「幾個世紀以來，風瀟雨晦，千難萬險，不論和平與戰爭，我們已走到今天，但我們仍任重道遠······我們不只將憑藉力量的典範，更要以典範的力量來領導。我們將會是和平、進步與安定堅強而且可信賴的夥伴。」— 摘錄自美國總統約瑟夫·羅比內特·拜登二世於2021年1月20日的就職演說。

閱讀演說全文請至：https://bit.ly/3ix3fNb
中文譯文請見：https://bit.ly/39Osjve
就職演說影片請看：https://video.state.gov/

“Over the centuries through storm and strife, in peace and in war, we have come so far. But we still have far to go…We will lead not merely by the example of our power but by the power of our example. We will be a strong and trusted partner for peace, progress, and security.” President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., in his inaugural address on January 20, 2021.

Read the full text of the address here: https://bit.ly/3ix3fNb
Watch the inauguration speech: https://video.state.gov/

今早為Asian Medical Students Association Hong Kong (AMSAHK)的新一屆執行委員會就職典禮作致詞分享嘉賓，題目為「疫情中的健康不公平」。
感謝他們的熱情款待以及為整段致詞拍了影片。以下我附上致詞的英文原稿：

It's been my honor to be invited to give the closing remarks for the Inauguration Ceremony for the incoming executive committee of the Asian Medical Students' Association Hong Kong (AMSAHK) this morning. A video has been taken for the remarks I made regarding health inequalities during the COVID-19 pandemic (big thanks to the student who withstood the soreness of her arm for holding the camera up for 15 minutes straight), and here's the transcript of the main body of the speech that goes with this video:

//The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, continues to be rampant around the world since early 2020, resulting in more than 55 million cases and 1.3 million deaths worldwide as of today. (So no! It’s not a hoax for those conspiracy theorists out there!) A higher rate of incidence and deaths, as well as worse health-related quality of life have been widely observed in the socially disadvantaged groups, including people of lower socioeconomic position, older persons, migrants, ethnic minority and communities of color, etc. While epidemiologists and scientists around the world are dedicated in gathering scientific evidence on the specific causes and determinants of the health inequalities observed in different countries and regions, we can apply the Social Determinants of Health Conceptual Framework developed by the World Health Organization team led by the eminent Prof Sir Michael Marmot, world’s leading social epidemiologist, to understand and delineate these social determinants of health inequalities related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to this framework, social determinants of health can be largely categorized into two types – 1) the lower stream, intermediary determinants, and 2) the upper stream, structural and macro-environmental determinants. For the COVID-19 pandemic, we realized that the lower stream factors may include material circumstances, such as people’s living and working conditions. For instance, the nature of the occupations of these people of lower socioeconomic position tends to require them to travel outside to work, i.e., they cannot work from home, which is a luxury for people who can afford to do it. This lack of choice in the location of occupation may expose them to greater risk of infection through more transportation and interactions with strangers. We have also seen infection clusters among crowded places like elderly homes, public housing estates, and boarding houses for foreign domestic helpers. Moreover, these socially disadvantaged people tend to have lower financial and social capital – it can be observed that they were more likely to be deprived of personal protective equipment like face masks and hand sanitizers, especially during the earlier days of the pandemic. On the other hand, the upper stream, structural determinants of health may include policies related to public health, education, macroeconomics, social protection and welfare, as well as our governance… and last, but not least, our culture and values. If the socioeconomic and political contexts are not favorable to the socially disadvantaged, their health and well-being will be disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Therefore, if we, as a society, espouse to address and reduce the problem of health inequalities, social determinants of health cannot be overlooked in devising and designing any public health-related strategies, measures and policies.

Although a higher rate of incidence and deaths have been widely observed in the socially disadvantaged groups, especially in countries with severe COVID-19 outbreaks, this phenomenon seems to be less discussed and less covered by media in Hong Kong, where the disease incidence is relatively low when compared with other countries around the world. Before the resurgence of local cases in early July, local spread of COVID-19 was sporadic and most cases were imported. In the earlier days of the pandemic, most cases were primarily imported by travelers and return-students studying overseas, leading to a minor surge between mid-March and mid-April of 874 new cases. Most of these cases during Spring were people who could afford to travel and study abroad, and thus tended to be more well-off. Therefore, some would say the expected social gradient in health impact did not seem to exist in Hong Kong, but may I remind you that, it is only the case when we focus on COVID-19-specific incidence and mortality alone. But can we really deduce from this that COVID-19-related health inequality does not exist in Hong Kong? According to the Social Determinants of Health Framework mentioned earlier, the obvious answer is “No, of course not.” And here’s why…

In addition to the direct disease burden, the COVID-19 outbreak and its associated containment measures (such as economic lockdown, mandatory social distancing, and change of work arrangements) could have unequal wider socioeconomic impacts on the general population, especially in regions with pervasive existing social inequalities. Given the limited resources and capacity of the socioeconomically disadvantaged to respond to emergency and adverse events, their general health and well-being are likely to be unduly and inordinately affected by the abrupt changes in their daily economic and social conditions, like job loss and insecurity, brought about by the COVID-19 outbreak and the corresponding containment and mitigation measures of which the main purpose was supposedly disease prevention and health protection at the first place. As such, focusing only on COVID-19 incidence or mortality as the outcomes of concern to address health inequalities may leave out important aspects of life that contributes significantly to people’s health. Recently, my research team and I collaborated with Sir Michael Marmot in a Hong Kong study, and found that the poor people in Hong Kong fared worse in every aspects of life than their richer counterparts in terms of economic activity, personal protective equipment, personal hygiene practice, as well as well-being and health after the COVID-19 outbreak. We also found that part of the observed health inequality can be attributed to the pandemic and its related containment measures via people’s concerns over their own and their families’ livelihood and economic activity. In other words, health inequalities were contributed by the pandemic even in a city where incidence is relatively low through other social determinants of health that directly concerned the livelihood and economic activity of the people. So in this study, we confirmed that focusing only on the incident and death cases as the outcomes of concern to address health inequalities is like a story half-told, and would severely truncate and distort the reality.

Truth be told, health inequality does not only appear after the pandemic outbreak of COVID-19, it is a pre-existing condition in countries and regions around the world, including Hong Kong. My research over the years have consistently shown that people in lower socioeconomic position tend to have worse physical and mental health status. Nevertheless, precisely because health inequality is nothing new, there are always voices in our society trying to dismiss the problem, arguing that it is only natural to have wealth inequality in any capitalistic society. However, in reckoning with health inequalities, we need to go beyond just figuring out the disparities or differences in health status between the poor and the rich, and we need to raise an ethically relevant question: are these inequalities, disparities and differences remediable? Can they be fixed? Can we do something about them? If they are remediable, and we can do something about them but we haven’t, then we’d say these inequalities are ultimately unjust and unfair. In other words, a society that prides itself in pursuing justice must, and I say must, strive to address and reduce these unfair health inequalities. Borrowing the words from famed sociologist Judith Butler, “the virus alone does not discriminate,” but “social and economic inequality will make sure that it does.” With COVID-19, we learn that it is not only the individuals who are sick, but our society. And it’s time we do something about it.

Thank you very much!//

Please join me in congratulating the incoming executive committee of AMSAHK and giving them the best wishes for their future endeavor!

Roger Chung, PhD
Assistant Professor, CUHK JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, @CUHK Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong 香港中文大學 - CUHK
Associate Director, CUHK Institute of Health Equity

[時事英文] 美國阿札爾部長的「Tsai總統」發音！

Is this whole discussion really about diplomatic courtesy and English pronunciation, or is it just another ploy to attract media attention?

這些「發音的討論」是基於外交禮節、英文的發音亦或只是獲得媒體關注的手段？

Probably all three? A better way to improve public image might be to invest more in community service, connect with the constituency, and cultivate new talents.

1. diplomatic courtesy 外交禮節
2. ploy 計謀、策略、手段
3. lift public image 提升形象
4. community service 社區服務
5. constituency 選區；選區的選民
6. new talents 新秀

也許以上皆是? 提升公眾形象更好的途徑可以是透過投入社區服務、增加與選民的互動以及培養有潛力的新秀。

Focus on issues that count, not make petty arguments.

★★★★★★★★★★★★

HHS Secretary Alex Azar Statement on Meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (As Prepared for Delivery)

Thank you, President Tsai [ts-eye], for welcoming me to Taiwan today. It is a true honor to be here to convey a message of strong support and friendship from President Trump to Taiwan.

I would like to congratulate President Tsai on beginning her second term earlier this year. As Secretary Pompeo said in marking her inauguration in May, President Tsai’s courage and vision in leading Taiwan’s vibrant democracy are an inspiration to the region and the world.

7. convey a message of… 傳遞...的訊息
8. Secretary 國務卿
9. inauguration 就職
10. a vibrant democracy 有活力的民主
11. an inspiration to… 為…的表率

美國衛生部部長阿薩爾與蔡總統會面致詞稿

謝謝蔡總統今天歡迎我到訪台灣，能夠在這裡傳達川普總統對
台灣的強力支持和友誼是我誠摯的榮幸。我要祝賀蔡總統在今年初展開第二任期。正如國務卿蓬佩奧就蔡總統五月份就職典禮所發表的聲明所說，蔡總統帶領活力民主台灣的勇氣和願景，堪稱印太地區及全世界的表率。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

I also want to offer my condolences to everyone in Taiwan on the loss of your former President Lee Teng-hui, the father of Taiwan’s democracy and one of the great leaders of the 20th century’s movement toward democracy.

12. offer condolences 表達哀悼之情
13. the father of Taiwan’s democracy 台灣民主之父
14. movement 運動

我也想對前總統李登輝的逝世，向台灣人民表達哀悼之意。李前總統是台灣民主之父，也是二十世紀民主運動的偉大領袖。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

Under President Trump, the United States has expressed our admiration for Taiwan’s democratic success in tangible ways. President Trump has signed legislation to strengthen the partnership between Taiwan and the United States, and in 2018, we opened a new American Institute in Taiwan, a brick-and-mortar commitment to our treasured friendship.

15. in a tangible way 切實地; 以確實的方式*
16. sign (v.) legislation to 簽署法案
17. partnership 夥伴關係
18. a brick-to-mortar commitment 堅定的承諾 (brick and mortar 指實體房屋，這裡指如磚牆般堅固的承諾)

在川普總統的領導下，美國對台灣的成功民主制度表示讚賞。川普總統也簽署了相關法案，強化美台的夥伴關係。2018年，我們啟用了美國在台協會新館，象徵著美國對美台友誼的珍視及堅定承諾。

*tangible: https://bit.ly/3fQPPZs

★★★★★★★★★★★★

The particular focus of both my discussion with President Tsai and of our trip is highlighting Taiwan’s success on health, in combating COVID-19, and cooperating with the United States to prevent, detect, and respond to health threats.

19. the focus of... ...的焦點
20. highlight one’s success on… 強調在…的成功(這裡指台灣的防疫的成就)
21. cooperate with 與…的合作
22. detect (v.) 發現、察覺
23. health threats 健康的威脅(這裡指疫情)

我與蔡總統的對談以及本次訪台的重點在於，強調台灣在公共衛生及對抗新冠病毒疫情的卓越成就，以及台灣與美國在預防、發現及應對疫情上的通力合作。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

Taiwan’s response to COVID-19 has been among the most successful in the world, and that is a tribute to the open, transparent, democratic nature of Taiwan’s society and culture. Taiwan had tremendous success in detecting COVID-19, managing the outbreak, and sharing this valuable information with other nations. Taiwan’s success in health and industry has allowed it to extend a helping hand to others, sending needed supplies around the world, including to the United States and Pacific Island nations.

24. be a tribute to sth/sb 是（優秀、強大或有效性）的明證
25. transparent 透明的
26. tremendous success 巨大的成功
27. manage outbreak控制(疫情的)爆發
28. extend a helping hand to others 向他人伸出援手

台灣的防疫措施可謂世界上數一數二的成功典範，而這都歸因於台灣社會及文化的開放、透明和民主。台灣在發現新冠病毒、控制疫情，以及與其他國家分享寶貴資訊上都取得非凡的成果。台灣的公衛專業和產業實力也得以協助他人，提供美國和太平洋島國等世界各國夥伴所需的物資。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

Again, I am grateful to President Tsai for welcoming us to Taiwan and I look forward to using this visit to convey our admiration for Taiwan and to learn about how our shared democratic values have driven success in health.

29. convey(v.) admiration 表達欽佩
30. shared democratic values 共享民主價值
31. have driven success in… 帶動…領域的成功

我要再次感謝蔡總統的熱情歡迎，我也期待藉此訪問傳達美國對台灣的欽佩之意，並了解我們的共享民主價值如何帶動公共衛生領域的成功。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

AIT 中英文演講稿：
https://bit.ly/3kzKCcg (英文)
https://bit.ly/3gNAjPg (中文)

圖片出處： https://bit.ly/3fHD8Ac

完整影片: https://youtu.be/unB8N5d2Fm4

★★★★★★★★★★★★

時事英文講義：https://bit.ly/2XmRYXc

時事英文大全：http://bit.ly/2WtAqop

讓我們聚焦於有意義的議題，免去枝微末節。