秦刚大使在“铭记英雄——纪念飞虎队80周年及二战时期美国援华空军历史图片展”上的讲话
Speech by Ambassador Qin Gang at the Opening Ceremony of “Remembering Heroes – 80th Anniversary of the Flying Tigers and America’s Second World War Air Defense of China Photo Expo”
2022年4月10日
10 April 2022
诺顿·施瓦茨将军，
查尔斯·博尔登将军，
杰夫·格林会长，
女士们，先生们，朋友们：
General Norton Schwartz,
General Charles Bolden,
Chairman Jeff Greene,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends,
我在今年驻美使馆云上春节招待会上曾说：“在虎年，我们也不要忘记‘飞虎队’等许多动人的故事。”今天很高兴参加这个图片展的开幕式，纪念飞虎队这段中美关系中的伟大篇章。
At the Online Reception of the Chinese Embassy for the 2022 Chinese New Year, I said, “In the coming year of the tiger, let’s not forget the Flying Tigers and many other touching stories.” Today, it is my great pleasure to attend the opening ceremony of the photo expo to commemorate the Flying Tigers, a great chapter in the history of China -U.S. relations.
刚才我仔细参观了图片展，仿佛回到了81年前那段战火纷飞的岁月。在中国抗日战争最艰难的时刻，有一批壮志凌云的美军飞行员，在中华大地上展翅高飞。在此，我谨向各位飞虎队老兵和老兵后代致以最崇高的敬意！
Just now, I toured the photo expo, and saw many precious photos about that part of history. 81 years ago, as China went through the most difficult days in its War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, a group of American pilots, bold and fearless, righteous and honorable, flew high above the land of China. I wish to use this opportunity to pay highest tribute to the Flying Tigers and their families!
飞虎队的故事传颂的是中美并肩抗战的壮举。在抗日战争中，中国以3500万军民伤亡的巨大牺牲支撑起世界反法西斯战争的东方主战场。飞虎队与中国军民共同浴血奋战。他们鹰击长空，从中缅边境到台湾海峡，从长江到喜马拉雅山脉，击落日本军机2600多架。他们开辟被称为“通向地狱之路”的驼峰航线。美国哥伦比亚广播公司的战地记者赛瓦雷德这样说：“驼峰飞行员们确认航线的标志就是山上那一排浓烟滚滚的战友飞机残骸”。每一名走向飞机的战士，都知道自己也许永不能返航，但他们仍选择义无反顾。飞虎队与中国军民一道，为正义事业而战，为人类命运抗争，在中国抗日战争的胜利旗帜上，永远记录着他们的勇敢和牺牲。
The story of Flying Tigers is a story about the shared fight of China and the U.S. With over 35 million casualties, China was the Eastern main theater of World Anti-fascist War, and in those years, Flying Tigers fought heroically with the Chinese people. From the China-Myanmar border to the Taiwan Strait, from the Yangtze River to the Himalayas, Flying Tigers soared above the sky like eagles, and shot down over 2,600 Japanese fighter jets. They opened up “the Hump”, a dangerous airlift route dubbed the “Skyway to Hell”. Hump pilots, wrote a CBS correspondent, “could plot their course to China by the line of smoking wrecks upon the hillsides.” Every time they boarded the plane, they knew that they might never come back, but none of them ever winced. They chose to fight, together with the Chinese people, for peace, for justice, and for a better world. Their courage and sacrifice has been sewn onto the banner of victory of Chinese people’s war against Japanese aggression.
飞虎队员哈里·莫耶先生、罗伯特·莫尔先生，我要向你们致敬！
Let me recognize Mr. Harry Moyer and Mr. Robert Moore. Both are Flying Tigers veterans. Salute to you!
飞虎队的故事浓缩的是中美守望相助的情义。当时每个飞虎队员身上带着写有“来华助战洋人，军民一体救护”的血幅，这是飞虎队与中国军民之间的生死契约。一旦发现有落难的美军飞行员，中国老百姓就会不惜代价，全力救助。
The story of Flying Tigers is a story of mutual assistance between China and the U.S. When coming to China, all Flying Tigers pilots carried a blood chit, in case they were downed by the enemy. On the chit it reads, “This foreign person has come to China to help in the war effort. Soldiers and civilians, one and all, should rescue and protect him”. This was a life-and-death pledge between the Flying Tigers and the Chinese people, who would spare no effort to rescue the U.S. pilots they found.
中国老百姓缺衣少粮，却把最好的食物、最好的药品全部拿给落难的美军飞行员。飞行员本尼达跳伞后，当地村民和新四军经过近60天的“生死救援”，帮助他安全脱险。飞行员加布里尔迫降后，当地村民甚至连夜为他修建了一条上千米的临时跑道供救援飞机使用。
Back then, the Chinese were short of food and clothing themselves, but they gave their best food and medicine to the U.S. pilots they rescued. When pilot Glen Beneda parachuted out of his plane, local villagers and China’s New Fourth Army got him out of danger after nearly 60 days of rescue. After pilot Gabriel Disosway made an emergency landing, local villagers built a temporary 1000-meter runway overnight for the rescue plane to land on.
1942年，在中国军民的保护下，参与杜立特空袭的80名飞行员中有64名成功获救。日本军队展开疯狂报复，25万中国军民因此罹难。即使面对这样的死亡威胁，中国人民也从未退缩。
In the Doolittle Raid in 1942, 64 of the 80 American pilots in the operation were rescued by the Chinese. In revenge, the Japanese invaders killed about 250,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians. But even in such a dire situation, the Chinese people were never scared away.
“滴水之恩，当以涌泉相报”。飞虎队的故事里铭刻着中国人民感恩重义的精神品格。
We have a saying in China, “A drop of water in need shall be returned with a burst of spring in deed”. We Chinese are a thankful nation, as shown by the story of the Flying Tigers.
飞虎队的故事承载的是中美历久弥新的友谊。战争的硝烟早已散去，但飞虎队的故事却在一代代人的传承中愈加鲜活。中国很多地方都修建了飞虎队博物馆、遗址公园等。很多飞虎队老兵的后代们也成为中美关系的有力支持者和推动者。
The story of the Flying Tigers is a story about the enduring friendship between China and the U.S. The dust of war has long settled, but the tale of the Flying Tigers has been told and retold, from generation to generation. Museums and parks have been built in many places in China to honor them. The descendants of many Flying Tigers veterans have also become strong champions of China-U.S. relations.
中美还一直密切合作搜寻二战援华美军遗骸，很多民间力量在“飞虎队”精神的感召下积极参与其中。2015年，中国志愿者自筹资金，徒步行进10天9夜，抵达海拔4100米的西藏冰川无人区，找到72年前牺牲的三位美军飞行员的28块骸骨。志愿者们说，不管多难，我们一定要送英雄回家。
China and the U.S. have also been working closely to search for the remains of U.S. troops who assisted China in World War II. Inspired by the spirit of the Flying Tigers, many non-governmental groups have pitched in this effort. In 2015, Chinese volunteers, who were self-funded, trekked for a whole of 10 days and 9 nights to reach the glaciers in Tibet. At an altitude of 4,100 meters, they found some remains of three U.S. airmen, comprising 28 bones, who died 72 years ago. The volunteers said, no matter how difficult it would be, we must take the heroes back home.
“飞虎队”已经熔铸成两国的共同记忆，成为中美友好事业中永远闪亮的灯塔，成为彪炳中美关系史册、代代相传的佳话！
The story of “Flying Tigers” is not just a shared memory of China and the U.S. It is a shining beacon in our friendship, and a glorious mark in the history of China-U.S. relations.
女士们，先生们，
Ladies and gentlemen,
任何一段伟大的历史都不应随着时间流逝而被淡忘，它值得后人以各种方式纪念和铭记。
History should never be forgotten. It deserves to be remembered and honored by future generations.
81年后的今天，中美两国都发生了巨大变化，世界也发生了巨大变化。中美早已利益交融，但中美关系却面临着前所未有的挑战，中美是冲突对抗还是和平共处，是零和博弈还是合作共赢，这是世纪之问。身处无数人用鲜血和牺牲换来的和平年代，我们没有任何理由去制造矛盾，扩大分歧，挑动对抗，我们唯一正确的选择就是相互尊重，和平共处，合作共赢。我们需要去书写更多像飞虎队一样的合作故事，为两国人民创造福祉，为世界带来和平与繁荣。
The following 81 years since the Flying Tigers have seen tremendous changes in both China and the U.S., and the world today is totally different from 81 years ago. The interests of China and the U.S. have long been intertwined, but China-U.S. relations are facing unprecedented challenges. To go for conflict and confrontation or live in peace, to get stuck in a zero-sum game or to carry out win-win cooperation, these are the questions of the century. The peace we enjoy today has been won by the blood and sacrifices of numerous people, and deserves to be treasured. No one has the right to stoke conflicts and confrontation. The only right choice is mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. We need to write more stories of cooperation like the Flying Tigers, for the wellbeing of the two peoples, and peace and stability of the world.
陈纳德将军的自传《战士之路》中最后一句话是：“我最美好的愿望是，飞虎队的标志能在太平洋上空高高飘扬。不管是战争还是和平，它都能被太平洋两岸的人们当作是两个伟大民族能向着同一个目标前进的象征。”
Let me use the last sentence of General Claire Chennault’s autobiography Way of a Fighter to conclude, “It is my fondest hope that the sign of the Flying Tigers will remain aloft just as long as it is needed and that it will always be remembered on both shores of the Pacific as the symbol of two great peoples working toward a common goal in war and peace.”
愿飞虎队的标志在和平年代里永远飘扬！
May the sign of the Flying Tigers remain aloft in times of peace!
谢谢大家。
Thank you.