Friday, September 23, 2005

 

Li Ao Bejing University Speech, Part II

為什麼沒有鋪紅地毯?
How come they did not roll out the red carpet?

我必須和大家說,接下來這個演講的時候是劉長樂頭家告訴我,最後我問他一句話,把他問得愣住了,我說有沒有鋪紅地毯?我進門的時候,他說你沒有,柯林頓有,連戰有,你沒有,我說為什麼我沒有?他說,北大尊敬你,把你當成學術演講,所以不鋪紅地毯---校長,是不是這個意思?我說好,我做學術演講,講得好就是學術演講,講不好,講一半,鋪紅地毯還來得及。
I need to tell everyone, before starting this lecture Mr. Liu Zhang Le told me, finally I asked him, and he was shocked. I asked are they rolling out the red carpet when I enter? He said no. Clinton got it, Lein Chan got it, you don’t get it. I asked why? He said, Beijing University is treating you as an Academic Lecturer, so there is no red carpet. Principal, is this your intention? I said okay. I will be an Academic Lecturer. If it is a good speech it will be an Academic Lecture. If it is a bad speech, I'll stop in the middle, there will still be time to roll out the red carpet.

為什麼我要這樣說?不然人家說北京大學勢利眼,怎麼不給李敖鋪紅地毯,怎麼給當官的,或者說是政治人物鋪紅地毯,我在這兒有很多人眼睛看著我,說李敖罵過國民黨,罵過民進黨,罵過老美,罵過小日本,今天你在北京,你敢罵共產黨?很多人不懷好意,幸災樂禍看著我。我告訴你,我先不罵共產黨,我先讚美共產黨和國民黨曾經打倒的勢力,那就是北洋軍閥,為什麼讚美北洋軍閥,大家知道嗎?北京大學怎麼出來的,北洋軍閥,什麼人叫蔡元培校長做北京大學校長?那時候他是國民黨人的身分,是北洋軍閥,北洋軍閥有這個肚量把全國最好的大學交給和他敵對的一個政治勢力的首敵,我們現下罵北洋軍閥,我們有什麼資格罵北洋軍閥呢?
我們不要罵北洋軍閥,我們要做歷史性的反省。

Why did I have to said like that? Or else people will say Beijing University is snobbish. Why not give Li Ao the red carpet treatment? How is it official, or how to you determine it’s a political lecture and roll out the red carpet? As I am here many people’s eyes are on me, thinking Li Ao criticized the KMT, criticized the DPP, criticized the Americans, criticized the Japanese. Today he came to Beijing University, will he dare criticize the CCP? Many people have doubts, taking pleasure at my possible misfortunes while looking at me. I tell you, I will not criticize the CPP first. I will first praise the joint effort of the CCP and KMT to overthrowing Northern Warlords. Does everyone know why the Northern Warlords? How did Beijing University come about? The Northern Warlords. How did a person called Cai Yuan Pei become Beijing University's Principal? At the time he was of the KMT party. It was the Northern Warlords. The Northern Warlords had the tolerance to put the Nation's best University under the control of the enemy, a member of their number one political enemy at the time. Now we criticize the Northern Warlords. What qualifications do we have to criticize the Northern Warlords? We must not criticize them, but we must evaluate them from a historical perspective.

(More tomorrow, maybe)

Comments:
I had copies of Li Ao's speech transcript translated by EastSouthWestNorth.

I think he made some good speeches.
 
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