霍金率皇家學會發出警告:退歐將給科學界帶來災難

Renowned cosmologist Stephen Hawking was among 150 academics to declare support for Britain remaining in the European Union on Thursday in a letter that said leaving the bloc would damage science and research.

著名宇宙學家史蒂芬·霍金與150多名院士於上週四聯合上書，呼籲英國人民在公投時選擇繼續留在歐盟，否則將會造成科學研究界的重大災難。

"If the UK leaves the EU and there is a loss of freedom of movement of scientists between the UK and Europe, it will be a disaster for UK science and universities," the academics wrote in a letter to The Times newspaper.

衆位院士在給《泰晤士報》的信件中表示：“如果英國離開歐盟，英國和歐洲之間的科學家將失去活動自由，這對於英國的科學和大學教育將是一場‘災難'”。

The over 150 signatories are Cambridge scientists, mathematicians, engineers and economists and All are also fellows of the Royal Society, Britain's leading scientific institution.

聯名上書的這150多名院士大多是劍橋大學的科學家、數學家、工程師和經濟學家。與此同時，他們也是英國最頂尖科研機構——英國皇家學會的研究成員。

Other signatories included Martin Rees, the astronomer royal and former president of the Royal Society, University of Cambridge physicist Athene Donald, and letter organiser Alan Fersht, a leading chemist.

此外，參與聯名上書的還有皇家天文學家及英國皇家學會的前任主席——馬丁·里根、劍橋大學物理學家艾斯納·唐納德，以及此次聯名上書呼籲的組織者，著名化學家艾倫·費什特。

Britain is due to vote on June 23 on whether to remain in the 28-member bloc. Opinion polls show that the campaign to remain within the EU is slightly ahead, but its lead over the "leave" campaign has narrowed in recent months.

英國將在6月23日進行公投，該投票將決定英國是否能夠繼續留在歐盟。雖然民意測驗顯示支持英國繼續留在歐盟的票數暫時領先，但是提倡退歐的票數在近幾個月來持續增高，緊追不捨。

In the letter, the scientists argued that science was vital for Britain's long-term prosperity and that membership of the EU had increased funding of science and allowed the country to recruit talented researchers from continental Europe.

科學家們在信中強烈表示，科技對於英國的長期繁榮至關重要，英國在歐盟成員國的身份可以幫助其獲得更多的科學資金，並且還便於英國從歐洲大陸引進更多的精英人才。

"Investment in science is as important for the long-term prosperity and security of the UK as investment in infrastructure projects, farming or manufacturing; and the free movement of scientists is as important for science as free trade is for market economics," they wrote.

他們在信中表示：“對科學的投資和對基礎設施、農業和製造業的投資一樣，這對英國的長期繁榮和安全非常重要。科學家們的活動自由對科學的意義也如同自由貿易對市場經濟的意義那樣至關重要。”