【大紀元11月17日訊】（大紀元華府記者站美國華盛頓DC報導）2009年11月13日晚，美國大華府地區的政商界名流匯聚在靠近華盛頓的阿靈頓希爾頓酒店，慶祝華府《大紀元時報》創辦九週年。《大紀元時報》華府分社辦公室所在地馬里蘭州格底斯堡市(Gaithersburg)市長悉尼‧卡茲（Sidney Katz）先生簽發褒獎，宣布2009年11月13日為「大紀元日」。
前美國國會眾議員、美國駐丹麥大使理查德‧斯威特演講（攝影：麗莎/大紀元）
前美國新漢布爾州聯邦眾議員、美國駐丹麥大使理查德‧斯威特是湯姆蘭托斯人權基金會的董事會成員之一。他對現場的來賓說：「我希望《大紀元時報》 還將會有更多更多個九年！ 現在在中國大陸和其它一些國家還有嚴重的迫害人權的事情發生，很高興我們能有《大紀元時報》，它是一個非常具有專業性、開放性的重要新聞媒體。信息的透明化、面對權力講真話是一場重要的改革，《大紀元時報》在世界各個地方都在實踐著這原則，特別是在中國社區。」
以下是理查德‧斯威特大使演講的中文翻譯。(根據錄音整理,小標題為記者所加)
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【基金會】與【大紀元】揭露弊端增進人權理念相同
我以做為【蘭托斯人權與正義基金會】(Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice)一名董事會成員的身份向各位祝賀。我被邀請來演講﹐但是我們家最好的演講人是我的太太Katrina﹐或是今晚也應邀我的岳母安娜特‧蘭托斯(Annette Lantos)﹐已故聯邦眾議員﹑外交事務委員會主席湯姆‧蘭托斯(Tom Lantos) 的太太。我們的基金會就是以紀念湯姆‧蘭托斯而命名的。我要告訴你們一些有關基金會的事情﹐因為它和我們今晚正在慶祝的大紀元報慶有關。湯姆‧蘭托斯(Tom Lantos) 先生是一位支持全世界人權的人。他最關心的﹐最偉大的戰爭之一就是揭露存在於中國大陸的那些弊端與人權問題的戰爭。他為保護中國人權和將希望之光帶給全世界那些發生恐怖事件的地方所做的事情﹐不僅在中國社區有著很大的意義﹐同時對那些在人權迫害﹑存在恐怖問題的所有社區與社會都有很大的意義。
期待並榮幸能共同贊助DC的「神韻藝術團」演出
我們非常喜歡《大紀元時報》以及你們所做的事情。能夠參加這份重要刊物九週年的慶祝會是我們的榮耀。我們也有機會能夠共同贊助「神韻藝術團」在華盛頓DC肯尼迪劇院的演出。我們的許多朋友和你們的許多朋友因為觀看這樣的演出而聯合起來創造了一個更大的社區。「神韻藝術團」每年來華盛頓DC演出﹐能夠看到這個演出團體所表現出來的美﹑華麗壯觀和藝術方面的演繹對我們家族來說是一件大事﹐我們期待並且感到榮耀和高興能夠作為共同贊助團體之一來幫助推動在華盛頓DC的演出。
信息透明化帶給全世界美好遠景有助相互學習合作
但是最重要的是我們今晚在這裡為一份非常專業﹑非常開放﹑以及非常重要的刊物慶祝第九年的生日。《大紀元時報》已經把講真話帶給全世界﹐而這種真話在世界的許多地方仍然沒有被聽到。在座的我們中間有記者﹑有支持者以及許許多多的人都知道要解決那些恐怖事件﹑瓦解那些迫害人權的唯一辦法就是信息透明化﹐對權力講真話。我們要創造一個沒有任何人可以躲藏的環境﹐任何人都公開化﹐不管他們那些人是在做壞事﹐還是可以把壞事變成好事。
信息透明化是《大紀元》正在給全世界做的一項重要改革﹐特別是在中國社區內。我們同時也知道現在是把美好遠景帶給全社會的時候﹐ 而這個遠景意味著我們必須要學習如何共同合作。我很高興能夠與我同桌的印度政論家Dr. Vaidik交談﹐我們談到如何能夠解決世界上那麼多不同困難的事情。我相信只有《大紀元》的報導才能達到這樣的效果。藉著公開提出存在於社會上所有的矛盾和問題﹐我們才能真正的開始找到解決問題的辦法﹐藉著彙集在一起的真相以及由此而產生的合作﹐為更好的明天而努力。
有一個很重要需要大家注意的事就是現在的時刻﹐就像我岳父曾經說的﹐是歷史上的關鍵時刻。我們在打開歷史上的那些門﹐進入歷史的新時刻。這種信息透明和新的美好遠景會產生巨大的改變。在那裡人們將會看到並且開始以一種建設性的方式來處理這些問題。但是這是需要持續警惕﹐長期關注與報導﹐那就要有像《大紀元》這樣的一份重要刊物﹐像【蘭托斯人權與社會正義基金會】這樣的一個重要的基金會組織﹐以及像今晚我們較早時所聽到介紹的那些與會組織公司。沒有這些組織公司來努力讓這些事情發生﹐我們將依然無知,對那些恐怖事件缺乏了解﹐而社會上的人們也依然無法努力去解決那些非常困難的事情。
《大紀元》像陽光普照世界陰暗角落 維護和平與自由
所以今晚我非常榮幸能夠在這裡和你們講話。能夠代表【蘭托斯人權與社會正義基金會】來祝賀你們慶祝九週年的成功﹐並且希望《大紀元時報》還將會有更多更多個九年！我們可以預見到不久的將來，《大紀元時報》會將陽光普照到世界上那些陰暗的角落，會促使世界的領導者們彙集到一起討論解決問題的方案，並將這些方案付諸實施。同時也開始重新建立一個新的社區，在那裏人們可以支持與維護和平與自由，而所有重要的民主人士都能夠實現他們的夢想。為了這個目標﹐我相信我們記住這個故事是非常重要的。我聽到這個故事很多次了﹐它提醒著我這些事情會發生的。而我今晚很願意和大家分享這個故事。
這是一個有關原住民美國人和一個紐約人的故事。他們走在街上﹐美國土著人告訴紐約人說﹕“我聽到一隻蟋蟀在叫。” 而這個紐約人看著他說﹕“你在開玩笑, 我一點都沒有聽到蟋蟀在叫﹐你到底在說什麼﹖”於是美國人土著帶著紐約人在前方轉彎的樹叢一角找到那隻正在叫的蟋蟀﹐令紐約人震驚不已。
持續奮鬥 推倒中國實體的鐵幕與網際虛擬的高牆
這個故事是告訴我們要細心的傾聽那些鼓勵人心的內涵。人們受壓迫會反抗迫害﹐會渴望自由﹐人們會齊心協力創造一些好的機會﹐能夠再一次生活在他們所夢想的自由與現實中。如果我們聽到這個故事﹐如果我們能夠跟隨我們的良心與理想﹐並且了解這個故事能夠提醒我們持續為我們的理想而奮鬥的話﹐我相信總有一天我們會有機會把所有的高牆都推倒﹐不只是20年前柏林的那個鐵幕的牆﹐也包括今天存在于中國的那些高牆﹐那些實體上的鐵幕與在網際虛擬空間存在的阻礙信息流通的那些牆。
我祝賀《大紀元時報》在帶領這個目標上扮演著重要的角色，我謝謝大家能夠支持這個理想﹐因為事實上這是一份非常重要的報紙﹐即使在面臨經濟危機﹐許多報紙正在掙扎存活的時刻，《大紀元時報》仍然能夠繼續存在下去！再次的謝謝大家與感謝大家的支持。
(Speech of Ambassador Swett at DC Epoch Times’ 9-Year Celebration)
I bring you greetings from the Lantos Foundation, which I am honored to serve as a board member. I have been asked to speak, the better speaker of the family is actually my wife Katrina and even another guest tonight my mother-in-law, Annette Lantos, the wife of late Congressman Tom Lantos, who the foundation is named after and has been the Chairman of the Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee for many years.
I want to just tell you a couple of things about the Foundation because it really has a great deal to do with what we are celebrating here tonight. Tom Lantos was a person who stood up for human rights all around the world. One of his great battles that he waged with enthusiasm was the battle of revealing those abuses and problems that existed in Mainland China. What he has done for the expatriate Chinese community in protecting both human rights in that country and bringing light around the world the terrible things that has been done, has meant a great deal to not only the Chinese community but all communities and societies where human rights abuses are a terrible problem.
We are greatly fond of the Epoch Times and the work that you are doing. It is a real honor to be here to celebrate the 9th anniversary of this important publication. We have also had the opportunity to co-sponsor the Shen Yun performances here at the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, D.C. Many of our friends have mingled with many of your friends and we have created an even greater community based on this participation to see the beauty and the pageantry and the artistic expression of the Shen Yun Performing Troupe. As it comes to the Washington, DC every year, that is something that all of our Lantos families look forward to, and we are honored and glad to be one of the sponsoring Foundations to help promote that presentation here in Washington.
But most importantly, tonight we are here to celebrate ninth anniversary of a very professional, very open, and very important reporting that the Epoch Times has done to bring forward the truth as it has not been aloud to come forward in many parts of the world. We have among us, reporters and supporters and people that have come to recognize that the only way that we can overcome these horrible events, and perpetrated injustices against human beings, we have to bring “transparency”, we have to speak truth to power, we have to create an environment where no one can hide, and everyone is revealed, both the bad things that they are doing, and hopefully when things change to the good things that can be done. This “transparency of information” is an important transformation that the Epoch Times is working to produce all around the world, and most importantly within the Chinese community.
We also understand that this is the time where good perspectives must be brought upon all societies, and that perspective means that we learn how to work together, and I have had the great pleasure of sitting at my table with Dr. Vaidik, a renowned Commentator of India, and talking with him about how we can solve some of the very different, difficult problems all around the world. I believe that it is the reporting of the Epoch Times that can accomplish this kind of efforts, by speaking out against the frictions and the problems that exist in societies. That we can begin to in fact illuminate a solution and work towards a better tomorrow, by incorporating these truths and the cooperation that they can engender.
It’s important to know that this is the time that my father-in-law used to say is the hinge of history. We are swinging those doors of history, open into a new time where this “transparency of information” and the new perspectives are going to make a tremendous difference, where people are going to see and begin to deal with those problems in a constructive way. But it will require continued vigilance, it will require the on-going surveillance and reporting that is so important to publications like the Epoch Times that is so important to organizations like the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Social Justice. Because without those participating organizations, that many of those organizations that we heard about earlier in the introduction portion of this programs, making these things known, we will continue to be devoid of and ignorant of these terrible things, and also of the people that are out endeavoring to solve these very difficult problems.
So it is a very great honor for me to be here tonight to talk with you, to bring you the greetings from Lantos Foundation to celebrate nine years of success, and hope for nine times nine many more years to come. Knowing that in the future that what the Epoch Times will be able to accomplish will be to shed the sunlight on the dark corners of the world, to bring together world leaders who can talk about the solutions, and make those solutions real, and begin to build that community where people are able to support themselves and sustain themselves in peace and freedom. All of the important democratic governing bodies will then be able to realize their own dreams and for those reasons, I believe that it is important that we remember stories that has been told to me many times. It reminds me of how this all can take place. And I would like to share this story with you tonight.
It’s a story about a Native American and a New Yorker and they are walking down the street and the Native American says to his friend: “You know, I hears a cricket chirping.” The New Yorker looks at him and says: “you’ve got to be kidding, I can’t here this cricket chirping at all, what are you talking about….” The Native American took the New Yorker friend to the corner on the right of the block. He found behind a bush a cricket chirping….
The story is that we have to listen with heart for those tales of peace, those courageous tales where people are standing up to the oppression, crying out for the freedom, and working together to create the positive opportunities for people to once again be able to live in freedom and in realization of the own dreams. And if we listen attentively for those stories, if we can follow our hearts and minds, and understand how those stories can help inspire all of us work to that end, I believe there will be a day when we will have the opportunity to bring all of the Walls down. Not just the Berlin Wall of 20 years ago in the iron curtain, but the Walls that exist today. The Walls that are both physical and that exists in cyber space in China.
I want to congratulate the Epoch Times for being an important player in bringing this about, and I wanted to thank all of you for supporting this cause. Because this is in fact an important newspaper, that will continue to thrive, even in these economic down times where there are so many that are struggling or collapsing. Thank you once again for your attention and thank you for your supports.
(https://www.dajiyuan.com)
