試分析蔡英文前總統Forum 2000 演講講稿 (1)

正文

        10月訪歐，前總統蔡英文受邀出席Forum 2000 論壇，並發表演說。蔡前總統經常被批評「讀稿機，」但得承認她的演說有種難以言明的魅力。先不論穩健的台風、散發都市氣息的標準英式腔調，這份演說稿子，於風格與布局──短短15多分鐘，逐字稿不過1,500多字，立論清楚、結構縝密、用詞細膩──令人驚嘆、嫉妒萬分。對於那些有志磨練英文寫作的學習者，這份演講的內容不可不深入分析、鑽研。

逐字稿

I. Prologue [1][2]

        It is with great pleasure that I join you all at the Forum 2000 Conference in Prague this year in person. As many of you know, I completed my presidency in May of this year. Since then, I have been doing something that I have been longing to do for quite a long time: (that is,) taking some time off, doing things that a civilian enjoys doing—reading, having coffee, spending time with my dogs and cats, and sleeping (of course).

        [Now,] During this time, I received many invitations for overseas visits. I have been giving a lot of thought on where I should make my first stop once I am rested.

        Finally, I decided that one of the most meaningful and important things I would like to do, is to connect and be among like-minded friends. Friends who have dedicated their lives and careers to safeguard democracy and its values. Friends who are not afraid of intimidation and thrive when challenged. Friends like you.

        [Clapping Pause]

        It is because of people like you that the world has been able to withstand tough challenges. Tough challenges like the pandemic, authoritarian influence, infringement on human rights, climate change, and even war (stressed). All your efforts and hard work have made this world a better place. Another reason why I wanted to be here is, I want to thank you all in person, for your continuous support for Taiwan and its people.

II. Body

        [Beginning of the talk] I want to begin my talk by thanking the Forum 2000 Foundation for inviting me to take part in this year’s conference again. And I want to express my appreciation to Executive Director Klepal and his team for organizing such a meaningful event every year, and for their dedication in facilitating interaction among democracy advocates. I also treasure their consistent support and friendship for Taiwan very much.

        Many of you might not know, my connection with Forum 2000 started 20 years ago. [There is no suggestion about my age→ the audience chuckles] I attended the 8^th annual Forum 2000 conference in 2004, after serving as Taiwan’s Minister of the Mainland Affairs Council for four years. I still remember joining former President Havel for the inspiring discussions at the Forum on how we could empower Civil Society in the Globalized World.

        A month later, former President Havel visited Taiwan at the invitation of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy. During his visit, former President Havel shared with the people of Taiwan inspirational stories of the people of Czechia how students and ordinary citizens fought authoritarianism and one-party rule, and championed democracy for their country.

        So, I am happy to see, after more than two decades, Forum 2000 is still standing at the forefront, providing an effective and inclusive platform for global leaders, advocates, and thinkers to openly discuss the most pressing issues of today—issues such as the global cooperation of democracies, the role of civil society, democracy and human rights developments, the rise of authoritarianism and illiberalism and ways to counter them, and the impact of technology on democracies. More importantly, we are gathered here today to have an important conservation on democracy’s resolve and resilience.

        The world has endured quite a lot in the past few years. Democracies around the world have faced unprecedented challenges. From the pandemic to the subsequent economic downturn. From the effects of climate change to non-proliferation and war (stressed). We found authoritarian regimes becoming more confident than ever in their way of rule.

        We could feel that they now truly believe that authoritarianism is more adaptive than the democratic system.

        Through gray-zone activities, military threats and invasions, and cognitive and information warfare, authoritarian regimes, in an increasingly aggressive manner, are now aiming to erode our citizens confidence in democratic institutions and polarize our societies.

        Amidst all this, Taiwan stands on the front-line of the assault. The most recent action taken is China’s announcement earlier today of a military exercise called Joint Sword-2024B. [I can assure you that has nothing to do with my presence here today→ the audience chuckles] For more than half a century, Taiwan has faced constant intimidation from the Chinese communist regime, which has tried every possible way to annex Taiwan. And those threats only intensified, as Taiwan became an integral part of the international community, with democracies and their leaders demonstrating their support and willingness to collaborate and visit Taiwan.

        On the other hand, the experience of decades of constant intimidation and dealing with the fickle nature of the international environment made Taiwan’s society and its leaders resilient and pragmatic.

        Taiwan, in an all-of society manner, worked diligently to counter coercion and intimidation through security collaboration with like-minded (friends) allies. Our work also includes military reform, civil defense, and media literacy. And during every critical juncture, Taiwan’s civil society activated itself and worked toward the goal of safeguarding Taiwan’s hard-earned democracy.

        In other words, the people of Taiwan demonstrated time and again that democracy is a non-negotiable part of who we are. It is also part of our unwavering identity. Even though safeguarding who we are has required courage and persistence, it is the commitment we made as Taiwanese.

        This past January, amidst military intimidation, information manipulation, and cognitive warfare, Taiwan kick-started what experts called The Super Year of Elections. Where half of the world’s population in 72 countries would go to the polls and elect their future leaders. The people of Taiwan actively participated in campaign activities, then went to the polls excitedly to cast their votes for those they deemed qualified and suitable to represent and lead them. It is evidence to me that democracy is truly the only game in town for Taiwan, and life in Taiwan is unquestionably free and democratic.

        Not only were the Taiwanese living their lives as proud democrats, Taiwan continues to support and share its experience and work with like-minded countries to safeguard the liberal democratic world order, and to tackle the challenges the world has continued to face.

        The government and citizens of Taiwan have been very supportive of Ukrainians, after seeing the unprovoked invasion by Russia and Ukrainians noble fight for their country.

        In addition to providing humanitarian support to Ukraine’s relief effort, Taiwan has also joined its democratic allies in the economic sanctions against Russia. As a result, Taiwan imposed an embargo on the sale of strategic high-tech commodities, such as semiconductors, computer information, and aerospace products.

        In addition to Ukraine, there are also increasing partnerships between Taiwan and the member states of the European Union. We have counted the highest numbers of officials and members of parliaments of the EU and its member states traveling to Taiwan to lend their support. Partnerships in economic affairs, culture, education, and technology have flourished, because they were also built on our shared values of democracy and freedom.

        The partnership and friendship do not end there. During the convenings conventions of the World Health Assembly, a number of EU member states spoke out in support of Taiwan’s meaningful participation.

        In addition, the EU included Taiwan explicitly in a joint communication on its Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. This endeavor pledged to strengthen cooperation with Taiwan in key industries, such as semiconductors, information and communications technology, and data protection.

        Furthermore, the European Parliament passed an act urging the EU to take a proactive role with international partners to safeguard peace and stability across Taiwan Strait, to sustain democracy in Taiwan, and to include Taiwan as an important partner in the EU’s Indo-Pacific Strategy.

        In response to these efforts, authoritarian regimes have resorted to economic coercion, information manipulation, and influence operations to subvert democracies in Europe and to apply pressure on those who engage with Taiwan. While our friends and partners have remained undeterred, unity and cooperation among democracies became most essential.

        Unity and cooperation can take many forms. They can be military, such as in the transfer of capabilities or technologies that strengthen the democratic camp. They can be economic, such as the development of closer trade and economic ties among democratic countries and the development of critical supply chains that are not subject to authoritarian regimes’ blackmail or disruptions.

        Democracies need to send the signal that intimidation and the use of force against any member would result in serious consequences.

        Unity can also be social and political—like the Coalition of Democratic Renewal established by Forum 2000. Democracies and their advocates can work in concert to preserve and improve the world order and create new narratives that make our democratic systems even stronger and more appealing.

        We should also adopt a whole-of society approach that rests on the participation of diverse stakeholders, including independent media, businesses, civil society, women, youth, religious organizations, local governments, and the public. Democracies need to be confident about who we are and what defines us, so that we can help ourselves and each other.

        [To conclude, I would like to say this:] Taiwan’s democracy, similar to European democracies, was built on sacrifices of those who fought against dictatorships. We also have courageous forebears, whose desire for democracy and freedom inspired our future generations.

        A lot of us have walked a long way to obtain the freedoms we enjoy today, and yet there are people still on that difficult path to freedom. We have a shared understanding of how precious and sometimes fragile democracies can be. And, also because of our shared experiences, we know the importance of why we must stand together.

        While we will surely face other challenges in the future, now that I am standing here with you all, I wish to tell you that I fell even more confident, that by being united, working together, and keeping our belief in the values of democracy, we will always triumph.

III. Conclusive Section

        In the past three years I always ended my video talk with an invitation to the audience to visit Taiwan. Now that I am here, I still want to end, by inviting you to visit my lovely country. [pause] [Don’t worry, you’ll be safe→ the audience chuckles], enjoy the delicious food, and meet our wonderful people.

Lastly, I want to thank the Forum 2000 Foundation again for the kind invitation. It was a great pleasure to be here and to speak to you all.

Thank you.

[End of the speech]

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章節架構

為幫助閱讀，以下是各個段落大致梳理：

I. Prologue

(i). Decision to attend the concert of Forum 2000

(ii). Appreciation to the friends for their “continuous support” for Taiwan

II. Body

(i). Personal connection and shared history

        (a). Personal connection with Forum 2000

        (b). Shared history

        (c). Current situation

(Thesis statement): Democracy's resolve and resilience

(ii). Increasing threats of authoritarian regimes

        (a). Unprecedented challenges

(b). Confidence and Adaptiveness of authoritarianism

(c). Increasing aggressiveness

(iii). Taiwan’s role

        (a). The vanguard against those threats

              (1*). Joint Sword-2024B

(2). Taiwan’s history

(3). Intensification of threats

        (b). Taiwan’s resilience and pragmatism

              (1). “All-of-society” approach

              (2). Democracy as a “non-negotiable part” of the Taiwanese identity

        (c). Taiwan’s commitment to safeguarding democracy

(1). Support for, cooperation with, and sharing experience with like-minded countries

(2). Taiwan’s support for Ukraine

(3). Flourishing partnerships

        (d). The EU member states’ return

              (1). Member states’ support for Taiwan on WHA

              (2). Inclusion of Taiwan in the strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific

(iv). Responding to China’s increasing threats

(a). Strengthening military and economic cooperation

(b). Signaling to the authoritarian intimidation

(c). Making the democratic systems even “stronger and appealing”

        (1). Taiwan’s adoptable whole-of society approach

(v). Conclusive points

(a). Shared history against authoritarianism or dictatorships

        (b). Shared path of democratic development

        (c). Urging to stand together

III. Conclusion

(i). Inviting the audience to visit Taiwan

(ii). Re-addressing the appreciation to Forum 2000 Foundation

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段落概要

另外，附上較為詳細的「各個段落」概要：

I. Prologue

Para. 1: explaining what she has been doing after completing her presidency

Para. 2: Receiving many invitations, choosing the first place to visit

Para. 3: The decision to meet “like-minded friends,” gathered in the concert of Forum 2000

Para. 4: Showing appreciation to the friends, withstanding touch challenges during hard times, for “your continuous support” for Taiwan

II. Body: Democracy in the face of authoritarian challenges

Para. 1: Appreciation to the current Executive Director Klepal and his team for their consistent support and friendship

Para. 2: History and personal connection with Forum 2000

Para. 3: Personal connection with former President Havel, his visit to Taiwan; shared history of fighting against the authoritarian regimes

Para. 4: The current situation, and why we stand here [listing out the points to make in the following sections]

        (1). The global cooperation of democracies

        (2). The role of civil society

        (3). Democracy and human rights developments

(4). The rise of authoritarianism and illiberalism, and ways to counter them

(5). The impact of technology on democracies

(6*). [Thesis statement] Democracy’s resolve and resilience

Para. 5: Resilience during a time of unprecedented challenges

Para. 6: The confidence of authoritarian regimes and the adaptiveness of authoritarianism

Para. 7: The adaptiveness of authoritarianism and its means of spreading in an increasingly aggressive manner

        (1). Gray-zone activities

        (2). Military threats and invasions

        (3). Cognitive and information warfare

Para. 8: Taiwan’s role as the vanguard against the authoritarian threats

        (1*). Joint Sword-2024B [recent event]

        (2). Taiwan’s constantly facing intimidation from the Chinese communist regime [history]

(3). The intensification of those threats, as the international community stands on Taiwan’s side  

Para. 9. The hardships Taiwan has endured made it “resilient and pragmatic

Para. 10. Taiwan’s civil society, in an “all-of-society” manner, counters coercion and intimidation

[Through security collaboration with like-minded allies, our efforts including:]

        (1). Military reform

        (2). Civil defense

        (3). Media literacy

(*) Self-activated to work toward the goal of safeguarding Taiwan’s hard-earned democracy

Para. 11: Democracy as a “non-negotiable part of who we are,” a part of our “unwavering identity”

Para. 12: Taiwan’s commitment to safeguarding democracy during the turning point, the so-called Super Year of Elections, of the members of the global community to choose their way of living

Para. 13: Taiwan’s continuous support for, cooperating with, and sharing experience with like-minded countries

Para. 14: Taiwan’s support for Ukraine in war

Para. 15: The measures taken along with other democracies

        (1). Humanitarian support to Ukraine’s relief effort

(2). The economic sanctions against Russia, by imposing an embargo on the sale of strategic high-tech commodities

Para. 16: Flourishing partnerships with the EU and its member states

Para. 17: EU member states’ support for Taiwan on WHA [Medical collaboration]

Para. 18: Inclusion of Taiwan in its Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific [Military collaboration]

Para. 19: Passing an act urging the EU to proactively safeguard peace and stability across Taiwan Strait [Legal aspect]

Para. 20: China’s increasing threats in response to unity and collaboration among democratic countries

Para. 21: The many forms of unity and cooperation

(1). Military: in the transfer of capabilities or technologies to strengthen the democratic camp

(2). Economic: the development of closer trade and economic ties among democratic countries, and the development of critical supply chain that are not subject to authoritarian regimes’ blackmail or disruptions.

Para. 22: Democracies’ signal to the authoritarian intimidation

Para. 23: Making the democratic systems even “stronger and more appealing,” in social and political aspects

Para. 24: Social aspect: Taiwan’s whole-of society approach that can be adopted by the democracies

Para. 25: [To conclude this section] The shared history of Taiwan and European democracies in terms of fighting dictatorships

Para. 26: The shared path of democratic development that necessitates the democracies to stand together

Para. 27: Standing together in the face of future challenges

III. Conclusive section

Para. 28: Inviting the audience to visit Taiwan

 Para. 29: Re-addressing the appreciation to Forum 2000 Foundation

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詳細的分析，待日後整理。

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[1]. 前總統蔡英文首度捷克「公元兩千論壇」演講 中英字幕完整版｜20241014 公視新聞 【逐字稿參考CC字幕；部分細節筆者自行添加】

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YZQwYFvzJE&ab_channel=%E5%85%AC%E8%A6%96%E6%96%B0%E8%81%9E%E7%B6%B2

[2]. 捷克論壇致詞遇中共軍演 蔡英文：台灣民主不可妥協【演說全文譯本】

https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aipl/202410140317.aspx