A Letter

to

U.S. President Obama

Your Excellency President Obama:

  I am a Chinese old man at the age of eighty-three, one member of the earth, and was a victim under Japanese attack during the World War II. I was very grateful that U.S. supported China to defeat Japan. I like you very much, and dream of the culture of freedom and democracy in the west. According to my understanding, the culture of democracy in the west, especially in the U.S., is similar to the traditional culture of humanity in China to a great extent. Despite small number of differences, they are completely consistent in humanity, equality, justice and world peace pursuing.

  Therefore, I translated Open Society and Its Enemies, Philosophy of Freedom and The Road to Serfdom.

  I am very much glad that you are the guard of world peace, so you won the Nobel Prize in Peace. Now the world peace demand the joint maintenance from U.S. and around the world. Before the coming of U.S. National Day, as a citizen of the earth, I faithfully congratulate your National Day, and hope U.S. can always exist in the world. I praise U.S., so my little son studied for eight years in U.S., and now works as a chief engineer in Taipei U.S. School. I praise you U.S., and hope you understand and praise China in return.

  What is the future for human beings? Collaboration with each other in peace, or destruction through killing each other, that is a big problem.

Sincerely yours,

Chang Shang-te

June 30, 2014

 致

美國總統

奧巴馬先生

尊敬的美國總統奧巴馬先生：

我是中國一位八十三歲的老人，也是地球的一份子，曾經是二次世界大戰日本侵略中國的受害者。我非常感謝美國對中國的幫助，打敗了日本。我非常喜歡你，非常嚮往西方世界自由、民主的文化。在我的認識看來，歐美西方民主的文化，特別是美國，跟中國傳統人文精華文化很多是一致的，雖有少許不同，在人道、公平、正義和追求世界和平上完全是一致的。

因此，我翻譯了《開放社會及其敵人》《自由的哲學》和《到奴役之路》。

我非常高興你是世界和平的維護者，因此得了世界和平諾貝爾獎。現在人類世界的和平更需要貴國和世界各個國家的共同維護。欣逢貴國國慶來臨之際，我個人作為人類地球的一位公民，衷心慶祝你們的國慶，並希望美國一直在世界存在。我是讚歎美國的，因此我的小兒子就在美國留學八年，現在正在貴國台北美國學校作總工程師。我讚歎你美國，也非常希望你瞭解和讚歎中國，像我瞭解和讚歎你美國一樣。

人類的未來究竟是彼此和平合作，還是彼此廝殺中毀滅。這就是一個大問題了。

張尚德

二〇一四年六月三十日