第二篇（英译汉）Passage２（E—C）

相关词语 Related Words and Expressions

personify 是…的化身；是…的体现

integrity 诚实而正直

equalizer 平衡物

decrepit 贫困衰弱的

incisive 聪明敏锐

tycoon 巨头

outspoken 直言的；坦率的

institutionalize 建立

commensurate with… 与…相称的，相当的

debunk 驳斥

unfettered 无束缚的

freewheeling 为所欲为的

pervasive 无处不在的；普遍存在的

bedeck 装饰；打扮

corroborating 确证，证实

autograph 签名

memoir 回忆录

chronicle 记载；记叙

statecraft 治国才能

languish 失去活力；变得衰弱

in obscurity 默默无闻的

mire 陷入困境

viable 可行的

governance 管理；治理

acerbic 尖刻的

When I asked the nation’s top business leaders as to whom they admire most for enlightened leadership, they unanimously mentioned the name of 77-year-old Lee Kuan Yew, founding father of Singapore and now Senior Minister.

Zobel said, “Lee is very straightforward, super honest and he always knew what he was talking about. Lee Kuan Yew is a leader whom I admire the most.”

Lucio Tan explains, “Lee Kuan Yew has strong political will and selflessness as a leader.” In fact, Gohongwei goes a step further, describing Lee as “the world’s greatest businessman.” He adds, “Lee Kuan Yew is the greatest businessman, because he efficiently managed the Republic of Singapore like a successful giant corporation.” Lee is an exceptional Asian leader who personifies excellent management, integrity and discipline.

Even John Chambers, boss of global giant Cisco System, says, “There are two equalizers in life: the Internet and education. Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew is a world leader who understands this and is using the power of the Internet to position Singapore for survival and success in the Internet economy.”

Billionaire media tycoon Rupert Murdoch of News Corp. says, “More than 40 years ago, Lee Kuan Yew transformed what was a poor, decrepit colony into a shining, rich and modern metropolis, all the time surrounded by hostile powers. With his brilliant, incisive intellect, he is one of the world’s most outspoken and respected statesmen.”

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher says, “In office, I read and analyzed his every speech. He had a way of penetrating the fog of propaganda and expressing with unique clarity the issues of our times and the way we tackle them. He was never wrong.”

One of the remarkable successes of Lee Kuan Yew’s management of Singapore is his making his nation the least corrupt in Asia, by institutionalizing “clean, no-money elections” and recruiting the best people into government. He says, “They must be paid a wage commensurate with what men of their ability and integrity are earning for managing a big corporation or successful legal or other professional practice. They have to manage a Singapore economy that yielded an annual growth rate of eight to nine percent in the last two decades, giving its citizens a per-capita income that the World Bank rated in 1995 as ninth highest in the world.”

He debunked what Western liberals claimed about a free unfettered press exposing corruption, pointing out that the freewheeling press of India, the Philippines, Thailand, South Korea and Japan has not stopped pervasive corruption.

One way Lee Kuan Yew cleaned up Singapore was by shaming corrupt officials. In fact, one of his cabinet ministers took his own life due to “loss of face” from corruption charges. “We have established a climate of opinion which looked upon corruption in pubic office as a threat to society.” Lee laments that in much of Asia, corruption has become a way of life for government officials. He said, “The higher they are, the bigger their homes and more numerous their wives or mistresses, all bedecked in jewelry appropriate to the power and position of their men.” Another method Lee used to stamp out corruption was that, in 1960, his government allowed the courts to treat proof that an accused was living beyond his means or had property his income could not explain as corroborating evidence that the accused had accepted or obtained a bribe,” Lee explains.

On a recent visit to Singapore, I called at the office of Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew who was then in America. I had requested the statesman to autograph my copy of his latest 778-page memoir entitled From Third World to First, The Singapore Story: 1965-2000. His secretary explained that Lee’s autograph is worth 10,000 Singapore dollars for each signed book, and that the proceeds would be donated to charities. Even in such a seemingly minor detail as the cost of an autographed book, Lee had a specific plan which reflected his pragmatic business-like ways, his efficiency and his public service.

The memoir is an eloquent chronicle of Lee Kuan Yew’s extensive experiences in statecraft, politics and international diplomacy. In 1965, when the Muslim majority Malaysia expelled Singapore and forced it to exist as a city-State with no natural resources or army, few people gave it much chance of survival. The world has many tiny States, which have languished in obscurity, with even resource-rich small states like Nauru mired in problems. In 1965, the Sydney Morning Herald said, “An independent Singapore was not regarded as viable three years ago. Nothing in the current situation suggests that it is more viable today.” The Sunday Times of Britain in 1965 also predicted the eventual collapse of Singapore without British aid. Today, after decades of good governance and struggle, Singapore is a thriving nation with the world’s fourth highest per capita income.

In this latest book, Lee fearlessly expresses his ideas, seeking “to be correct, not politically correct.” He is unapologetic for his aggressive responses to his political opponents, his often-unorthodox views on Western-style democratic systems, the Western concepts of human rights. Lee also recounts his impressions of nations, leaders an historic events as diverse as Indonesia from Suharto to President Wahid, Thailand, to Sultan of Brunei, Vietnam Myanmar, Cambodia, British leaders, Japan, America to Taiwan, Hong Kong and others. He advised Wahid, “ I said if he expected his ministers to be honest, they had to be paid so that they could live up to their status without corruption.” In acerbic Lee Kuan Yew style, he describes Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, China’s poetry-quoting Jiang Zemin, the late Mao Zedong, the incorruptible Zhu Rongji to the bold reformer Deng Xiaoping (whom he remembers as “a five-footer but a giant among men”).