President’s Double-Ten Speech 2022: Expect no Walk in the Park

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen looks ahead to her two remaining years in office. The following is an excerpt from her Double-Ten national day speech this morning (Monday), based on the presidential office’s Chinese text, and an English translation by CNA.

^{Double-Ten speech 2022, click picture for video}

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疫情沒有擊倒我們，反而讓世界看見了臺灣的韌性。我們不只守住了疫情，更把我們往前推進了一步，成為我們心中更好的國家。	Instead of holding us back, the pandemic has helped the world see Taiwan’s resilience. Not only did we manage the spread of COVID-19, we helped Taiwan take a step forward, and made our country a better place.
但正如同棒球比賽一樣，這一局能夠化險為夷，並不代表，我們下一局就會風平浪靜。走過了上階段的疫情風暴，下一個階段我們挑戰更大，更需要我們沉著面對，共同解決。	But just as in baseball, being able to turn one inning around does not mean the next one will be a walk in the park. Having come through the outbreak of the virus, we know that our next challenges will be even greater, requiring a calm and collective response.
疫後的世界秩序，正在劇烈的變化。目前，歐美各國，正苦於通貨膨脹，和隨之而來的經濟衰退；臺灣的通膨，雖然還在可以控制的範圍，但我們仍然必須要因應，全球經濟衰退的變局。	The post-pandemic world order is in a state of rapid change. Countries across Europe and the Americas are suffering from inflation and the resulting economic downturn. While inflation in Taiwan is still at a controllable level, we must nevertheless prepare for the developments that might be triggered by a global economic contraction.
在此同時，全球供應鏈重組，仍在進行當中。臺灣雖然在半導體、以及資通訊軟硬體的領域，已經取得關鍵的地位；但在其他領域也必須要快步跟上，才能立於不敗之地。另外，極端氣候帶來的異常災變，也提醒我們，必須要建立更能夠快速應變的機制。	At the same time, global supply chains are still undergoing restructuring. Though Taiwan already holds a key position in the fields of semiconductors and information and communications technology hardware and software, we must quickly catch up in other fields to ensure our strong footing. In addition, disasters caused by extreme weather events remind us that we must build mechanisms for rapid response.
在經濟局勢的過程當中，我們還要面對的另外一個挑戰，那就是烏俄戰爭持續在進行；中國在南海、東海、以及臺灣海峽的軍事行動，衝擊印太地區的和平穩定。我們絕對不能忽視，軍事的擴張，正在挑戰自由民主的世界秩序。這些變局，都跟臺灣息息相關。	Aside from economic developments, Russia continues its war against Ukraine, while China’s military activity in the South China Sea, East China Sea, and the Taiwan Strait undermines peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. We absolutely cannot ignore the challenge that these military expansions pose to the free and democratic world order. These developments are inextricably connected with Taiwan.
臺灣正處在變局之中。我們不能抱著僥倖的心態。我們必須堅定民主立場，審慎的做出準備，隨時因應瞬息萬變的情勢。	With Taiwan a part of this changing landscape, we cannot leave things to chance. Instead, we must stand up for our democracy, and prepare prudently and sufficiently to respond to any possible contingency.
回顧過去，正是因為臺灣的韌性，我們才能夠度過疫情的挑戰。未來的兩年，在我任期的最後，我們不僅要持續站穩「四個堅持」的立場，更要在經濟產業、在社會安全網、在民主自由體制、在國防戰力，打造更精實的「四大韌性」。	Looking back, we can see that we were able to weather the challenges of the pandemic precisely because of Taiwan’s resilience. Over the remaining two years of my term, we will continue to resolutely uphold our Four Commitments. We will also enhance the resilience of four key areas: our economy and industry, social safety net, free and democratic government system, and national defense.
把中華民國臺灣，打造成為一個更強韌的國家，就是現階段國家發展，最重要的目標。	The work of making the Republic of China (Taiwan) a more resilient country is now our most important national development priority.

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