双语:驻坦桑尼亚大使王克在《中非关系史上的丰碑:援建坦赞铁路亲历者的讲述》斯瓦希里语版首发式上的讲话
发布时间:2020年10月09日
发布人:nanyuzi  

Speech by H.E. Wang Ke, Ambassador of China to Tanzania, at the Launch of the Book ‘A Monument to China-Africa Friendship: Firsthand Account of the Building of the TAZARA’ (Swahili Version)

驻坦桑尼亚大使王克在《中非关系史上的丰碑:援建坦赞铁路亲历者的讲述》斯瓦希里语版首发式上的讲话

 

25 August 2020

2020年8月25日

 

Good morning! Habari za asubuhi!

大家上午好!

 

First of all, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Tanzania, I would like to extend a warm welcome to Prof. Palamagamba Kabudi, Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, and all of you for attending today’s book-launch event.

(无中文)

 

Compiled by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the book ‘A Monument to China-Africa Friendship: Firsthand Account of the Building of the TAZARA’ was published in Chinese, English and French languages in 2015. This book has presented a panoramic view of the historic feat and hard course of the building of TAZARA by Chinese, Tanzanian and Zambian people. It is also a vivid elaboration of the source of China-Africa friendship, which has withstood the test of time and grown even stronger. The book has been well received by Chinese and African readers since its publishing. Up to now, over 10,000 copies have been sold, and the demand remains high. Many Tanzanian friends advised us to translate this valuable book into Swahili so that more Tanzanians and Africans could learn that extraordinary period of history, and cherish more the China-Tanzania and China-African friendships which have been forged with sweat and blood from both sides.

2015年,由中国外交部编写的《中非关系史上的丰碑:援建坦赞铁路亲历者的讲述》中、英、法文版正式发行。该书全景再现了当年中、坦、赞三国人民共建坦赞铁路的历史壮举和卓绝历程,生动反映了中非友谊历久弥坚的源头和活水,受到中国和非洲广大读者的喜爱。截至目前,该书发行量已逾万册,仍供不应求。很多坦桑朋友向我们表示,这本极富价值的书应当发行斯语版,让更多的坦桑尼亚人和非洲人,特别是年轻一代,了解那段不平凡的历史,更加珍惜用汗水和鲜血凝结成的中坦、中非友谊。

 

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the ground-breaking of TAZARA and the 45th anniversary of its operation. We have achieved what we wish. The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United Republic of Tanzania, in collaboration with Mkuki na Nyota Publishers, published the Swahili version of the aforementioned book. I would like to first express my gratitude to Your Honourable Prof. Palamagamba Kabudi, the Foreign Minister. You have not only given support to the publishing of this book, but taken your precious time to attend today’s launching ceremony despite your busy schedule. I would also like to thank Mr. Walter Bgoya, Managing Director of Mkuki na Nyota Publishers, and his colleagues, for cooperating with us on this publishing project. Your professional and excellent work has made this book very much presentable. My sincere gratitude also goes to the translator of the book, Dr. Nathalie Arnold Koenings, an American scholar, who is absent today unfortunately, and all other colleagues and friends who have contributed to the translation and publishing of this important book.

今年是坦赞铁路开工50周年、建成45周年,我们如愿以偿。中国驻坦使馆同坦矛与星出版社合作,推出了《中非关系史上的丰碑:援建坦赞铁路亲历者的讲述》斯语版。在此,我首先感谢卡布迪外长,您不仅对该书出版提出了宝贵意见,还在百忙中抽出时间出席今天的活动。我还要向矛与星出版社以及所有支持本书翻译和出版工作的各位同事和朋友表示衷心感谢!

 

It is worth noting that this book includes the interview with former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, who was editor-in-chief of the Tanzania African National Union (TANU) newspapers, The Nationalist and Uhuru at that time. Moreover, at the suggestion of Minister Kabudi, we have added the narration of Hon. Job Lusinde, former Minister of Communications and Works of Tanzania and former Tanzanian Ambassador to China, to this book. The two elders shared with us with deep feelings in the book their recollections of the stories and personal experiences during the construction of TAZARA. These stories have reflected the sincere friendship between the Chinese and the Tanzanian people. The two elders passed away last month. We felt deep sorrow for losing two respectable old and true friends of the Chinese people. Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent his letter of condolence to President John Pombe Magufuli for the passing of the late President Benjamin Mkapa. Here I propose everybody stands up and observe one-minute silence to mourn the two elders.

我想强调的是,《丰碑》一书收录了坦赞铁路建设时任坦盟党报主编的坦前总统姆卡帕的采访实录。此外,根据卡布迪外长提议,斯语版专门增加了时任坦交通和工程部部长、前驻华大使卢辛迪的口述章节。两位老人用自己见证坦赞铁路建设的亲身经历,向我们深情讲述了体现中坦两国人民真挚情谊的一段段往事。上个月,他们先后离世,我们对失去两位中国人民非常尊敬的老朋友和真朋友深感悲痛。中国国家主席习近平专门向马古富力总统致唁函,对姆卡帕前总统的逝世表示哀悼。在此,我提议,全体起立,为两位前辈的离世默哀一分钟。

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

女士们、先生们,

 

As the largest turnkey foreign aid project that China has ever financed and undertaken abroad, TAZARA is not only a ‘railway of freedom’ supporting the independence of eastern and southern African countries, but a ‘railway of friendship’ symbolizing the ever-lasting friendship between Chinese and African people. TAZARA occupies a very important position in the history of China-Africa relations and South-South cooperation. Both Chinese and Tanzanian leaders attach great importance to TAZARA. In 2013, when Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Tanzania, he made a special trip to the Cemetery for Memorable Deceased Chinese Experts Assisting Tanzania to pay his tribute, and stressed that we should carry forward the TAZARA spirit, forge ahead into the future, keep up with the times and make the towering tree of China-Africa friendly cooperation flourish and bear more fruits. Last year, when inspecting TAZARA Dar es Salaam Station, Tanzanian President John Pombe Magufuli said, “We cannot abandon TAZARA, which is a good idea of the founders of Tanzania and Zambia, elderly Nyerere and Kaunda”. He emphasized that TAZARA is in the memories and brains of the two nations’ founding fathers, and it will never die. It’s fair to say that the TAZARA spirit forged by our elder generations during the construction of the railway, is invaluable historical treasure of the Chinese and African people. Therefore, it should be remembered and carried forward from generation to generation.

作为新中国成立以来规模最大的对外成套援助项目,坦赞铁路既是支持东部和南部非洲人民实现独立的“自由之路”,更是象征中非人民世代友好的“友谊之路”,在中非关系乃至南南合作史上占有特殊重要地位。2013年,习近平主席访坦时专程前往援坦中国专家公墓凭吊,强调要弘扬坦赞铁路精神,继往开来,与时俱进,使中坦、中非友好合作取得更加丰硕的果实。去年,马古富力总统在视察坦赞铁路车站时指出,坦赞铁路凝聚着中坦赞三国老一辈领导人的心血,无论何时都不能放弃这条铁路。可以说,我们在铁路修建过程中共同铸就的坦赞铁路精神,是中坦、中非人民宝贵的历史财富,值得世代铭记和传承。

 

The TAZARA spirit carries the unremitting pursuit for fairness and justice by China and Africa. The original aspiration of building the railway is to support the national liberation movements and economic independence of Tanzania, Zambia and southern African countries. The request for assisting Tanzania and Zambia to build the railway was first raised by the first President of Tanzania Mwalimu Julius Nyerere during his very first visit to China in 1965. At that time, China was facing great economic difficulties with a per-capita GDP of less than 100 US dollars. However, Chairman Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai and other Chinese leaders made the historic decision, without hesitation, to help build TAZARA. China, Tanzania and Zambia rose to such challenges as adverse natural conditions, and obstruction and sabotage by a few countries. In less than 6 years, the construction of the 1860.5 kilometers long railway came to completion, making an indelible contribution to the fight against imperialism and colonialism as well as the development and rejuvenation of the African continent, in particular the eastern and southern Africa.

坦赞铁路承载着中非对公平正义的不懈追求。坦赞铁路建设的初衷就是为了支持坦、赞两国和南部非洲国家民族解放和经济独立。1965年,尼雷尔总统首次访华,向毛泽东主席等中国领导人提出援建坦赞铁路的请求。那时,尽管中国人均国内生产总值不到100美元,经济还很困难,但中国政府毅然作出援建坦赞铁路的历史性决定。中、坦、赞三国政府和人民克服了自然条件艰苦、少数国家干扰破坏等挑战,用不到六年时间建成了长达1860.5公里的铁路大动脉,为东部和南部非洲乃至整个非洲大陆的反帝反殖和发展振兴作出了不可磨灭的历史性贡献。

 

The TAZARA embodies the essence of China-Africa relations, which is characterized by treating each other as equals and mutual assistance in difficult times. To build TAZARA, China had dispatched over 50,000 engineers, technicians and skilled workers, put into use a large amount of engineering machinery and equipment, and made a huge number of design drawings which could fill two luggage compartments of a train. Over 160 workers, including more than 60 Chinese, sacrificed their lives in building the railway. These figures have shown to us the spirit of the Chinese and African people striving together to create miracles. It is worth mentioning that in building the TAZARA, the Chinese workers lived in the temporary work sheds built by themselves, ate the vegetables grown by themselves, worked side by side, and had meals together with their Tanzanian and Zambian brothers. They had never asked for any special treatment! Former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa recalled in this book that the local community was once worried about the large number of Chinese workers stationed there, but the Chinese workers won the deep friendship and wide acclaims from African brothers through self-sacrifice, dedication, sincerity and equal attitude toward Africans. Facts have proved that TAZARA has not become a tool of China to control Tanzania and Zambia as some foreign media alleged. On the contrary, it has become a symbol for mutual support and independently determining their destinies by the Chinese and African people.

坦赞铁路浓缩了中非平等相待、守望相助的本色。为修建这条铁路,中国先后派遣5万多名工程技术人员,投入大量机械设备,绘制整整两节火车车厢的设计图纸;160多位建设者献出了自己宝贵的生命,其中60多位是中国援建人员。这些数字体现了中非人民携手拼搏、共创奇迹的精神品质。值得一提的是,中国援建人员坚持住在自己搭建的简易工棚里,吃自己种植的蔬菜,同坦赞两国工人一起用餐、一起劳动,从不要求任何特殊待遇。姆卡帕前总统在书中回忆说,当地社会看到大量中国员工驻扎下来,一度有所担心,但中方人员以牺牲奉献精神和真诚平等态度贏得了非洲兄弟的深厚友谊和广泛赞誉。事实证明,坦赞铁路完全不像某些西方舆论预言的那样,成为所谓中国控制坦、赞两国的工具。相反,它成为中非人民相互支持、自主决定命运的标志。

 

We are glad to see that the TAZARA spirit shows that China and Tanzania, China and Africa have been a community of a shared future, and that the core principles of the TAZARA spirit have remained unchanged till today. Actually these principles are reflected in various aspects of China-Tanzania cooperation. In the face of some countries acting in unilateralism and disregard of the basic norms governing international relations, China and Tanzania, conforming to the trend of development of history, stay committed to promoting the development of the international political and economic order in the direction of fairness and justice, and advocating multilateralism and win-win cooperation in the UN Security Council, the United Nations Human Rights Council, the World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization and many other international occasions. In the face of some countries’ behaviors of bullying, double standards and wanton interference in other countries’ internal affairs, China and Tanzania have been respecting and supporting one another in independently exploring development paths that suit national conditions, and resolutely safeguarding national sovereignty and dignity. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Government of Tanzania for its firm support to China on issues concerning China’s core interests, including those relating to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and others. What needs to be pointed out in particular is that China and Tanzania have been supporting each other and fighting shoulder to shoulder against the global pandemic of COVID-19. At the height of China’s battle with the coronavirus, the Tanzanian Government and its people stood firmly with China, and expressed their support in international occasions for China’s anti-epidemic efforts. Likewise, when Tanzania was struck by the virus, China was the first to rush in with assistance. The ongoing infrastructural projects in Tanzania undertaken by Chinese companies have never been suspended for a single day since the outbreak of COVID-19. We are proud of China’s contribution to the success achieved by Tanzania in fighting the pandemic and developing its economy.

坦赞铁路精神充分反映出中坦、中非是命运共同体,其核心要义延续至今,体现在中坦合作的方方面面。面对一些国家热衷单边主义、罔顾国际关系准则的行径,中坦两国致力于推动国际政治经济秩序向更加公平正义的方向发展,在联合国安理会、人权理事会、世贸组织、世卫组织等场合弘扬多边主义和合作共赢,顺应了历史发展潮流。面对一些国家奉行双重标准、肆意干涉他国内政的霸道做法,中坦两国始终尊重和支持彼此独立自主探索适合自身国情的发展道路,坚决维护国家主权和尊严。借此机会,我想感谢坦方在涉台、涉港、涉疆等中国核心利益问题上对中方的坚定支持。特别需要指出的是,面对席卷全球的新冠肺炎疫情,中坦两国始终相互支持、并肩战斗。在中国抗疫最艰难时,坦政府和人民坚定支持中方,并在国际上为中方抗疫努力发出正义声援;在坦出现疫情后,中方率先驰援,承建坦基础设施建设项目的中国企业一天也没有停工,为协助坦方抗击疫情和发展经济作出了积极贡献。

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

女士们、先生们,

 

The purpose of reviewing history is to better plan for the future. It is my deep feeling that against the backdrop of the profound changes in the international situation, the continuous rise of hegemonism and unilateralism, the negative impact of COVID-19 on the world economy, and the major challenges facing all countries in the world, the significance of carrying forward the TAZARA spirit has become more prominent for China and Tanzania to develop their comprehensive partnership and to build a closer community with a shared future.

重温历史,是为更好规划未来。我深刻地感受到,在国际形势深刻变化,霸权主义和单边主义不断抬头、新冠疫情冲击世界经济、各国发展均面临重大挑战的大背景下,弘扬坦赞铁路精神对于中坦发展全面合作伙伴关系、结成更加紧密的命运共同体的意义更加凸显。

 

Facing the new situation and challenges, China will continue to follow the guidance of the TAZARA spirit, take the opportunity of implementing the outcomes of the FOCAC Beijing Summit and the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity Against COVID-19, and the development of Belt and Road cooperation, to comprehensively enhance cooperation with Tanzania in trade, investment, infrastructure construction, tourism, health care and other fields. We will foster new growth points in such areas as traditional medicine and e-commerce. China will support Tanzania in its effort to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on its economy, and play a larger role in assisting Tanzania to accelerate industrialization and to achieve independent and sustainable development. At the same time, China is willing to strengthen coordination and mutual support with Tanzania in international affairs so as to make new joint contributions to upholding multilateralism and promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

面对新形势新挑战,中方将继续以坦赞铁路精神为指引,以落实中非合作论坛北京峰会、中非团结抗疫特别峰会成果和共建“一带一路”为契机,全方位加强中坦在贸易、投资、基础设施建设、旅游、医疗卫生等领域合作,在传统医药开发、电子商务等领域培育新增长点,继续支持坦方缓解疫情带来的冲击,加快工业化进程,实现自主可持续发展。同时,中方也愿同坦方加强在国际事务中的相互协调和支持,共同捍卫多边主义,推动构建人类命运共同体。

 

Thank you! Asanteni sana!

谢谢大家!