美国副国务卿威廉·伯恩斯在亚太裔传统月活动上的开幕辞（中英对照）

Opening Remarks by Deputy Secretary William J. Burns for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

美国国务院副国务卿威廉·伯恩斯在亚太裔传统月活动上的开幕辞

Washington, DC

华盛顿哥伦比亚特区

May 22, 2012

2012年5月22日

Thank you. It’s truly an honor to join all of you in celebrating the 20th Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

谢谢你们！能和大家一起庆祝第20届亚太裔传统月，实属荣幸。

Thirty years ago, I entered a State Department far less diverse than it is today. Thirty years ago, there was no Asian-American heritage day. Today, there are over 1,000 Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders serving in the Department of State. Today, we devote a whole month to honoring the achievements of so many Americans of Asian and Pacific Heritage. And today we celebrate the cultures -- ancient but vibrant -- that extend from the farming villages of Southeast Asia, from the mega-cities of China, Korea and Japan, from the fishing towns of the Pacific Islands and from so many other places across the ocean to become a treasured part of the fabric of American life.

30年前我刚来时，国务院远远不如现在这么多元化。30年前还没有亚裔美国人传统日。今天，在国务院任职的亚太裔美国人已超过1000人。现在我们专门用一整个月的时间来彰显这么多亚太裔美国人所取得的成就。今天，我们庆祝这些文化成为美国生活画卷中宝贵的一部分，它们古老而又充满活力，从东南亚地区的村庄直到中国、韩国和日本的大都市，还有太平洋岛屿上的渔村和大洋两岸的其他许多地方。

We celebrate the contributions of Asian-American and Pacific Islander scientists and soldiers, doctors and diplomats, newly arrived immigrants, multi-generational American families, and even New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin, who sparked “Linsanity” and captivated fans around the globe.

我们庆祝身为亚太裔美国人的科学家、军人、医生和外交官的贡献，包括新移民以及在美国已生活了好几代的家庭，甚至还有纽约尼克斯队的后卫林书豪，他掀起了“林来疯”并迷住了世界各地的球迷。

This year we come together against the backdrop of a renewed diplomatic focus on the Asia-Pacific. As you know well, generations of Americans have sacrificed alongside their trans-Pacific partners so that democracy and prosperity could take root on both sides of the ocean. Today, the Pacific is emerging as the global center of gravity, of rising economic and political power, of growth, of innovation and trade. Ours has always been a Pacific nation, but we now find ourselves in the midst of a “Pacific Century.”

今年我们的聚会适逢我们重新把外交重点放在亚太地区。正如你们所知，一代又一代的美国人与他们在大洋彼岸的伙伴们一同奉献牺牲，使民主和繁荣在大洋两岸得以扎根。今天，太平洋地区正在崛起为全球的重心，正在崛起为新兴的经济和政治力量以及增长、创新和贸易的全球中心。我国始终是一个太平洋国家，而现在我们更发现自己身处一个“太平洋世纪”。

That is why Secretary Clinton broke with tradition and made her inaugural overseas trip as Secretary of State to the Asia-Pacific. It is why we are shoring up alliances with Japan, South Korea and other long standing allies. It is why we are engaging with rising powers like China, Indonesia, and India. And it is why we are building up regional institutions like ASEAN, APEC and the East Asia Summit.

这就是为什么克林顿国务卿打破传统，担任国务卿后将首次海外之行安排在亚太地区。这就是为什么我们要巩固与日本、韩国和其他长期盟友的联盟。这就是为什么我们要与正在崛起的大国，如中国，印度尼西亚和印度交往。这就是为什么我们要巩固区域性机构，如东盟、亚太经合组织和东亚峰会。

From that first trip to Secretary Clinton’s most recent visit to China -- through two wars, an Arab Spring, and countless other crises -- our focus on the Asia-Pacific has continued unabated. And many of us have the frequent flier miles to prove it: since becoming Deputy Secretary last summer, I have traveled to the region four times and will return to Southeast Asia next month for the Shangri-la Dialogue.

从那次访问到克林顿国务卿最近一次访问中国——中间经历了两场战争、一个阿拉伯之春和其他无数次危机—— 我们对亚太地区的重视继续有增无减。我们很多人都有的累积飞行里程数能证明这一点：从去年夏天担任副国务卿以来，我已前往该地区4次，下个月还将重返东南亚参加香格里拉对话。

But our focus on the Asia-Pacific isn’t the only reason to celebrate the remarkable Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders in our midst. Year by year, America looks more and more like the world around us. And if we want to represent America in the twenty-first century world, we need a diplomatic corps that looks like America. The idea that this is a nation founded on ideas and ideals rather than a single common ethnicity -- the idea that anyone can become an American -- the idea that any American-born person can become President, even the son of a Kenyan and a Kansan -- this is who we are. It is a source of pride and a source of soft power too often left untapped.

但我们对亚太地区的重视并不是表彰我们之中杰出的亚太裔美国人的唯一原因。年复一年，美国与我们周围的世界越来越相似。若要在这个21世纪的世界里代表美国，我们就需要一个能体现美国面貌的外交使团。这是一个构筑在思想和理想而并非单一种族之上的国家——任何人都可以成为美国人——任何在美国出生的人都可以成为总统，哪怕是一个肯尼亚人和一个堪萨斯人的儿子——上述这些观念就是我们的本质。这往往是一个尚待发掘的自豪感的源泉和软实力的源泉。