第一届武汉总领馆美国国庆招待晚会欢迎词

Welcoming Remarks at First ConGen Wuhan July 4th Reception
by US Consul General to Wuhan Wendy Lyle
July 4th, 2008

在第一届武汉总领馆美国国庆招待晚会所致的欢迎词
美国驻武汉领事馆总领事 白小琳
2008年7月4日

Good Evening, Ladies and Gentlemen!  I am Wendy Lyle, the U.S. Consul General in Wuhan and the moderator of tonight’s reception.  

大家好！我是白小琳，美国驻武汉总领事，也是今天晚上美国国庆招待会的主持人。

On behalf of the U.S. Consulate General in Wuhan, I would like to extend a hearty welcome to all of you-- Vice Governor Tian Chengzhong of Hubei; Deputy Mayor Yue Yong of Wuhan ; French Consul General; senior officials from all four provinces of the Wuhan Consular District; mayors and deputy mayors and senior government officials of 13 cities in central China；presidents, professors and students from 14 universities；members of  Wuhan art community; my dear friends from Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Wuhan Tiandi; my good colleagues from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing;  and distinguished representatives of Beijing and Wuhan American business communities.   

我谨代表美国驻武汉总领馆，竭诚欢迎大家！ 欢迎田承忠副省长；法国总领事费勇；湖北，湖南，江西，河南省政府的领导；代表武汉，鄂州，荆州，宜昌，襄樊，长沙，岳阳，湘潭，南昌，九江，郑州，开封与洛阳的书记，市长，副市长和其他市政府领导； 代表十四所中部高等学府， 包括武汉大学，华中科技大学，中国地质大学，华中农业大学，华中师范大学，中南财经政法大学，中南民族大学，湖北大学，江汉大学，湖北美术学院，长江大学，南昌大学，和湖南女子大学的校长，副校长，老师和同学；武汉文化艺术界的知名人士，从深圳, 香港和武汉天地来的好朋友，从北京使馆来的好同事， 还有代表北京和武汉美国商业界的贵宾们。 

Before we begin tonight’s reception, let’s take a moment to commemorate all the victims of the tragic Wenchuan Earthquake and pay tribute to the American and Chinese people who have shown such courage to help the victims recover from the tragedy and rebuild their communities. To date, total U.S. Government assistance to China is valued at nearly $3.7 million. The U.S. private sector has provided more than $102 million in cash and in-kind contributions to Chinese response efforts. On June 29, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited the disaster zone and praised China's post-quake recovery efforts.   She told the reporters afterwards, "I'm really impressed by the recovery effort. It is really a sign of how the human spirit can overcome great devastation." 

在我们开始今天晚上的典礼之前，让我们向汶川震灾受难的百姓致哀，并向中国人民在救灾中勇敢博爱帮助灾民重整家园致敬。到目前为止，美国政府已经提供了三百七十多万美元的援助。美国人民的私人捐赠超过一亿零两百万美元。 6月29日，美国国务卿莱斯亲临灾区慰问。她对中国灾后救援工作十分赞扬。她告诉记者们说这是人定胜天的表现。

It is a joyful occasion and a historical moment for us to get together at the Holiday Inn tonight to celebrate this great holiday-the 232nd Independence Day of the United States, and to pay tribute to our strong friendships with China and France. I would like to invite all of you to join me for a national anthem sing-along.  We will begin with the U.S. national anthem, and then the national anthem of our host country, China.  

今晚我们相聚一堂，在天安假日酒店，欢庆这个美好的假日--美国第232个独立周年纪念日， 并为美国与中国和法国的友谊致敬。 这是一个富有历史意义的日子。 我们要以唱国歌向美国和中国致敬。我们先邀请美国朋友欢唱美国国歌，再邀请中国朋友欢唱中国国歌。 

The establishment of a Consulate General in Wuhan is a landmark in U.S. history.  It opened a new chapter in U.S.-China relations.  It is a concrete demonstration of the strong and growing ties between the United States and China. Never in the shared history of our two countries have the United States and China been so deeply engaged, working together on a wide scope of global issues than ever before. China is one of our most important bilateral relationships and will continue to be central to our success on nearly all fronts of our foreign policy.   On June 29, Secretary Rice mentioned the importance of the bilateral relations in a press conference and said, “The United States and China simply must work together if we are going to resolve the many challenges that we face in the international community in a constructive and diplomatic manner.”
 
美国驻武汉总领馆的设立是美国历史上的一个里程碑，给美中关系展开了新的篇章， 是美中关系日益紧密的证明。两国在许许多多全球性问题上携手合作，关系密切，前所未有。对美国而言，中国至关紧要。美中关系在美国全面外交关系中具有核心重要地位。6月29日莱斯国务卿在新闻发布会上提到了美中关系的重要性。她说“要以外交途径，有建设性的解决我们在国际上所面临的许多挑战，美中两国非合作不可。”

It is truly an honor to have you here with me to celebrate the first U.S. Consulate General Wuhan July 4th Reception. “July Fourth” embodies all the wonderful aspirations we Americans strive for as we serenade our national identity and national values, and pay homage to our friendships and partnerships with China and France.

今天晚上非常荣幸请到大家在武汉和我一起共同欢庆第一届美国驻武汉总领馆美国国庆招待晚会。七月四号代表着美国精神，也代表着美国政府与人民重视美中法三国友谊与互利互惠合作关系的情怀。
J-Joy (J 代表欢欣鼓舞)，U-United States (U 代表美国)，L-Life (L代表生生不息)，Y-Youth (Y代表青春活泼)，F-Friendship (F代表友谊长存)，O-Originality （O 代表独特创新）, U-Unity （U代表团结一致）, R-Resourcefulness （R代表灵机应变）,  T-Trade (T代表商贸兴隆)，H-Humanity (H代表人性社会).

With all my sincerity, I would like to offer my thanks on this special day.  I thank the U.S. and Chinese governments for their wisdom to sign the 1981 Consular Facilities Agreement and select Wuhan as the site of one of the U.S. Consulate Generals in China.  I thank the American and Chinese people for giving me the honor to serve as the first US Consul General of Wuhan. And I thank all the provincial and municipal governments in Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and Henan for giving me all the support I could have hoped for in the past seven months since I arrived here to run the Consulate on my own while the office is being set up.  

在今天这个特殊的节日里，我诚挚的向大家表示感谢。感谢美中两国政府有先见之明，签署了1981年美中领事协议， 并选择武汉作为美国总领馆馆址之一。  感谢美中两国人民给我这个机会担任第一任美国驻武汉总领事。 感谢湖北，湖南，江西与河南各个省市政府在过去七个月里尽全力支持我一个人在武汉上任，开办总领馆。

I thank all of you for being here tonight to make this reception such a memorable occasion.  I thank Wuhan Tiandi for donating all the services to provide glorious decorations and help organize musical and dance performances for the reception. I thank Jianghan University, Hubei University, South Central University for Nationalities and Hunan Women’s University for volunteering professors and students to bring us excellent musical and dance performances. I thank Wuhan University Interpretation Team volunteers. I thank Hubei Art Academy and Wuhan artists for donating their services to mount an art exhibit at the reception and share their artistic inspirations with us. I thank Wuhan volunteers and my Embassy colleagues for your assistance.  I thank the American Chamber of Commerce in China and American business leaders in Wuhan for your much-appreciated support and donations.  I thank Holiday Inn for providing complimentary space and outstanding services, and last, but not least, I thank Wuhan Public Security Bureau for working so hard to make us very safe tonight. Thank you!  

感谢大家百忙中抽空参加今天晚上的招待会， 给我们带来了美好的回忆。感谢武汉天地为招待会策划庄严隆重的装潢，并协调全场音乐和舞蹈表演。感谢江汉大学，湖北大学，中南民族大学，和湖南女子大学师生们自动自发，为招待会带来精彩的歌舞表演。感谢武汉大学口译队提供志愿服务。感谢湖北美术学院美术馆和武汉的艺术家们为招待会精心筹划艺术邀请展，给我们一个大好机会一睹你们的灵感与才华。感谢爱护我，支持我的武汉志愿者，和美国使馆同事们的协助。特别感谢美国中国商会和武汉美国商业界的领导们大力支持与捐赠。 感谢汉口天安假日酒店提供场所， 服务到位。更重要的，我们感谢武汉公安局辛苦筹划，彻底提供万无一失的安全措施。 谢谢！