anyway.

恩...不是，至少現在還不是

The State of Palestine wants to be a full member of the UN and submitted an application is November of 2011.

巴勒斯坦想要成為聯合國的會員國，且早就在2011年11月提交申請

However, the only reason the Holy See isn't a full simply because...

而教廷不是會員國的理由只有一個，就是...

it doesn't want to be. Possibly because it wants to remain neutral.

它不想成為會員國。可能是因為它想要保持中立

It seems unlikely that Palestine will gain full membership for one reason -

巴勒斯坦不太可能成為會員國的原因在於——

the United States of America. If you're unaware of the situation in the Middle East,

美國。以防你不清楚中東的狀況，我來做個說明

the Palestinians and the Israelis have waging war on and off for decades.

巴勒斯坦和以色列幾十年來戰火不斷

And with Israel being of close ally of the United States, who often provide financial

而以色列是美國交好的盟國，美國常常提供財務

and military assistance to Israel, the US has always voted against Palestine.

和軍事上的協助給以色列，而且永遠會在投票表决上為難巴勒斯坦

This is despite president Obama saying he does want a sovereign Palestinian state.

儘管美國總統歐巴馬說他支持巴勒斯坦建國

The US didn't want Palestine to even become an observer state, but they still won an overwhelming majority.

美國甚至不想讓巴勒斯坦成為聯合國觀察員，但巴勒斯坦在此取得壓倒性的勝利

However, in order to gain full membership, the decision lies with the UN Security Council.

然而，若巴勒斯坦想取得會員國的資格，則必須依賴聯合國安全理事會的決議

The Security Council is made of 15 members - 5 permanent members (also known as The Big Five),

安全理事會由15個國家組成，5個常任理事國

and 10 non-permanent members who serve for 2 years.

以及10個任期為2年的非常任理事國。

To become a full member of the UN a country must obtain a two-thirds majority vote.

想要成為聯合國會員國，必須取得2/3的多數同意

The Big Five consists of - China, Russia, France, the United States, and the United Kingdom,

5個常任理事國為 - 中國、俄羅斯、法國、美國，以及英國

all of whom has what's known as 'veto power' in which they can veto any UN resolution

他們全部都可以行使否決權，也就是說他們可以否決掉任何決議案

and it won't get passed, even if all other 14 members are in favour of it. Therefore,

即便其他14個理事國都同意的情況下，他們仍能讓案子無法通過。因此，

the US can veto any membership application made by the State of Palestine.

美國可以否決掉任何巴勒斯坦提出的成員國申請

The UN aside, there are others reasons why you might hesitate to call Palestine a country.

撇開聯合國不談，還有許多原因讓你無法毫不遲疑地稱巴勒斯坦為國家

First of all, they don't actually have any legally defined borders and

首先，他們沒有明確合法的國界

the lines used to outline their claimed territories of the West Bank and the Gaza strip

他們所聲稱的領土以約旦河西岸與加薩走廊為界

are actually lines created in 1949 as part of an armistice agreement to end of the violence of the Arab-Israeli

這界線其實是來自1949年的停戰協議，當時是為了終止以阿戰爭所帶來的暴力

war and were never intended to be used as internal borders.

但這界線從來都沒有打算被用來當作內部的國界

On top of this, the Israeli army control huge parts of their land,

除此之外，以色列軍隊控制了這塊土地當中很大的部分

although this is widely considered by the entire international community as a breach of international law.

儘管國際上大都認為以色列這麼做是違反國際法的

Moving on, the US Department of State list 195 independent countries, and these are...

繼續，美國國務院列了195個獨立國家，這些是

the 193 members of the UN, the previously discussed Vatican City, as well as...

193個聯合國會員國，以及剛剛說的梵蒂岡，除此之外還有

the Republic of Kosovo. Kosovo is a partially recognised country in

科索沃共和國。科索沃是一個被部分認可的東歐國家

Eastern Europe that declared its independence from Serbia in 2008.

它在2008年宣布從塞爾維亞獨立。

However, Serbia rejects their independence and claims that Kosovo is a province of Serbia.

然而，塞爾維亞拒絕承認科索沃的獨立，並主張科索沃是塞爾維亞的一個省

Currently, 100 out of the 193 UN members recognise Kosovo as a country according to kosovothanksyou.com,

目前，聯合國193個成員國中，100個承認科索沃是個國家，這是根據kosovothanksyou.com的資料

a website that thanks every country for recognising them in their native language.

這個網站用那些國家的母語來謝謝每個支持科索沃的國家

Kosovo hasn't made an application for UN membership. This is because the UN Security Council is

科索沃還沒有申請成為聯合國的會員國。這是因為聯合國安全理事會

split on the issue of Kosovo independence. While the UK, the US and France all recogsnise Kosovo

在科索沃的議題上看法分歧。英國、美國，與法國都認可科索沃，

and have diplomatic relations with them, Russia and China do not.

並與其保持外交關係，而俄羅斯與中國則否。

If all five were asked 'is Kosovo a country?', you would get a variety of different responses

如果這5個國家都被問「科索沃是個國家嗎？」，則你會得到不一樣的答案

but suffice to say the resolution would not get passed. Now, according to a website I use quite a lot,

但我們可以說結果就是無法通過。現在，根據一個我常使用的網站

about.com, there are 196 countries. They list the same 195 as the US Department of State,

about.com，上面有196個國家。他們列了195個和美國國務院相同的國家

plus one more - Taiwan. The situation with Taiwan is an incredibly complex one

再加上一個 - 台灣。台灣的狀況複雜得難以置信

that basically boils down to whether Taiwan is its own country, or part of China.

簡單來說，就是台灣到底是一個國家，還是中國的一部份？

While it is officially considered part of China by the UN,

雖然這官方上被聯合國認為台灣是中國的一部份

it effectively operates as its own country and China have no jurisdiction on Taiwan.

但台灣實際上以一個國家的形式運作著，而中國在這座島上則沒有任何管轄權

Taiwan's official name, by the way, is the Republic of China,

順帶一提，台灣的官方名字是中華民國，

not to be confused with the PEOPLE'S Republic of China, or as they're more commonly know, well... China.

不要和中華人民共和國搞混了，或者它更為人所知的名稱...中國

To fully understand the situation we need to go all the way back to 1895

要全然地瞭解這個議題必須回到1895年，

when the Japanese Empire took control of the island of Taiwan from Qing Dynasty.

日本帝國從清朝手上得到台灣的管轄權

After the fall of the Dynasty in the early 20th century, the Republic of China was established in 1912

在20世紀初期，清朝衰弱之後，中華民國在1912年建立

and the Nationalist Party were elected government.

國民黨被選為當時的政府

In 1921, the Communist Party of China was founded with very different ideological views,

在1921年，意識形態相當不同的中國共產黨成立

and in 1927 the Chinese Civil War began between the Nationalists and the Communists.

國共內戰在1927年開打

Japan took the civil war as an opportunity to invade China in 1931.

日本把國共內戰看成一個入侵中國的好機會，因此在1931年入侵中國

For years the civil war continued until 1937 when Japan began a full-scale invasion of China and took control of the city of Beijing.

國共內戰打了好多年，直到1937年，日本展開全面性對中國的侵略，並控制了北京

The civil war were temporarily put on hold so China could defend its land from the Japanese.

為了打退日本，國共內戰才暫時的停止

In 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor,

1941年，日本轟炸珍珠港，

causing immediate declaration of war on Japan by the United States

造成美國馬上對日本宣戰

and began their involvement in World War II. In August 1945, the United States dropped

開始加入第二次世界大戰的戰局。1945年八月，美國在

atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

廣島和長崎投下原子彈

The Allied Forces then issued Japan a surrender ultimatum: the Potsdam Declaration.

之後同盟國給日本下最後通牒：波茨坦公告

The agreement stated, among other things, that Japan must relinquish control of land that they had acquired via force,

這份公告表示，日本得放棄所有他們以武力得來的土地

and this included the island of Taiwan obtained 50 years previously from the Qing Dynasty.

包括從清朝接手，統治了50年的台灣

The Allies gave two choices to Japan - an

同盟國給日本兩個選擇

unconditional surrender, or face (and I quote) "prompt and utter destruction".

1.無條件投降，否則的話，2.得面臨「迅速且徹底的毀滅」

On September 2nd 1945 Japan signed the agreement which put an ended to the 2nd World War.

在1946年9月2日，日本簽了協議，也讓第二次世界大戰落幕

Sovereignty of Taiwan was therefore handed over to the Republic of China.

台灣的主權於是被移交中華民國

Later that year, the United Nations was founded with the Republic of China as one its founding

同年，聯合國成立，中華民國是其中一個創始成員

members and one of the permanent members of the Security Council.

也是安全理事會的其中一個常任理事國

The original Big Five were effectively the same as today, except with the Republic of

5個原本的常任理事國到今天還是一樣，除了中華民國

China and the Soviet Union instead of the People's Republic of China and the Russian

與蘇維埃聯盟分別被中華人民共和國與俄羅斯聯邦取代

Federation respectively. So... one year later and Chinese Civil War

所以，一年之後，國共內戰再度開打

started up again. This time around, the Communist forces completely overwhelmed the Nationalist forces

這次，共產黨壓倒性地大勝國民黨

and in 1949, the Communist Part had total control of the mainland,

到了1949年，共產黨已經取得中國大陸地區大部份的掌控

forcing the Nationalists to retreat to the island of Taiwan. This effectively ended the civil war

迫使國民黨撤退到台灣。這使得國共內戰實質上劃下句點

and lead to the creation of the People's Republic of China, by the Communist Party.

以及開創了由共產黨領導的中華人民共和國

This then created an incredibly complicated situation in which there were effectively two Chinas,

這導致了複雜到難以置信的狀況，世界上存在著兩個中國

both claiming the exact same land: the whole of China.

兩個中國都聲稱擁有相同的土地：整個中國

The People's Republic of China controlled the mainland, while the Republic of China controlled Taiwan,

中華人民共和國控制了中國大陸地區，而中華民國控制了台灣

but both claimed each others land. Things remained like this for two decades

但兩個都宣稱擁有對方的土地。這樣的狀況持續了二十年

while the Republic of China continued to represent China at the UN.

但中華民國仍然在聯合國代表中國

This was until 1971 when the UN General Assembly voted to replace the Republic of China with

直到1971年，聯合國大會投票表决，把中華民國代表中國的角色換成由

the People's Republic of China as China's sole representative, including Taiwan,

中華人民共和國來代表中國，以及台灣，

despite them never having any jurisdiction on the island in their history.

即使歷史上中華人民共和國從來都沒有在台灣擁有過管轄權

In 1991, the Republic of China opted for a different approach and applied for UN membership

1991年，中華民國選擇用不同的途徑來申請聯合國會員

under the name 'the Republic of Taiwan'. Taiwan repeatedly re-applied but with China's veto

以「台灣國」的名字來申請。台灣不停地申請，可是中國擁有否決權

power, realistically, it was never going to happen.

所以實際上，申請都沒有通過

The current president of Taiwan, however, does not want independence,

然而，現任的台灣總統（馬英九），並不想獨立，

and said in his inaugural address - "no reunification, no independence, no war". However has since said

他在就職典禮上說 「不統、不獨、不武」。然而，說的是一回事，

that actually he DOES want unification with China.

實際上他的確想要與中國統一

Relations between the Chinese and Taiwanese presidents is good, they both agree Taiwan

中國主席和台灣總統的關係是好的，他們都同意

should not be an independent country, they both adhere to the one-China policy, unfortunately,

台灣不該成為一個獨立的國家，也同意堅持一個中國的原則，可惜的是，

they still can't agree on who actually has sovereignty over China.

他們始終無法在誰統治中國上取得一致的意見

Still, Taiwan is pretty much like any country - they have their own passports, their own president,

雖然如此，台灣的確非常像一個國家，他們有自己的護照，自己的總統

their own government, their own military, they even take part in sporting events

自己的政府，自己的軍隊，他們甚至還參與運動競賽

such as the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup,

像是奧林匹克運動會，以及FIFA世界杯足球賽

albeit under the pseudonym 'Chinese Taipei', to keep China happy.

雖然化名為「中華台北」來讓中國開心。

So while very few countries officially recognise Taiwan as a country or

雖然非常少國家正式承認台灣是個國家

the Republic of China as the legitimate government of all of China, most countries do recognise Taiwan unofficially

或者承認中華民國是中國的合法政權，大多數的國家都非官方地承認台灣

and have Taiwan Embassies in their country. Countries tend to avoid officially recognising

這些國家也設有台灣的大使館。許多國家傾向不正式承認台灣是個國家

Taiwan as a country as it pisses off China. This is the reason why the US Department of State

的原因是因為這會惹惱中國。這就是為什麼美國國務院

list 195 countries and excluded Taiwan, because the United States really wouldn't want to piss of China,

只列了195個國家，而台灣不在裡面。因為美國真的不想惹惱中國，

for uh... let's just say political reasons....

為了呃...我們就說是政治因素吧。（畫面：給中國，我欠你1.2兆美元，美國）

So... everyone clear on the situation with Taiwan? No? Well, no-one really is but let's

所以，大家都清楚台灣的狀況了嗎？沒有？好吧，本來就沒人清楚

move on... To the place where I live: the United Kingdom.

讓我們繼續。這是我住的地方：英國。

More specifically Scotland but it's the United Kingdom I want to talk about.

更準確來說是蘇格蘭，不過我想要談談英國（聯合王國）。

The United Kingdom is generally referred to as a "country of countries" consisting of: Scotland, England,

英國大體上被認為是「國家們的國家」它由蘇格蘭、英格蘭、

Wales, and Northern Ireland. So... is the United Kingdom one country...

威爾斯，與北愛爾蘭組成，所以，英國到底是一個國家...

or four countries? Well, first of all, it's actually a misconception

還是四個國家？首先，這其實是一個誤解

that there are four countries in the UK. There's actually only three.

英國並不是由4個國組成，實際上只有3個

See, while Scotland and England both have a history of being independent countries,

蘇格蘭與英格蘭都各自有成為一個獨立國家的歷史

and Wales is a little more complicated as it was previously considered a principality,

而威爾斯有點複雜，他以前被認為是一個親王國

but is now a country, Northern Ireland is not, nor has it ever been, a country.

而現在是一個國家，而北愛爾蘭現在不是，也從來不是一個國家

Northern Ireland is technically considered a province of the United Kingdom.

嚴格來說，北愛爾蘭是英國的一個省

This newsletter from the International Organisation for Standardisation clearly lists Northern Ireland as a province,

這份國際標準化組織(ISO)的文件把北愛爾蘭列為一個省

as well as the status of Wales being upgraded from principality to country.

也把威爾斯的分類從親王國改成國家

Although it could be argued the principality of Wales ended in 1542 and that

雖然有人可能會說早在1542年後，威爾斯已不再是親王國

Wales has been a country for centuries. A very brief British history lesson...

且威爾斯已經持有一個國家的身份超過一個世紀了。現在來堂簡明扼要的英國歷史課...

In 1707, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England (which included Wales) joined to

1707年，蘇格蘭王國和英格蘭王國（包括威爾斯）一起

create the Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1801, the Kingdom of Ireland joined to create the

聯合為大不列顛王國。1801年，愛爾蘭王國加入，

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Then, in 1922, after the Irish War of Independence

變成大不列顛及愛爾蘭聯合王國。之後，1922年，在愛爾蘭獨立戰爭後

Ireland succeeded from Britain and formed the Republic of Ireland.

愛爾蘭成功從不列顛外獨立，成立了愛爾蘭共和國

Believe it or not, very briefly, the whole island of Ireland succeeded from Britain,

信不信由你，簡單來說，整個愛爾蘭島成功從英國裡獨立，

but Northern Ireland quickly and expectedly re-joined to create the United Kingdom of

但是北愛爾蘭一如預料地迅速再加入回英國，變成

Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Which is what it's known as today.

大不列顛及北愛爾蘭聯合王國。這就是大家今天所知道的英國。

So, Northern Ireland was part of Ireland and is now part of the UK, but has been a country

所以，北愛爾蘭曾經是愛爾蘭的一部分，現在則是英國的一部份，實質上則一直擁有

in its own right. Northern Ireland doesn't even have its own official flag!

國家的權利。雖然北愛爾蘭現在仍然沒有自己的官方國旗！

The St. Patrick's solitaire is sometimes used unofficially to distinguish Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.

聖派翠克十字旗有時候用來非正式地來代表北愛爾蘭

The Ulster Banner is also used for sporting events and is the flag that FIFA use

參加運動賽事時，紅手旗也會拿來代表北愛爾蘭，且是FIFA（國際足球聯合會）用來

to represent their national football team. But the one and only flag that is used officially

代表北愛爾蘭國家足球隊的旗幟。當然，唯一一個正式的官方旗幟仍然是

is... the Union Jack. So, the UK is made up of three countries and one province.

英國國旗。所以英國是由三個國家與一個省所組成的

And while the three countries are not independent countries or sovereign states,

雖然這三個國家不是獨立國家也不是主權國家

they are still countries. The term for a country within a country is

它們仍然是國家。有一個詞來指涉國家裡面的國家叫做

a "constituent country" and is not unique to the UK.

「構成國」，而且不單單只有英國如此

The Netherlands is constituent country with the Kingdom of the Netherlands,

荷蘭也是由構成國所組成「荷蘭王國」，

which contains three other countries: Aruba, Curacao, and Sint Maartin.

其中包含3個其他的國家，阿魯巴、庫拉索，以及聖馬丁

The Netherlands is in Europe, while the other three are island countries in the Caribbean

荷蘭位於歐洲，而其他三個島國位於加勒比海

some 5000 miles away. To further complicate matters,

離荷蘭5000英哩遠。更詳細一點來說

the Netherlands is made up of 12 provinces in Europe, as well as three special municipalities - also in

荷蘭本土是由12個在歐洲的省，以及3個在加勒比海的特別自治區組成

the Caribbean. These are: Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba, collectively referred to as the Caribbean Netherlands.

這些自治區是：博奈爾、聖尤斯特歇斯，以及沙巴，它們組成荷蘭加勒比區

And the term Dutch Caribbean is used to refer to all of the

而「荷屬加勒比區」則用來指涉所有

Caribbean islands within the kingdom of the Netherlands. All 4 countries within the Kingdom are considered equal,

荷蘭王國在加勒比海的屬地。這4個王國中的國家被視為是均等的

but in reality, 98% of both the population and the land area of the within the 12 European provinces.

但實質上，98%的人口與土地都屬於12個歐洲省份

Another example would be the Kingdom of Denmark,

另外一個例子是丹麥王國

which holds sovereignty of the two autonomous countries of Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

它擁有兩個自治國家的主權，這兩個國家分別是格陵蘭，以及法羅群島

Greenland being the world's largest island that's not a continent and

格陵蘭是世界上最大的島嶼而不是大陸

the Faroe Islands are a small archipelago north of Scotland. But despite Greenland being over 1500 times

而法羅群島則是蘇格蘭北部的小島群。雖然格陵蘭比法羅群島大上1500倍

the size of the Faroe Islands, they both have similar populations of around 50,000.

但他們擁有差不多的人口數，約50,000人。

There's also French Polynesia, which is an overseas country of the French Republic,

除此之外還有法國的海外自治國，法屬玻里尼西亞

made up of several islands in the South Pacific, most notable of which is the island of Tahiti.

它由數座南太平洋的島嶼組成，其中最值得一提的大概就是大溪地

Then we come to a slightly more complicated situation with New Zealand and the countries

接下來我們來談再稍微複雜一點的紐西蘭及

of Niue and the Cook Islands who are in a agreement known as free association.

紐埃及庫克群島，他們與紐西蘭本土維持著「自由聯合」的關係

There are only three other countries in the world under free association, and they are:

除了這兩個外，世界上還有其他3個國家是「自由聯合國（聯繫邦）」它們是：

the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau. All in free association with the United States.

馬紹爾群島，密克羅尼西亞聯邦，還有帛琉。這三者都是美國的自由聯合國

The major difference is that all three of

它們之間最大的差別在於

these countries are members of the UN while Niue and the Cook Islands are not.

這三個國家都是聯合國的會員國，而紐埃及庫克群島不是

Freely associated states can either be thought of as independent or not, or even... both?

自由聯合國算是獨立國家嗎？還是...是也不是？

It's kind of like a Schrodinger's cat situation in which the cat can be thought of as both dead and alive simultaneously.

這個狀況有點像是薛丁格的貓，也就是說裡頭的貓可以被視為同時是死的也是活的

Niue and the Cook Islands can be considered independent or not simultaneously,

紐埃與庫克群島可以被同時視為是與不是獨立國家

so we can call these two.... Schrodinger's countries.

所以我們可以說這兩個是...薛丁格的國家