優(yōu)秀大學(xué)生英語演講稿

　　economic security also can be an essential element of freedom. it is recognized in the united nations covenant on economic, social, and cultural rights. in china, you have made extraordinary strides in nurturing that liberty, and spreading freedom from want, to be a source of strength to your people. incomes are up, poverty is down; people do have more choices of jobs, and the ability to travel -- the ability to make a better life. but true freedom includes more than economic freedom. in america, we believe it is a concept which is indivisible.

　　over the past four days, i have seen freedom in many manifestations in china. i have seen the fresh shoots of democracy growing in the villages of your heartland. i have visited a village that chose its own leaders in free elections. i have also seen the cell phones, the video players, the fax machines carrying ideas, information and images from all over the world. i've heard people speak their minds and i have joined people in prayer in the faith of my own choosing. in all these ways i felt a steady breeze of freedom.

　　the question is, where do we go from here? how do we work together to be on the right side of history together? more than 50 years ago, hu shi, one of your great political thinkers and a teacher at this university, said these words: "now some people say to me you must sacrifice your individual freedom so that the nation may be free. but i reply, the struggle for individual freedom is the struggle for the nation's freedom. the struggle for your own character is the struggle for the nation's character."

　　we americans believe hu shi was right. we believe and our experience demonstrates that freedom strengthens stability and helps nations to change.

　　one of our founding fathers, benjamin franklin, once said, "our critics are our friends, for they show us our faults." now, if that is true, there are many days in the united states when the president has more friends than anyone else in america. (laughter.) but it is so.

　　in the world we live in, this global information age, constant improvement and change is necessary to economic opportunity and to national strength. therefore, the freest possible flow of information, ideas, and opinions, and a greater respect for divergent political and religious convictions will actually breed strength and stability going forward.

　　it is, therefore, profoundly in your interest, and the world's, that young chinese minds be free to reach the fullness of their potential. that is the message of our time and the mandate of the new century and the new millennium.

　　i hope china will more fully embrace this mandate. for all the grandeur of your history, i believe your greatest days are still ahead. against great odds in the 20th century china has not only survived, it is moving forward dramatically.

　　other ancient cultures failed because they failed to change. china has constantly proven the capacity to change and grow. now, you must re-imagine china again for a new century, and your generation must be at the heart of china's regeneration.

　　the new century is upon us. all our sights are turned toward the future. now your country has known more millennia than the united states has known centuries. today, however, china is as young as any nation on earth. this new century can be the dawn of a new china, proud of your ancient greatness, proud of what you are doing, prouder still of the tomorrows to come. it can be a time when the world again looks to china for the vigor of its culture, the freshness of its thinking, the elevation of human dignity that is apparent in its works. it can be a time when the oldest of nations helps to make a new world.

　　the united states wants to work with you to make that time a reality.

　　thank you very much. (applause.)