VOA常速英语:Tillerson on Defending the Democratic Ideal(翻译)

“Across the globe, democratic nations and peoples are under threat,”said U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a speech to the Community of Democracies.
“全球的民主国家和人民正遭受威胁，”美国国务卿雷克斯?蒂勒森在对民主共同体的致辞中表示。

In East Asia, an increasingly aggressive and isolated regime in North Korea threatens democracies in South Korea, Japan,and has expanded those threats to the United States.
在东亚地区，一个更具侵略性、更孤立的朝鲜政权威胁韩国和日本的民主政体，并将威胁扩张到美国。

In the Middle East, Iran exports terrorism and violence, threatening democracies from Israel to Europe and other regions.
在中东，伊朗的恐怖主义和暴力威胁了以色列、欧洲和其他地区的民主政体。

Elsewhere, once-thriving democracies are under attack by regimes which conduct themselves as authoritarian dictatorships, such as in Venezuela.
在其他地方，曾一度兴盛的民主政体正受到实施独裁统治政权的威胁，例如委内瑞拉。

Mr. Tillerson also expressed the necessity of, "support[ing] emerging democracies in the struggle to become nations that respect human rights regardless of ethnicity, such as the case in Burma.”
蒂勒森还表示必须“在斗争中支持新兴民主国家，使它们不考虑种族问题而尊重人权，例如缅甸。”

The democratic ideal deserves to be vigorously defended.“We know that democracy is the form of governance that produces peace, stability, and prosperity at home and abroad,”said Secretary Tillerson."We know that governments that uphold democratic principles and practices are safer, healthier, more secure, more prosperous societies,and are more inclined to respect the human rights of their citizens.”
民主理念应得到极力捍卫。“我们知道民主是一种管理形式，它使国内外保持和平、稳定和繁荣，”国务卿蒂勒森说。“我们知道支持民主原则和行动的政府有更安全、健康和繁荣的社会，并更倾向于尊重公民人权。”

Moreover, democratic governments are accountable to the people, and as a result, are less susceptible to corruption,more likely to support an independent and fair judicial system, and more likely to sustain a diverse society.
此外，民主政府对人民负责，因此，它们很少出现腐败问题，更有可能支持独立、公正的司法体系并维护一个多元化的社会。

“Successful democracies require hard choices, hard work, and vigilance,”said Secretary Tillerson."But democracy is the only political system that contains an institutional capacity for self-correction,one that grants its citizens the right to participate in how and by whom they are governed.And that is why we support the expansion of freedom and democracy throughout the world,”he said.
“成功的民主国家需要经过艰难的选择、艰苦的工作并具备警惕性，”国务卿蒂勒森表示。“但民主是唯一一种包含自我修正制度能力的政体，它使公民有权参与如何管理国家以及选出由谁管理国家的过程。这就为什么我们支持全世界自由和民主的扩张，”他说。

Now is not the time to step back from our democratic commitments.Now is the time to strengthen and sustain them.As President Donald Trump reaffirmed in his speech in Poland,“Above all, we value the dignity of every human life, protect the rights of every person, and share the hope of every soul to live in freedom.That is who we are.”
现在不是放弃民主承诺的时候。此时我们正应加强和维护民主承诺。如总统唐纳德·特朗普在波兰的演讲中重申的那样，“最重要的是，我们珍视每个人生命的尊严，保护每个人的权利，分享每个人自由生活的希望。这才是我们应该做的。”