Sitting in the office of the Secretary of State and knowing that I’m here in this position after so many luminaries in my own country have held it, it is a very humbling experience. And I often marvel at what they achieved. And I think a lot about George Marshall and Harry Truman and the Marshall Plan. What an amazing decision — to rebuild former enemies with an eye toward the future. And I think about it in very personal terms, because at the end of World War II, my late father had served in the Navy, so when he left service as so many men of that time did and returned to private life, the last thing he wanted to hear his president or secretary of State say was, “Guess what? We’re going to still be taxing you to send money to Germany, to Europe. We’re going to rebuild Japan because we believe it is in the best interests of your children.”
我现在担任国务卿一职，深知在我之前曾有许多杰出人物担任过这个职务，我实在自叹不如。我常对他们的成就感到由衷敬佩。我常思及乔治?马歇尔、哈里?杜鲁门和马歇尔计划。凭着对未来的展望重建昔日的敌国，是一个多么令人赞叹的决定。我回首这段往事时有着深刻的个人体验，因为在二次大战结束时，我的先父在海军服役之后像当时许多男子一样退伍并重新过起普通人的生活，而他当时最不想听到自己的总统或国务卿这样说：“你知道吗？我们还是要向你们征税，然后把钱送到德国，送到欧洲。我们要重建日本，因为我们相信这对你们的子孙后代最有利。”
But it wasn’t only our public leadership who sounded that note. It was also our business leadership as well who basically said, “Okay, we get it. And we’re willing to do our part as well.” In fact, when support for the program was flagging, the White House and the State Department called the heads of large corporations and universities and asked them to fan out across the United States making the case. So the United States invested $13 billion over four years, which in today’s money would be about 150 billion.
但当时不只是我们的政府领导人发出了这样的呼声。我们的工商界领袖也表示：“我们能够理解。我们也愿意尽一份力量。”事实上，当这项计划得到的支持低落之时，白宫和国务院联络大公司和大学的领导人，请他们到美国各地奔走呼吁。因此美国在四年之间投资了130亿美元，相当于今天的1,500亿美元。
Imagine leaders today in either government or business going to their people and saying something similar. When the Berlin Wall fell, Helmut Kohl said, “We’re going to pay what it takes to reunify Germany and we’re going to rebuild our neighbors because the wall is gone,” and people said, “Oh, what a incredible investment of our money. We won; we should be the ones getting all the benefits.” But no; it was a decision that was supported by both government and business.
想象一下今天政府或工商界领导人也对本国民众说出类似的话。当柏林墙倒下时，赫尔默特?科尔说：“我们为了德国的统一不惜一切代价。我们要重建我们的邻舍，因为围墙已经倒下。”而民众则可能说：“我们要投入多大一笔钱啊。我们是胜利者，我们应该获得所有惠益。”但事实并非如此，那个决定得到了政府和工商业的双重支持。
We face a lot of similar challenges today, and we need visionary leaders in both government and business. But those leaders need to be guided by these principles. Whether we’re talking about politics or economics, openness, transparency, freedom and fairness stand the test of time. And in the 21st century, every citizen who is now potentially connected with everyone else in the world will not sit idly by if those principles do not deliver, and if governments and business do not make good on when we’ll provide long-term opportunity for all.
我们今天面临着很多类似的挑战，我们需要有远见卓识的政府和工商界领导人。但这些领导人必须遵循上述原则。无论我们谈的是政治还是经济，开放、透明、自由和公平都禁得起时间的考验。在21世纪，如果这些原则没有兑现，如果政府和企业没有如期履行为全体人民提供长期机会的承诺，那么当今世界每一位有着潜在的相互联系的公民都不会袖手旁观。
This agenda is good for Asia, it’s good for America, it’s good for business. Most importantly, it’s good for people. And I absolutely believe it will help us create more a peaceful, stable, and prosperous world for the rest of this century. Thank you all very much.
这个议程对亚洲有利，对美国有利，对企业有利。但最重要的，它对人民有利。我坚信，它能帮助我们在本世纪未来的岁月里建设一个更和平、更稳定、更繁荣的世界。非常感谢大家。
实习生：李帅男
