美國時間週四（7月23日），美國國務卿蓬佩奧（Mike Pompeo）在位於加州的里根圖書館發表對華政策演講，主題為《共產主義中國與自由世界的未來》

演講全文（中文譯文 英文附後)

謝謝！感謝你們所有人！也感謝州長對我的慷慨介紹，的確，當你走在體育場和說出“蓬佩奧”的名字時，這裡一片歡呼。我有一個兄弟馬克，他是是一個很棒的籃球手。

也感謝藍空軍下士 Kayla Highsmith 將我們的國歌詮釋得這麼完美，請大家給她掌聲。

也感謝羅里牧師（ Pastor Laurie）給了我們這樣一個感動人心的祈禱。我還要感謝休·修伊特和尼克松基金會邀請我在這個重要的美國機構演講。

很高興能有空軍人員演唱，由海軍陸戰隊介紹，他們讓陸軍隊員站在海軍的房子前面。 （笑聲）一切都很好。

我很榮幸來到巴·林達（Yorba Linda），尼克鬆的父親在那裡建立了他出生和成長的房屋。

對於所有使今天成為可能的尼克松中心董事會和工作人員來說，現階段達成這一切非常困難，感謝他們以及我的團隊使這一天成為可能。

我們很幸運，觀眾中還有一些非常特別的人，包括我認識的克里思·尼克松（Chris Nixon）。我還要感謝特里西婭·尼克松（Tricia Nixon ）和朱莉·尼克松·艾​​​​森豪威爾（Julie Nixon Eisenhower ）對這次訪問的支持。

還有幾位勇敢的中國異見人士，他們遠道而來在今天加入我們。

對所有其他尊貴的客人-（鼓掌）-對所有其他尊貴的客人，對那些於那些支付額外費用此時在帳篷下的朋友，謝謝你們的光臨！

以及那些正在觀看直播的人，感謝您的收看。

正如州長所說，我出生在聖安娜，離這裡不遠。今天有我的姐姐和她的丈夫在聽眾中。謝謝你們的光臨。我敢打賭，你們從沒想過我會站在這裡。

我今天的講話是我邀請國家安全顧問羅伯特·奧布賴恩（ Robert O’Brien）聯邦調查局局長克里斯·雷（Chris Wray）和司法部長巴爾（William Barr）共同關於中國系列演講中的第四組講話。

我們有一個非常明確的目標，一個真正的使命：這是為了解釋美國與中國關係的不同方面，數十年來這種關係的巨大失衡，以及中國共產黨的霸權設計。

我們的目是明確釐清：特朗普總統的中國政策旨在解決中國對美威脅，以及美國捍衛自由的策略。

國家安全顧問奧布萊恩談及意識形態。調查局長雷談到間諜問題。司法部長巴爾談經濟問題。今天，輪到我把這一切匯總給美國人民，讓美國人民了解中國的威脅對我們的經濟、我們的自由和自由世界的未來意味著什麼。

自基辛格博士秘密訪問中國，到明年已是半個世紀，而2022年也是尼克松總統訪華50週年。

那時的世界與今日大不相同：我們以為與中國接觸將創造有著友好合作前景的美好未來。

但是今天-今天我們仍然戴著口罩，看著瘟疫人數攀升，因為中共未能履行對世界的承諾，我們每天早上都在閱讀最新的中共鎮壓香港和新疆新的新聞。

我們看到中國不正當貿易行為導緻美國人失業及給美國的經濟帶來沉重打擊的驚人統計數字，包括在南加州。而且我們正在看著一支越來越強大，甚至更具威脅性的中國軍隊。

從加州到我的家鄉堪薩斯州以及其他地區，我都會迴響美國人心中的疑問：美國人民和中國來往50年的成果是什麼？我們領導人提出中國向自由與民主發展的理論是否被證明是正確的？這是中國定義的「雙贏」局面嗎？

實際上，從國務卿的角度來看，美國更安全嗎？我們是否有更大的可能性為自己實現和平，並為我們後代帶來和平？

看，我們必須承認一個難以接受的事實，這個難以接受的事實將指導我們在未來幾十年中發展，如果我們想要擁有一個自由的21世紀，而不是習近平夢想的中國世紀，與中國盲目交往的舊範式已失敗，我們決不能繼續，也不能重複。

正如特朗普總統已明確指出的那樣，我們需要一項保護美國經濟乃至我們生活方式的戰略。自由世界必須戰勝這一新的暴政！

今天在我似乎要解構尼克松總統的政治遺產之前，我想明確地說，他做了當時他認為最適合美國人民的事情，而且他很可能是對的。

正如我們認為的那樣，尼克松總統中國問題的一個聰明學生，勇敢的冷酷戰士，也是中國人民的仰慕者。

他應該贏得巨大聲譽，他意識到中國太重要而不能忽略，即使由於該國自身的共產主義野蠻行為而被削弱。

1967年，尼克鬆在一篇非常著名的外交事務文章中解釋了他的未來戰略。他的話是這樣的：長遠來看，我們根本無法把中國永遠排除於世界各國之外…在中國改變之前，全球才能安全。因此就影響事件而言，我們的目標是「引發(中國產生)變化」。

我認為整篇文章中的關鍵詞是「引髮變化」。

因此，在歷史性的北京之行中，尼克松總統開始了我們的對華接觸戰略。他立意高尚地尋求一個更自由，更安全的世界，並希望中國共產黨能兌現這一承諾。

隨著時間的流逝，美國決策者越來越多地認為，隨著中國變得更加繁榮，它將會對外開放，它亦會在國內變得更加自由，國外面臨的威脅越來越小，他在國際上變得愈加友善，這一切看來是在所難免的趨勢。 ，

但是在所難免的趨勢已經走到盡頭，我們一直在進行的這種接觸並沒有帶來尼克松總統所希望的「引發中國內部的變化」。

事實是，我們的政策以及其他自由國家的政策使中國衰落的經濟復活了，卻只看到北京咬噬養活它的國際力量。
 
我們向中國公民張開雙臂，只是看到中國共產黨利用我們的自由開放社會，激大外宣人員參加我們的新聞發布會，研究中心，高中，大學，甚至進入我們的PTA（家長教師聯誼會）會議。

我們將台灣朋友邊緣化，後來台灣發展為蓬勃的民主國家。
我們給中國共產黨政權特殊的經濟待遇，卻只看到中共要求西方公司對其人權侵犯保持沉默，這是西方公司進入中國的代價。

前一天，奧布賴恩大使舉了幾個例子：萬豪，美國航空，達美航空，美聯航都從其公司網站上刪除了對台灣的提及，以免激怒北京。

在好萊塢，這個美國創作自由的中心和自命為社會正義仲裁者所在地，卻在面對最輕微的對中國不利的批評時進行自我審查。

這種企業默許中共的作法發生在世界各地。

這種企業向中共輸誠，這種奉承會得到好處嗎？我引述司法部長巴爾在講話中在上週的一次演講，他說：中國統治者的最終野心不是與美國進行貿易。是要洗劫美國。

中國剝奪了我們寶貴的知識產權和商業機密，令美國各地失去了數百萬個就業機會。

中國把供應鏈從美國吸走，還奴役勞工。

中國使全球主要水道對國際貿易的安全降低。

尼克松總統曾經說過，他擔心自己通過向中共開放世界而創造了一個「科學怪人」（Frankenstein），一語成讖，現在這成為現實。

現在，有些立意良善的人質疑：這些年來，為什麼自由國家允許這些不好的事情發生？也許我們對中國強大的共產主義很幼稚，或者在我們在冷戰後的勝利主義，或者對資本主義嗤之以鼻，或者被北京所說的「和平崛起」蒙蔽。

無論出於何種原因，無論出於何種原因，今天的中國在國內是越來越專制，對其他地方的自由充滿敵意。

特朗普總統說：夠了。

我不認為共和黨、民主黨兩邊會有很多人對我今天提出的事實有異議。但是即使到現在，也有人堅持認為，為了持續對話，我們要保留對話模式。

現在，要明確地說，我們將繼續討論。但是這些天的美中對話是不同的。幾週前，我去了夏威夷，與楊潔篪見面。

還是老樣子：他說了很多，但實際上完全沒有任何改變中國行為的提議。

楊的承諾，就像中共此前做出的許多承諾一樣，都是空洞的。我想，他的期望是我會屈服於他們的要求，坦率地說，這是許多前任政府所做的。我沒有，特朗普總統也不會。

正如奧布賴恩大使所說的那樣，我們必須記住，中共政權是馬克思列寧主義政權。中共總書記習近平總堅信破產的極權主義意識形態。

正是這種意識形態，正是這種意識形態反映了他數十年來對全球共產主義中國霸權的野心。美國再也不能忽視我們兩國之間根本的政治和意識形態差異，就像中共從來沒有忽視它們一樣。

以我在眾議院情報委員會任職和擔任中央情報局局長的經驗，以及我現在擔任美國國務卿兩年多的經驗，使我形成這樣的理解：

唯一的方式，真正改變共產主義中國的唯一方法，不是根據中國領導人的言論行事，而是根據他們的行為方式行事。你會看到美國政策對此結論做出了回應。裡根總統說，他是在「信任但要核實」的基礎上與蘇聯打交道的。對於中共，我們必須不信任，還要核查。 （掌聲）

我們是世界上熱愛自由的國家，必須像尼克松總統所希望的那樣，促使中國發生變化。我們必須促使中國以更具創造性和果斷性的方式進行變革，因為北京的行動威脅著我們的人民和我們的繁榮。

我們必須首先改變我們的人民和我們的伙伴對中共的觀念。我們必須說實話。我們不能把中國看成像其他國家一樣的正常國家。

我們知道，與中國進行貿易不像與一個正常的，遵守法律的國家進行貿易一樣。北京將國際協議視作國際建議，將之作為全球主導地位的渠道。

但是，通過堅持公平條款，就像我們的貿易代表在獲得第一階段貿易協議時所做的那樣，我們可以迫使中國重新考慮其知識產權盜竊和損害美國工人的政策。

我們也知道，與擁有CCP支持的公司開展業務和與一家加拿大公司開展業務不同。他們不對獨立董事會負責，而且其中許多是國家贊助的，因此無需追求利潤。

華為就是一個很好的例子。我們不再假裝華為是一家確保您可以和朋友聊天的無辜的電信公司，我們稱其為「真正的國家安全威脅」，並據此採取了行動。

我們也知道，如果我們的公司在中國投資，他們可能會有意或無意地支持共產黨嚴重侵犯人權的行為。

因此，我們的美國財政部和商務部已批准將那些危害和濫用世界人民最基本權利的中國領導人和實體列入黑名單。多家機構已就商業諮商合作，以確保我們的首席執行官了解其供應鏈在中國境內的表現。

我們也知道，我們也 知道並非所有的中國學生和僱員，都只是來這裡賺錢和積累一些知識的普通學生和工人。他們太多人來這裡竊取我們的知識產權並將其帶回自己的國家。

司法部和其他機構已對這些罪行進行了嚴厲的懲罰。

我們知道，中國人民解放軍也不是正規軍隊。其目的是維護中國共產黨精英的絕對統治，擴大中國帝國，而不是保護中國人民。

因此，美國國防部加大了工作力度，擴大了在東，南海以及台灣海峽以及整個海峽的自由巡航。我們還建立了一支太空部隊，以幫助阻止中國對最後一道邊境的侵略。

坦率地說，美國國務院制定了一套推動特朗普總統實現公正與互惠的目標、與中國打交道的新政策，以改寫幾十年來不斷加劇的失衡。

就在本週，我們關閉了休斯敦的中國領事館，因為它是間諜和知識產權盜竊的樞紐。 （掌聲）

兩週前，我們在南中國海扭轉了八年的被動局面。

我們呼籲中國調整以核武能力以適噹噹今的戰略現實。

國務院各層級官員都與其對等中方官員對話，要求公平和互惠的措施。

但是我們的方法不只是要變得強硬。那不可能達到我們想要的結果。我們還必須與中國人民互動並賦予他們權利，他們是一個充滿活力，熱愛自由的人民，他們與中國共產黨完全不同。

首先是面對面的外交。 （鼓掌）無論我走到哪裡，我都遇到了有才華和勤奮的中國男人和女人。

我遇到了逃離新疆集中營的維吾爾族和哈薩克族。我已經與香港的民主領袖進行了交談，從陳日君樞機到黎智英。兩天前，我在倫敦會見了香港「自由戰士」羅冠聰。

上個月在我的辦公室裡，我聆聽了天安門廣場倖存者的故事。其中之一今天在這裡。

王丹是一名學運領袖，他從未停止為中國人民爭取自由。王先生，請您站起來好嗎，以便我們認出您 （掌聲）

今天與我們同在的還有中國「民主運動之父」魏京生。為了倡導民主，他在中國的勞改營度過了幾十年的時間。魏先生，你能站起來嗎？ （掌聲）

我長大後，在冷戰時期的軍隊服役。如果我學到一件事，那就是共產黨人幾乎總是撒謊。他們告訴我們的最大謊言是：他們認為自己代言的是14億被監視，壓迫和不敢發聲的人。

恰恰相反。中共比任何敵人都更擔心中國人民的誠實觀點，除了失去對權力的控制外，他們沒有理由-沒有理由。

試想一下，如果我們能夠從武漢的醫生那裡聽到他們的信息，並且允許他們對武漢肺炎病毒疫情的爆發發出警報，那麼世界會變得更好—更不用說中國內部的人了。

幾十年來，我們的領導人一直無視，對勇敢的中國持不同政見者警告我們成面對的政權的性質的話輕描淡寫。

我們不能再忽略了。他們與任何人一樣知道我們永遠無法回到過去。

但是改變中共的舉動並不單單是中國人民的使命。自由國家必須努力捍衛自由。這是最簡單的事情。

我有信心我們可以做到。我有信心，因為我們以前做過。我們知道這是怎麼回事。

我有信心，因為中共正在重複蘇聯犯下的一些錯誤——疏遠潛在的盟友，破壞國內外的信任，拒絕人民的財產權和可預測的法治。

我有信心。我之所以有信心，是因為我看到其他國家的覺醒，他們知道就像美國一樣無法回頭。我從布魯塞爾，悉尼到河內都聽說過。

最重要的是，我相信我們可以捍衛自由，因為自由本身俱有美好的魅力。

當中共加強對香港這個令人驕傲的城市控制時， 看看香港人揮舞著美國國旗，他們紛紛選擇移民海外。

是的，確實有差異。與蘇聯不同，中國已深入融入全球經濟。但是，北京更依賴我們，超過我們依賴他們。 （掌聲。）

看，我拒絕我們生活在一個「不可避免的時代」這種觀察，既「中共稱霸是未來必然的局面」這個被預先設定的陷阱。

我們的方法注定不會失敗，美國並沒有衰落。正如我在今年早些時候在慕尼黑說的那樣，自由世界仍在取勝。我們只需要相信它，就知道它並為此感到自豪。來自世界各地的人們仍然希望加入開放社會。他們來這裡學習，來這里工作，來這里為家人謀生。他們並不想在中國定居。

是時候了。今天很高興來到這裡。時機是完美的。現在是自由國家採取行動的時候了。並非每個國家都將以同樣的方式對待中國，也不應該。每個國家都必須對如何保護自己的主權，如何保護自己的經濟繁榮以及如何保護自己的理想不被中國共產黨的觸角裹挾而有所了解。

但是我呼籲每個國家的每一個領導人從效法美國的作法開始 ，簡單地堅持互惠，堅持中國共產黨的透明度和問責制。這是一群遠非同質的統治者。

這些簡單而有力的標準將取得很大的成就。我們讓中共定調雙方交往的規則已太長時間了，再也沒有這種事，自由國家必須定下基調。我們必須遵循對等原則。

我們必須在沙子上畫下共同一致的界線，不因中國的討價還價和花言巧語而退讓。沒錯，這就是美國最近的作法，我們乾脆利落地拒絕中國在南中國海的非法主張，就像我們敦促各國在5G上成為「乾淨國度」，這樣公民的私人信息就不會落入中國共產黨的手中。現在由我們來製定標準。

現在，這確實很困難。對於一些小國家來說很難。他們害怕因此被中國報復。其中一些國家目前沒有能力，沒有勇氣與我們站在一起。

的確，我們北約盟友並未對香港問題挺身而出，因為他們擔心北京會限制他們進入中國市場。這種膽怯會導致歷史性的失敗，我們不能再重複。

我們不能重複過去幾年的錯誤。中國面臨的挑戰需要民主國家的努力和活力，這些民主國家包括歐洲，非洲，南美，尤其是印度太平洋地區。

而且，如果我們現在不採取行動，那麼中共最終將侵蝕我們的自由，並顛覆我們努力建立起來的、基於規則的社會秩序；如果我們現在屈膝，我們的孩子的孩子可能會受到中國共產黨的擺佈，中國共產黨的行動是當今自由世界中的主要挑戰。

除非我們允許（將權力拱手相讓），習近平注定不會永遠在中國內外施暴。

現在，這與遏制無關。這是前所未有的、複雜的新挑戰：蘇聯當時是自我隔離在自由世界之外，但共產中國已經滲入我們的國境。

因此，我們不能獨自面對這一挑戰。聯合國，北約，七國集團，G20集團，我們的綜合經濟，外交和軍事力量無疑足以應付這一挑戰，如果我們有明確的勇氣面對它的話。

也許是時候讓志同道合的國家組成一個新的團體，一個新的民主國家聯盟了。

我們有工具箱。我知道我們可以做到，現在我們需要意志，讓我引用聖經經文：難道我們的精神願意，但我們的肉體虛弱 嗎？

如果自由世界沒有改變-沒有改變，共產主義中國一定會改變我們。不能因為舒適或便利而重返老路。

捍衛我們的自由不受中共侵略是我們的時代使命，而美國完全有能力領導這一切，我們的建國原則賦予我們這一使命。

上星期在費城，我凝視獨立紀念館，我們國家的立國原則是所有人類都擁有一些不可剝奪的權利的基礎上。

確保這些權利是我們政府的工作，這是一個簡單而有力的真理，它使我們成為包括中國國內在內的全世界人民的自由燈塔。

理查德·尼克鬆在他1967年的書中說得沒錯：直到中國有所改變，全球才能安全。現在，就要由我們踐行他的話。

今天，危險已經很清楚

今天，覺醒正在發生。

今天，自由世界必須作出回應。

我們永遠不要再走回頭路。

願上帝保佑你們每個人。

願上帝保佑中國人民。

願上帝保佑美利堅合眾國人民。

謝謝你們！

英文（美國國務院鏈接）

Thank you. Thank you all. Thank you, Governor, for that very, very generous introduction. It is true: When you walk in that gym and you say the name “Pompeo,” there is a whisper. I had a brother, Mark, who was really good – a really good basketball player.

And how about another round of applause for the Blue Eagles Honor Guard and Senior Airman Kayla Highsmith, and her wonderful rendition of the national anthem? (Applause.)

Thank you, too, to Pastor Laurie for that moving prayer, and I want to thank Hugh Hewitt and the Nixon Foundation for your invitation to speak at this important American institution. It was great to be sung to by an Air Force person, introduced by a Marine, and they let the Army guy in in front of the Navy guy’s house. (Laughter.) It’s all good.

It’s an honor to be here in Yorba Linda, where Nixon’s father built the house in which he was born and raised.

To all the Nixon Center board and staff who made today possible – it’s difficult in these times – thanks for making this day possible for me and for my team.

We are blessed to have some incredibly special people in the audience, including Chris, who I’ve gotten to know – Chris Nixon. I also want to thank Tricia Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower for their support of this visit as well.

I want to recognize several courageous Chinese dissidents who have joined us here today and made a long trip.

And to all the other distinguished guests – (applause) – to all the other distinguished guests, thank you for being here. For those of you who got under the tent, you must have paid extra.

And those of you watching live, thank you for tuning in.

And finally, as the governor mentioned, I was born here in Santa Ana, not very far from here. I’ve got my sister and her husband in the audience today. Thank you all for coming out. I bet you never thought that I’d be standing up here.

My remarks today are the fourth set of remarks in a series of China speeches that I asked National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, FBI Director Chris Wray, and the Attorney General Barr to deliver alongside me.

We had a very clear purpose, a real mission. It was to explain the different facets of America’s relationship with China, the massive imbalances in that relationship that have built up over decades, and the Chinese Communist Party’s designs for hegemony.

Our goal was to make clear that the threats to Americans that President Trump’s China policy aims to address are clear and our strategy for securing those freedoms established.

Ambassador O’Brien spoke about ideology. FBI Director Wray talked about espionage. Attorney General Barr spoke about economics. And now my goal today is to put it all together for the American people and detail what the China threat means for our economy, for our liberty, and indeed for the future of free democracies around the world.

Next year marks half a century since Dr. Kissinger’s secret mission to China, and the 50th anniversary of President Nixon’s trip isn’t too far away in 2022.

The world was much different then.

We imagined engagement with China would produce a future with bright promise of comity and cooperation.

But today – today we’re all still wearing masks and watching the pandemic’s body count rise because the CCP failed in its promises to the world. We’re reading every morning new headlines of repression in Hong Kong and in Xinjiang.

We’re seeing staggering statistics of Chinese trade abuses that cost American jobs and strike enormous blows to the economies all across America, including here in southern California. And we’re watching a Chinese military that grows stronger and stronger, and indeed more menacing.

I’ll echo the questions ringing in the hearts and minds of Americans from here in California to my home state of Kansas and beyond:

What do the American people have to show now 50 years on from engagement with China?

Did the theories of our leaders that proposed a Chinese evolution towards freedom and democracy prove to be true?

Is this China’s definition of a win-win situation?

And indeed, centrally, from the Secretary of State’s perspective, is America safer? Do we have a greater likelihood of peace for ourselves and peace for the generations which will follow us?

Look, we have to admit a hard truth. We must admit a hard truth that should guide us in the years and decades to come, that if we want to have a free 21st century, and not the Chinese century of which Xi Jinping dreams, the old paradigm of blind engagement with China simply won’t get it done. We must not continue it and we must not return to it.

As President Trump has made very clear, we need a strategy that protects the American economy, and indeed our way of life. The free world must triumph over this new tyranny.

Now, before I seem too eager to tear down President Nixon’s legacy, I want to be clear that he did what he believed was best for the American people at the time, and he may well have been right.

He was a brilliant student of China, a fierce cold warrior, and a tremendous admirer of the Chinese people, just as I think we all are.

He deserves enormous credit for realizing that China was too important to be ignored, even when the nation was weakened because of its own self-inflicted communist brutality.

In 1967, in a very famous Foreign Affairs article, Nixon explained his future strategy. Here’s what he said:

He said, “Taking the long view, we simply cannot afford to leave China forever outside of the family of nations…The world cannot be safe until China changes. Thus, our aim – to the extent we can, we must influence events. Our goal should be to induce change.”

And I think that’s the key phrase from the entire article: “to induce change.”

So, with that historic trip to Beijing, President Nixon kicked off our engagement strategy. He nobly sought a freer and safer world, and he hoped that the Chinese Communist Party would return that commitment.

As time went on, American policymakers increasingly presumed that as China became more prosperous, it would open up, it would become freer at home, and indeed present less of a threat abroad, it’d be friendlier. It all seemed, I am sure, so inevitable.

But that age of inevitability is over. The kind of engagement we have been pursuing has not brought the kind of change inside of China that President Nixon had hoped to induce.

The truth is that our policies – and those of other free nations – resurrected China’s failing economy, only to see Beijing bite the international hands that were feeding it.

We opened our arms to Chinese citizens, only to see the Chinese Communist Party exploit our free and open society. China sent propagandists into our press conferences, our research centers, our high-schools, our colleges, and even into our PTA meetings.

We marginalized our friends in Taiwan, which later blossomed into a vigorous democracy.

We gave the Chinese Communist Party and the regime itself special economic treatment, only to see the CCP insist on silence over its human rights abuses as the price of admission for Western companies entering China.

Ambassador O’Brien ticked off a few examples just the other day: Marriott, American Airlines, Delta, United all removed references to Taiwan from their corporate websites, so as not to anger Beijing.

In Hollywood, not too far from here – the epicenter of American creative freedom, and self-appointed arbiters of social justice – self-censors even the most mildly unfavorable reference to China.

This corporate acquiescence to the CCP happens all over the world, too.

And how has this corporate fealty worked? Is its flattery rewarded? I’ll give you a quote from the speech that General Barr gave, Attorney General Barr. In a speech last week, he said that “The ultimate ambition of China’s rulers isn’t to trade with the United States. It is to raid the United States.”

China ripped off our prized intellectual property and trade secrets, causing millions of jobs[1] all across America.

It sucked supply chains away from America, and then added a widget made of slave labor.

It made the world’s key waterways less safe for international commerce.

President Nixon once said he feared he had created a “Frankenstein” by opening the world to the CCP, and here we are.

Now, people of good faith can debate why free nations allowed these bad things to happen for all these years. Perhaps we were naive about China’s virulent strain of communism, or triumphalist after our victory in the Cold War, or cravenly capitalist, or hoodwinked by Beijing’s talk of a “peaceful rise.”

Whatever the reason – whatever the reason, today China is increasingly authoritarian at home, and more aggressive in its hostility to freedom everywhere else.

And President Trump has said: enough.

I don’t think many people on either side of the aisle dispute the facts that I have laid out today. But even now, some are insisting that we preserve the model of dialogue for dialogue’s sake.

Now, to be clear, we’ll keep on talking. But the conversations are different these days. I traveled to Honolulu now just a few weeks back to meet with Yang Jiechi.

It was the same old story – plenty of words, but literally no offer to change any of the behaviors.

Yang’s promises, like so many the CCP made before him, were empty. His expectations, I surmise, were that I’d cave to their demands, because frankly this is what too many prior administrations have done. I didn’t, and President Trump will not either.

As Ambassador O’Brien explained so well, we have to keep in mind that the CCP regime is a Marxist-Leninist regime. General Secretary Xi Jinping is a true believer in a bankrupt totalitarian ideology.

It’s this ideology, it’s this ideology that informs his decades-long desire for global hegemony of Chinese communism. America can no longer ignore the fundamental political and ideological differences between our countries, just as the CCP has never ignored them.

My experience in the House Intelligence Committee, and then as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and my now two-plus years as America’s Secretary of State have led me to this central understanding:

That the only way – the only way to truly change communist China is to act not on the basis of what Chinese leaders say, but how they behave. And you can see American policy responding to this conclusion. President Reagan said that he dealt with the Soviet Union on the basis of “trust but verify.” When it comes to the CCP, I say we must distrust and verify. (Applause.)

We, the freedom-loving nations of the world, must induce China to change, just as President Nixon wanted. We must induce China to change in more creative and assertive ways, because Beijing’s actions threaten our people and our prosperity.

We must start by changing how our people and our partners perceive the Chinese Communist Party. We have to tell the truth. We can’t treat this incarnation of China as a normal country, just like any other.

We know that trading with China is not like trading with a normal, law-abiding nation. Beijing threatens international agreements as – treats international suggestions as – or agreements as suggestions, as conduits for global dominance.

But by insisting on fair terms, as our trade representative did when he secured our phase one trade deal, we can force China to reckon with its intellectual property theft and policies that harmed American workers.

We know too that doing business with a CCP-backed company is not the same as doing business with, say, a Canadian company. They don’t answer to independent boards, and many of them are state-sponsored and so have no need to pursue profits.

A good example is Huawei. We stopped pretending Huawei is an innocent telecommunications company that’s just showing up to make sure you can talk to your friends. We’ve called it what it is – a true national security threat – and we’ve taken action accordingly.

We know too that if our companies invest in China, they may wittingly or unwittingly support the Communist Party’s gross human rights violations.

Our Departments of Treasury and Commerce have thus sanctioned and blacklisted Chinese leaders and entities that are harming and abusing the most basic rights for people all across the world. Several agencies have worked together on a business advisory to make certain our CEOs are informed of how their supply chains are behaving inside of China.

We know too, we know too that not all Chinese students and employees are just normal students and workers that are coming here to make a little bit of money and to garner themselves some knowledge. Too many of them come here to steal our intellectual property and to take this back to their country.

The Department of Justice and other agencies have vigorously pursued punishment for these crimes.

We know that the People’s Liberation Army is not a normal army, too. Its purpose is to uphold the absolute rule of the Chinese Communist Party elites and expand a Chinese empire, not to protect the Chinese people.

And so our Department of Defense has ramped up its efforts, freedom of navigation operations out and throughout the East and South China Seas, and in the Taiwan Strait as well. And we’ve created a Space Force to help deter China from aggression on that final frontier.

And so too, frankly, we’ve built out a new set of policies at the State Department dealing with China, pushing President Trump’s goals for fairness and reciprocity, to rewrite the imbalances that have grown over decades.

Just this week, we announced the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston because it was a hub of spying and intellectual property theft. (Applause.)

We reversed, two weeks ago, eight years of cheek-turning with respect to international law in the South China Sea.

We’ve called on China to conform its nuclear capabilities to the strategic realities of our time.

And the State Department – at every level, all across the world – has engaged with our Chinese counterparts simply to demand fairness and reciprocity.

But our approach can’t just be about getting tough. That’s unlikely to achieve the outcome that we desire. We must also engage and empower the Chinese people – a dynamic, freedom-loving people who are completely distinct from the Chinese Communist Party.

That begins with in-person diplomacy. (Applause.) I’ve met Chinese men and women of great talent and diligence wherever I go.

I’ve met with Uyghurs and ethnic Kazakhs who escaped Xinjiang’s concentration camps. I’ve talked with Hong Kong’s democracy leaders, from Cardinal Zen to Jimmy Lai. Two days ago in London, I met with Hong Kong freedom fighter Nathan Law.

And last month in my office, I heard the stories of Tiananmen Square survivors. One of them is here today.

Wang Dan was a key student who has never stopped fighting for freedom for the Chinese people. Mr. Wang, will you please stand so that we may recognize you? (Applause.)

Also with us today is the father of the Chinese democracy movement, Wei Jingsheng. He spent decades in Chinese labor camps for his advocacy. Mr. Wei, will you please stand? (Applause.)

I grew up and served my time in the Army during the Cold War. And if there is one thing I learned, communists almost always lie. The biggest lie that they tell is to think that they speak for 1.4 billion people who are surveilled, oppressed, and scared to speak out.

Quite the contrary. The CCP fears the Chinese people’s honest opinions more than any foe, and save for losing their own grip on power, they have reason – no reason to.

Just think how much better off the world would be – not to mention the people inside of China – if we had been able to hear from the doctors in Wuhan and they’d been allowed to raise the alarm about the outbreak of a new and novel virus.

For too many decades, our leaders have ignored, downplayed the words of brave Chinese dissidents who warned us about the nature of the regime we’re facing.

And we can’t ignore it any longer. They know as well as anyone that we can never go back to the status quo.

But changing the CCP’s behavior cannot be the mission of the Chinese people alone. Free nations have to work to defend freedom. It’s the furthest thing from easy.

But I have faith we can do it. I have faith because we’ve done it before. We know how this goes.

I have faith because the CCP is repeating some of the same mistakes that the Soviet Union made – alienating potential allies, breaking trust at home and abroad, rejecting property rights and predictable rule of law.

I have faith. I have faith because of the awakening I see among other nations that know we can’t go back to the past in the same way that we do here in America. I’ve heard this from Brussels, to Sydney, to Hanoi.

And most of all, I have faith we can defend freedom because of the sweet appeal of freedom itself.

Look at the Hong Kongers clamoring to emigrate abroad as the CCP tightens its grip on that proud city. They wave American flags.

It’s true, there are differences. Unlike the Soviet Union, China is deeply integrated into the global economy. But Beijing is more dependent on us than we are on them. (Applause.)

Look, I reject the notion that we’re living in an age of inevitability, that some trap is pre-ordained, that CCP supremacy is the future. Our approach isn’t destined to fail because America is in decline. As I said in Munich earlier this year, the free world is still winning. We just need to believe it and know it and be proud of it. People from all over the world still want to come to open societies. They come here to study, they come here to work, they come here to build a life for their families. They’re not desperate to settle in China.

It’s time. It’s great to be here today. The timing is perfect. It’s time for free nations to act. Not every nation will approach China in the same way, nor should they. Every nation will have to come to its own understanding of how to protect its own sovereignty, how to protect its own economic prosperity, and how to protect its ideals from the tentacles of the Chinese Communist Party.

But I call on every leader of every nation to start by doing what America has done – to simply insist on reciprocity, to insist on transparency and accountability from the Chinese Communist Party. It’s a cadre of rulers that are far from homogeneous.

And these simple and powerful standards will achieve a great deal. For too long we let the CCP set the terms of engagement, but no longer. Free nations must set the tone. We must operate on the same principles.

We have to draw common lines in the sand that cannot be washed away by the CCP’s bargains or their blandishments. Indeed, this is what the United States did recently when we rejected China’s unlawful claims in the South China Sea once and for all, as we have urged countries to become Clean Countries so that their citizens’ private information doesn’t end up in the hand of the Chinese Communist Party. We did it by setting standards.

Now, it’s true, it’s difficult. It’s difficult for some small countries. They fear being picked off. Some of them for that reason simply don’t have the ability, the courage to stand with us for the moment.

Indeed, we have a NATO ally of ours that hasn’t stood up in the way that it needs to with respect to Hong Kong because they fear Beijing will restrict access to China’s market. This is the kind of timidity that will lead to historic failure, and we can’t repeat it.

We cannot repeat the mistakes of these past years. The challenge of China demands exertion, energy from democracies – those in Europe, those in Africa, those in South America, and especially those in the Indo-Pacific region.

And if we don’t act now, ultimately the CCP will erode our freedoms and subvert the rules-based order that our societies have worked so hard to build. If we bend the knee now, our children’s children may be at the mercy of the Chinese Communist Party, whose actions are the primary challenge today in the free world.

General Secretary Xi is not destined to tyrannize inside and outside of China forever, unless we allow it.

Now, this isn’t about containment. Don’t buy that. It’s about a complex new challenge that we’ve never faced before. The USSR was closed off from the free world. Communist China is already within our borders.

So we can’t face this challenge alone. The United Nations, NATO, the G7 countries, the G20, our combined economic, diplomatic, and military power is surely enough to meet this challenge if we direct it clearly and with great courage.

Maybe it’s time for a new grouping of like-minded nations, a new alliance of democracies.

We have the tools. I know we can do it. Now we need the will. To quote scripture, I ask is “our spirit willing but our flesh weak?”

If the free world doesn’t change – doesn’t change, communist China will surely change us. There can’t be a return to the past practices because they’re comfortable or because they’re convenient.

Securing our freedoms from the Chinese Communist Party is the mission of our time, and America is perfectly positioned to lead it because our founding principles give us that opportunity.

As I explained in Philadelphia last week, standing, staring at Independence Hall, our nation was founded on the premise that all human beings possess certain rights that are unalienable.

And it’s our government’s job to secure those rights. It is a simple and powerful truth. It’s made us a beacon of freedom for people all around the world, including people inside of China.

Indeed, Richard Nixon was right when he wrote in 1967 that “the world cannot be safe until China changes.” Now it’s up to us to heed his words.

Today the danger is clear.

And today the awakening is happening.

Today the free world must respond.

We can never go back to the past.

May God bless each of you.

May God bless the Chinese people.

And may God bless the people of the United States of America.

Thank you all.