宋美龄美国国会演讲稿

宋美龄美国国会演讲

Mr. President, Members of the Senate of the United States, ladies and

gentlemen,am overwhelmed by the warmth andspontaneity of the

welcome of the American people, of whom you are the representatives.

I did not know that I was to speak to you today at the Senate except to

say, “How do you do? I am so very glad to see you,” and to bring the

greetings to my people to the people of America. However, just before

coming here, the Vice President told me that he would like to have me

say a few words to you.

I am not a very good extemporaneous speaker; in fact, I am no speaker

at all; but I am not so very much discouraged, because a few days ago I

was at Hyde Park, and went to the President’

s library. Something I saw

there encouraged me, and made me feel that perhaps you will not

expect overmuch of me in speaking to you extemporaneously. What do

you think I saw there? I saw many things. But the one thing which

interested me most of all was that in a glass case there was the first

draft of tone of the President’s speeches, a second draft, and on and on

up to the sixth draft.

Yesterday I happened to mention this fact to the President, and told him

that I was extremely glad that he had to write so many drafts when he is

such a well-known and acknowledgedly fine speaker. His reply to me

was that sometimes he writes 12 drafts of a speech. So, my remarks

here today, being extemporaneous, I am sure you will make allowances

for me.

The traditional friendship between your country and mine has a history

of 160 years. I feel, and I believe that I am now the only one who feels

this way, that there are a great many similarities between your people

and mine, and that these similarities are the basis of our friendship.

I should like to tell you a little story which will illustrate this belief. When

General Doolittle and his men went to bomb Tokyo, on their return

some of your boys had to bail out in the interior of China. One of them

later told me that he had to mail out of his ship. And that when he

landed on Chinese soil and saw the populace running toward him, he

just waved his arm and shouted the only Chinese word he knew,

“Mei

-kuo, Mei-

kuo,” which means “America,” [Applause.] Literally

translated from the

Chinese it means “Beautiful country.” This boy said

that our people laughed and almost hugged him, and greeted him like a

long lost brother. He further told me that the thought that he had come

home when he saw our people; and that was the first time he had ever

been to China. [Applause.]

I came to your country as a little girl. I know your people. I have lived

with them. I spent the formative years of my life amongst your people. I

speak your language, not only the language of your hearts, but also your

tongue. So coming here today I feel that I am also coming home.

[Applause.]

I believe, however, that it is not only I who am coming home; I feel that

if the Chinese people could speak to you in your own tongue, or if you

could understand our tongue, they would tell you that basically and

fundamentally we are fighting for the same cause [great applause]; that

we have identity of ideals’ that the “four freedoms,” which your

President proclaimed to the world, resound throughout our vast land as

the gong of freedom, the gong of freedom of the United Nations, and

the death knell of the aggressors. [Applause.]