蔡英文在美国哥伦比亚大学演说全文(附英文原文)

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2019-07-1317:13:12 发表评论
摘要

中华民国总统蔡英文过境美国时,今日在哥伦比亚大学演讲,表达对民主的坚持和守护,不畏独裁强权的打压,全文如下……

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蔡英文在美国哥伦比亚大学演说全文(附英文原文)

能受邀来这所以言论自由及多元包容著称的校园演讲,我实在备感荣幸。我在1980年毕业于康乃尔大学,再度回到久违的纽约校园,勾起我许多的回忆。虽然,或许在场有人会说,任何纽约市以外的校园都不能算是纽约。

然而我在1979年夏天曾经真正住过纽约,协助哥伦比亚大学东亚研究所的一位教授做研究。而我在通过纽约州律师考试后,就更常走访纽约,有时是在前往华府做贸易谈判时会经过纽约。

对一个来自当时尚未完全民主化的台湾的法律系学生来说,1980年代的纽约生活真的令我眼界大开,多元化和不同的见解竟然才是正常。我很高兴,从这讲台放眼望出去,一切都如此熟悉,丝毫未曾改变。

今天,我来这裡要讲的是有关「改变」的故事,发生在台湾的故事。一个位居中国大陆沿海的小岛如何设定民主化的进程,进而为世界各国的民主转型树立标竿。

我们在政治转型初期,很多人说在中国阴影的笼罩下,我们的民主不可能存活下来。然而,现在台湾已然成为民主社会和政治制度蓬勃发展的居所。

有人说,人口只有两千三百万而且资源匮乏的小岛,无法成为经济的主要推手,然而现在我们已经变成美国的第11大贸易伙伴了。

有人说,先进的价值观无法于东亚社会生根。但今天,我是以台湾第一位女总统的身分站在各位面前,而今年台湾也已经跃为亚洲第一个同婚合法的国家。

简言之,台湾就是在不可能的环境下成就了可能。许多人称台湾为“民主奇迹”,但我不是奇迹的信徒。我相信的是人民的意志,以及对更美好未来的愿景。

和美国一样,在我们追求民主的路径上滴满了先人的血汗及泪水。现在轮到我们接下他们的棒子,继续高举火炬,为还在往民主道路奋力挣扎的国家,照亮前途。

我们背负的责任重大,这条路并不好走。因为台湾民主当今所面临的挑战,和数十年前我们所克服的截然不同。而21世纪所有民主国家都面临相同的挑战。全世界的自由都正遭遇到空前未有的威胁。

我们看到这个威胁正在冲击香港,年轻人没有管道发声,只好走上街头为民主自由拼搏。我们台湾人民决心和他们站在一起。

香港的“一国两制”经验,向世界明白揭破了独裁和民主无法共存的事实。因为独裁政权只要一逮到机会,即使是一丝的民主微光,也会毫不留情地闷熄,过程可能是渐进的,但手法精巧到人们都无法察觉。

想像一下:独裁势力伸入我们的日常生活,突然间,在自己家的书店卖某本书,就违法了;在社群媒体贴文批评某项新政策,就遭传审讯。当你突然察觉到一股看不见的势力在监视你的一举一动,一切都已经太迟了。

你开始审查自己的言论和想法,不再和朋友讨论时事,因为害怕被窃听,大部分时间都提心吊胆的前瞻后顾,根本无法好好面对未来。

我刚刚描述的未来听起来也许不可能发生,与哥伦比亚大学的自由校园完全迥异。但在现实中,这种情形就在我们眼前发生。这也就是为什麽现在比以往更需要让全世界听到台湾的故事。

我们的故事是坚毅不挠的故事,是力抗万难,坚守民主的故事。我们的故事在诉说,为什麽核心价值如此的重要。台海两岸在文化及政治上的歧异日趋扩大。台湾选择言论自由、人权及法治的每一天,都让我们与独裁政权渐行渐远。我们的故事,乃至我们的存在,是唤醒世界的警钟,让大家醒悟过来,民主是人类最珍贵的资产,必须我们不惜代价地捍卫守护。

台湾每天都站在民主的最前线,面对资讯时代的新威胁,台湾并不孤单。事实上,世界各地无论大国或小国,现在每天都在对抗渗透和认知战。独裁政府企图利用民主社会的新闻自由,在我们之间挑拨对立,要让我们怀疑我们的政治制度,好让我们对民主失落信心。

台湾多年来一直站在这场战争的前线,我们有太多经验可以与世界分享。在数位化时代,假讯息可以在短短数小时内积非成是,而因应这个威胁最困难之处,是如何在国家安全和言论自由间求取平衡。台湾已经迈出了第一步,将寻找这个问题的答案列为首要之务。

我们已经强化了辨识及防止散布假讯息的法制架构。我们已经开始扫荡外部势力製造的洩密事件。让我们与各国密切分享情资,我们就能为降低这种威胁做出更多贡献。然而民主还面临其他挑战,特别是暗藏算计的经济诱惑。

世界上许多国家都被迫在民主与经济发展间做出抉择,而正确的选择似乎变得日渐困难。我担任总统以来,台湾不断向世界证明,民主和经济成长不仅相辅相成,更是紧密不可分。

我们的经济依赖中国市场,从而限缩了我们在两岸事务的自主权,中国藉此要胁,渗透我们的社会,并试图以此为筹码,要骗取我们的民主。

但台湾已决心开辟一条新路来发展经济,如果民主不能活化激发创意和新思维,那麽民主的意义又何在?我们著手经济转型,打造有利的投资环境,海外台商回流数已创下新纪录。同时,许多外商,特别是一些主要外商公司也正在扩张在台营运。

单就今年,这些企业就在台湾投资了数十亿美元,创造了上万个就业机会。投资的流入在未来几年将继续成长。我们努力在以规范为基础的区域贸易秩序中扮演建设性的角色,并与南亚和东南亚市场建立更强劲的经贸连结。

我们的“新南向政策”在过去3年来为区域带来惊人的贸易成长,更重要的是,这种成长具永续性。当若干国家落入隐藏债务陷阱时,我们仍然致力推动共荣发展的永续合作。而这点,我们与南亚和东南亚的合作伙伴关係就是彼此受惠的最好明证。

在中国一心掠夺我们的邦交国来孤立我们时,我们全心推动计画,真实帮助这些国家成为更宜居的地方。我们在世界各国,协助建构经济民主实力,培养21世纪所需的劳动力,以及建立透明的硬体和数位化基础设施。台湾又再一次为全球提出建设性的发展模式。我们拒绝参与掠夺,并且一再证明诚实和开放式的合作会带来真正的长期成果。

我们因应美中贸易战的挑战时,民主并没有阻碍我们,相反的,幸亏是我们的民主才让我们克竟其功。民主制度使我们拥抱多元和创新的思维,当常规不再适用,我们仍能灵活应变,打破框架。很多人问我如何在民主与经济成长之间作出抉择,我的答案很清楚,就是:两者密不可分。

历史告诉我们,民主国家团结时最强,分裂时最弱。理念相近国家要通力在国际社会上将我们的价值观传承给下一代,如果没有台湾,形同失去一个关键的链结。

台湾是一个宝贵罕见的例子,曾经走过独裁,现在已大力吹起民主号角,因此,自由民主的台湾,现在比以往更加迫切需要国际社会的支持。台湾的生存不只关乎两岸关係,我们是印太地区重要的民主堡垒,全世界都在密切注视我们即将要为未来民主开创的先例。

台湾是全球理念相近国家社群的一员,我知道我们并不孤单。美国前总统胡佛曾经说过:「自由是一扇敞开的窗,而人类精神与人类尊严的阳光就从这扇窗倾泻而下。」

我们面临的挑战可能令人却步,但有国际社会同行,台湾会坚定不移。只要我们选择打开自由之窗,眺望前方未来,我们就可以一起让这缕阳光照耀全世界的每个角落。

附英文全文:

Receiving an invitation to speak here from such a vanguard of free speech and diversity is actually quite an honor.
I graduated from Cornell Law School in 1980, and I have to say, being back on a New York campus brings back many memories. Though I’m sure many of you would say that any campus outside of New York City is not really part of New York.
However, I actually lived in the city in the summer of 1979, when I was doing research work for a professor at the East Asia Institute of Columbia University. Later on, I passed the New York Bar examination here, and visited the city from time to time, sometimes on my way to Washington DC for trade negotiations.
Life in New York in the 1980s was eye opening for a young law student from not quite democratized Taiwan. Diversity and different perspectives were the norm, and looking out across the lecture hall today, I am glad to see that has not changed.
Today, a story of “change” is exactly the story I am here to tell. It is the story of Taiwan. It is the story of how an island off the Chinese continent redefined the timeline for democratization, and set the standard for transitioning democracies around the world.
In the early days of our political transition, some said democracy could not survive in China’s shadow. And Taiwan is now home to a thriving democratic society and political system.
Some said a resource-poor island of only 23 million people could not become a major economic player. Yet we are now the United States’11th largest trade partner.
Some said progressive values could not take root in East Asian society. Yet I stand here before you as Taiwan’s first woman president, and this year we became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.
In short, Taiwan’s story is one of seemingly improbable success. Many call Taiwan a “democratic miracle,” but I don’t believe in miracles.
I believe in the will of the people, and their vision for a better world.
Like the United States, our path to democratization was paved with the blood, sweat, and tears of those who came before us. Now the task falls to us to carry on their mission, and continue to bear the torch that lights the way for countries still on the path to democracy.
Ours is a heavy burden, and the path is not an easy one to walk. Because the challenges Taiwan’s democracy now faces are wholly different from those we overcame decades ago.
And these same challenges face all democracies in the 21st century. Why? Because freedom around the world is under threat like never before.
We are seeing this threat in action right now in Hong Kong. Faced with no channel to make their voices heard, young people are taking to the streets to fight for their democratic freedoms. And the people of Taiwan stand with them.
Hong Kong’s experience under “one country, two systems” has shown the world once and for all that authoritarianism and democracy cannot coexist.
Given the opportunity, authoritarianism will smother even the faintest flicker of democracy. The process may be gradual, so subtle that most don’t even feel it.
Imagine: As authoritarian forces increasingly encroach on daily life, all of a sudden, it is illegal to sell a certain book in your store. You are brought in for questioning about a social media post criticizing a new policy. Before you know it, you feel some unseen force is monitoring your every move.
You begin to censor your own speech, your own thoughts. You no longer discuss current events with your friends, for fear of being overheard. You spend more time looking over your shoulder than you spend looking towards the future.
What I am describing may sound like some impossible future, far removed from the halls of Columbia University.
In reality, this situation is unfolding right before our eyes. That is why, now more than ever, Taiwan’s story must be heard by the world.
Our story is one of perseverance, of a commitment to democracy against all odds.
Ours is a story of why values do still matter. The cultural and political differences across the Taiwan Strait only grow wider by the day; and each day that Taiwan chooses freedom of speech, human rights, the rule of law, is a day that we drift farther from the influences of authoritarianism.
Our story, our very existence, should serve as a wake-up call to the world that democracy is our most precious asset. We must protect it at all costs.
Day to day, Taiwan stands on the frontlines of democracy, faced with new threats unique to the information age. But we are not alone.
In fact, countries large and small around the world are now combating infiltration and cognitive warfare on a daily basis.
Authoritarian governments seek to exploit press freedoms unique to democratic societies to sow dissent among us. They hope to make us question our political systems and lose faith in democracy.
Taiwan has been on the frontlines of this battle for years, and we have a great deal of experiences to offer to the world.
In the digital age, disinformation can become fact in a matter of hours. But the greatest challenge in combating this threat is finding the balance between national security and freedom of speech.
In Taiwan, we have taken the first step by making it a policy priority.
We have strengthened our legal framework to identify and prevent the spread of disinformation. We are cracking down on intelligence leaks caused by external forces.
And with stronger intelligence sharing with other countries, we will be able to do even more to mitigate this threat.
But democracy faces other challenges as well, especially in the form of economic enticements with hidden strings attached.
Many countries around the world are being asked to choose between democracy and economic development, and it seems the right choice is becoming less clear by the day.
Yet in my time as president, Taiwan has continually shown the world that democracy and economic growth are not only mutually beneficial, they are irrevocably intertwined.
Our economy has suffered from a reliance on the Chinese market that limited our autonomy in cross-strait affairs. China exploited this reliance as a means to infiltrate our society, an attempt to use it as a bargaining chip to be traded for our democracy.
But Taiwan was determined to open a new path to economic development. And what is democracy if not a market for creativity and new ideas?
We set about transforming our economy, creating an investment-friendly climate that is bringing Taiwanese firms home in record numbers. At the same time, foreign companies, especially the major ones, are expanding their operations in Taiwan as well.
This year alone, they have invested billions of US dollars in our economy and created tens of thousands of jobs. And the investment flows will continue to grow in the years to come.
We have worked to play a constructive role in a regional rules-based trade order, and develop stronger trade relationships with South and Southeast Asian markets.
Our New Southbound Policy has brought outstanding trade growth in the region over the past 3 years, and more importantly, that growth is sustainable.
As countries around the world fall victim to hidden debt traps, we remain committed to sustainable cooperation emphasizing mutual development, and our partners in South and Southeast Asia can attest to the benefits.
While China focuses on poaching our allies and isolating us, we focus on engaging in projects that make these countries better places to live.
In countries around the world, we are helping build economic and democratic capacities, 21st century-ready workforces, and transparent physical and digital infrastructure.
Once again, Taiwan provides a model for constructive development around the world. We refuse to engage in predatory behavior, and we have proven time and again that honest and open cooperation produces real, long-term results.
We have been able to successfully adapt to the challenges of the US-China trade war not despite our democracy, but rather, thanks to it. Our democratic system makes us open to diverse and innovative ideas, giving us the flexibility to break the mold when the mold no longer fits.
So to all the people who ask me how to make the choice between democracy and economic growth, I say the choice is clear: the two are inseparable.
History tells us that democracies are strongest when united, and weakest when divided.
Without Taiwan, the international coalition of like-minded countries will lose a crucial link in working to ensure our values are passed on to the next generation.
Taiwan stands as a rare example of a country that has both experienced authoritarianism and championed democracy in the modern age. That is why it is now more important than ever for the international community to support a free and democratic Taiwan.
Taiwan’s survival is about more than just cross-strait relations. We are a vital bastion of democracy in the Indo-Pacific, and the entire world is closely watching the precedent we will set for the future of democracy.
As a member of a global community of like-minded countries, I know we do not stand alone.
In the words of Herbert Hoover, “Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity.”
The challenges ahead of us may be daunting, but the international community stands with us, and Taiwan stands determined.
Together, we can allow this light to shine across all corners of the globe, if we only choose to open the window, and look out upon the future that awaits us.

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