李显龙总理国庆演讲：冠病负面影响比经济危机更持久

李显龙总理8月9日发表国庆献词，他提到冠病负面影响预计会比经历过的经济危机更持久，但是只要全国齐力，终将克服危机。

谈到近期疫情，总理表示许多国家在疫情受到控制之后放宽管制措施，结果却出现新一波疫情，病例再度激增。尽管我们已经做足防范措施，这种情况也可能在新加坡发生。可能还要多等一两年，才会看到各国广泛使用冠病疫苗，成功摆脱病毒的威胁。在那之前，大家必须保持警惕，决心对抗疫情，保护大家的安全。

新加坡还需应付严重的经济衰退。在接下来的几个月，更多公司可能会倒闭，更多员工会被裁退。

也许，这次危机会比经济危机持续更久，但相信一定能够克服它。每个人都要贡献自己的一份力量，同舟共济。

政府正在积极帮助国人掌握新技能，找到新工作，推出了多项援助计划，如雇佣补贴计划和自雇人士收入补贴计划，帮助雇主和员工减轻负担。职总也正在与雇主合作，为工友创造职业培训和发展机会，同时确保每一位工友都能获得公平的待遇。在当前的情况下，或许无法保住每一份工作，但一定要维护每一位工友的利益。另一方面，雇主也必须尽最大的努力保住员工，裁员应该是最后的选择，这样能让员工记住这份情谊。经济好转后他们必尽心尽力为公司重振旗鼓。

危机当前，全民合力对抗疫情，加强了凝聚力。大家经历磨难后，也更加坚毅、更加团结。就如建国和立国一代一样，他们共同经历了新马分家和新加坡独立后的动荡不安，以及建国初期经济发展的艰辛。

未来困难重重，我们绝不退缩，要勇敢面对。许多年后，当我们的子孙欢庆国庆，回溯这一段历史时，他们一定会记得我们这一代人是如何互相扶持、 团结一致，为国人创造一个更美好的未来。

以下是李显龙总理演讲中文全文：

各位同胞:

每年的 8 月 9 号,新加坡人都会风雨不改,一同观赏国庆庆典,欢庆我国 独立建国,并再次誓愿同心协力、建设国家。

• 国庆庆典

国庆庆典1966年首度举行至今，我几乎出席了每一场庆典。1968 年，我更参与了在政府大厦大草场举行的检阅礼。那天大雨倾盆而下，把所有人淋湿了，但是检阅队伍在大雨中坚定不移，继续前进。我们向国人和全世界展示了新加坡人在逆境中坚毅不屈的特质。2015年的国庆庆典也是另一个难忘的盛会。我们庆祝了独立金禧年，以及新加坡建国以来所取得的成就。那一年，我们沉痛地送别了建国总理李光耀先生，并在国庆庆典上向他致敬，以及肯定了他和建国领袖的巨大贡献。

在好景时，我们通过国庆庆典共同欢庆国家的繁荣进步,并憧憬更美好的未来。

在艰难时期，我们还是会举行国庆庆典，重申我们排除万难，迎向光明的决心。

今年的国庆日，我国还处于冠病疫情中。所以，国庆庆典会有别于往年，以体现全民一心，克服逆境。今天早上，我们将在政府大厦大草场举行规模较小的庆典，以及在全岛七个地点举行庆祝仪式。每一个地点都有它的象征意义， 代表我国对抗冠病的工作，例如：国家传染病中心代表我们为国人提供的医疗 照顾；终身学习学院代表我们致力于帮助工友提升技能、保住工作；德新中学 代表我们努力确保学生能继续学习，接受良好教育；海军部村庄则代表我们发 扬社区精神。我们希望通过这样的安排，让所有国人无论在全岛各地或是身处 海外，都能在家参与今年别具意义的国庆庆典。我们将一同见证许多特别时刻，例如红狮跳伞队和悬挂国旗的直升机将第一次在邻里出现，机动队伍也将开进组屋区。我们也将一起念信约、唱国歌。

• 前线英雄的故事

此外，我们也要通过庆典向那些在前线对抗疫情的英雄们致敬。

他们鞠躬尽瘁，为国人全心付出。有些退休医生和护士自愿回到工作岗位， 穿上防护服，到医院和客工宿舍服务。有些全职国民服役人员选择延迟退伍，协助抗疫工作。有些公务员则自愿接受调派，去照顾客工。许多国人也发挥了 互助精神。一些人沿家挨户，为年长人士或低收入家庭派送食物和日用品。另 一群国人则改装善心人士捐赠的手提电脑，让有需要的学生可以居家学习。上 千名新加坡人也挺身而出为民服务，自愿接受冠病检测培训，到客工宿舍和社 区护理设施，参与前线工作。此外，有些客工也做出贡献，支援抗疫工作。

政府对所有前线英雄的无私奉献深表感激。

• 为接下来的经济挑战做好准备

现在，我们比任何时候都更需要保持团结坚韧。我国要完全走出冠病危机，还需要一段时间。许多国家在疫情受到控制之后放宽管制措施，结果却出现新一波疫情，病例再度激增。尽管我们已经做足防范措施，这种情况也可能在新 加坡发生。我们可能还要多等一两年，才会看到各国广泛使用冠病疫苗，成功摆脱病毒的威胁。在那之前，我们必须保持警惕，决心对抗疫情，保护大家的安全。

我们还需要保持坚韧不拔，以应付严重的经济衰退。国人难免会对未来感到焦虑和担忧。在接下来的几个月，更多公司可能会倒闭，更多员工会被裁退。

不过，这不是我们第一次面临经济危机。这二十多年来，我们经历了好几个经济危机。比如亚洲金融风暴、九一一恐怖袭击事件带来的经济冲击，以及全球金融危机。每一次，前景都非常黯淡。但是，我们都努力稳住阵脚，咬紧牙关，全民携手挺过一次又一次的危机。

一份力量，同舟共济。政府正在积极帮助国人掌握新技能，找到新工作，推出了多项援助计划，如雇佣补贴计划和自雇人士收入补贴计划，帮助雇主和员工减轻负担。职总也正在与雇主合作，为工友创造职业培训和发展机会，同时确保每一位工友都能获得公平的待遇。在当前的情况下，我们或许无法保住每一份工作，但我们一定要维护每一位工友的利益。另一方面，雇主也必须尽最大的努力保住员工，不要遇到困难时，就马上裁员。这样，员工 会记住这份情谊。在经济好转时，他们必将尽心尽力帮助雇主重振旗鼓。

危机当前，全民合力对抗疫情,加强了凝聚力。大家经历磨难后,也更加坚毅、更加团结。就如建国和立国一代一样，他们共同经历了新马分家和新加坡独立后的动荡不安，以及建国初期经济发展的艰辛。

未来困难重重，我们绝不退缩，要勇敢面对。许多年后，当我们的子孙欢庆国庆，回溯这一段历史时，他们一定会记得我们这一代人是如何互相扶持、 团结一致，为国人创造一个更美好的未来。

• 卫国广场

每年的国庆日，我们都会回顾我国的发展，为国家所取得的进步感到自豪，并承诺致力打造更温馨的家园。

当我们在政府大厦前的大草场或滨海湾浮动舞台举行国庆庆典时，国人都可以看到滨海湾迷人的风景线。滨海湾曾经是一片大海。我们在这一带进行填 土、建造堤坝,积水成池，逐步将它发展成一个亮眼独特、朝气蓬勃的市中心。

从滨海湾放眼望去，国人立刻能亲眼看到新加坡的变化，想象新加坡在未来所 拥有的无限可能。

如今，国民服役人员完成了基本训练后，都会邀请亲友们到滨海湾浮动舞台参加他们的结业检阅礼。这个仪式让他们更清楚了解保家卫国的使命，明白为什么世世代代的国民服役人员都愿意付出精力和时间，捍卫家园。他们守护的不仅仅是这座城市。他们也守护每个国民、家人和朋友，以及新加坡的未来。

为了体现国民服役的重要性，政府三年前宣布把滨海湾浮动舞台改建成永久建筑，并将它称为“卫国广场”。这是“卫国广场”的初步设计，它将和这一带的中轴对齐，成为一个在市中心闪亮的小红点。这里将增设以国民服役为主题的展览区，以此肯定国民服役人员为新加坡的国防和安全所做出的贡献。卫国广场将会是一个老少咸宜、同欢共乐的场所。当然，我们也会和往年一样，继续在这个地方举办国庆庆典。

• 总结

由于冠病疫情，我们今年无法像往年一样，在国庆日这一天和众人聚集一起高唱国歌，但我们无论在何处，还是可以一起念信约、唱国歌，更加用心感受信约和国歌的含义。

我们还有许多梦想和目标等着我们去实现。尽管前方充满挑战,我相信国人会心手相连、坚毅向前,让新加坡再创辉煌!

祝大家国庆日快乐!

英文演讲原文如下：

My fellow Singaporeans,

Every year, rain or shine, Singaporeans come together on the 9th of August for the National Day Parade, to celebrate the making of our nation, and renew our commitment to Singapore.

• National Day Parade

I have been privileged to attend almost every NDP since the first in 1966. One of the Parades I took part in was in 1968 at the Padang. The rain poured down, but the contingents stood steady, and marched past proudly, drenched, yet undaunted. We showed ourselves and the world that Singaporeans were rugged people, and had the steel in us to stand firm in adversity. Five years ago, SG50 was another memorable Parade. We celebrated our Golden Jubilee, and what we had achieved in Singapore. We also paid tribute to our founding Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew. We mourned his passing that year, but also affirmed what he and the pioneer leaders stood for.

In good years, our parades rejoice in our progress, and look forward to a better future together.

In difficult years, we still hold National Day Parades, to renew our resolve to weather the storm and take Singapore through to better days.

This year, National Day falls amidst COVID-19. We are not able to celebrate in our usual way, but we are determined still to hold the Parade as a symbol of our unity as a nation, like we have done every year since independence. We will have a smaller Parade at the Padang, and also ceremonies at seven other locations around the island this morning. Each location will symbolise one aspect of our response to COVID-19 – Providing medical care for Singaporeans at NCID; supporting our workforce with skills and jobs at the Lifelong Learning Institute; keeping learning going for our students at North Vista Secondary School; or sustaining our community spirit at Kampung Admiralty. We look forward to Singaporeans across the island, and also in far-flung lands, joining the Parade virtually and celebrating with one another. We will all share special moments like when the Red Lions land, the mobile column reaches our town, or the State Flag is flown past. We will all recite the Pledge and sing Majulah Singapura in our hearts together.

• Stories of everyday heroes

This NDP is also an opportunity for us to salute those on our frontline, fighting COVID-19.

Many of them have gone way beyond the call of duty, and shown great generosity of spirit. Retired doctors and nurses volunteered to come back, donning PPE to serve on the front lines, in hospitals and migrant worker dormitories. Full-time national servicemen extended their terms to continue supporting COVID-19 operations. Public officers volunteered to be redeployed to organise and look after the migrant workers. Many Singaporeans stepped up to help others in need. Some went door to door distributing meals and groceries to the elderly and low-income households. Others refurbished donated laptops for needy students, for home-based learning. Thousands of public-spirited Singaporeans volunteered to be trained for swab operations. They served in the hot zones, including the dormitories and community care facilities. Migrant workers too played their part to support these operations. Their help was deeply appreciated by our SAF, Home Team and public officers.

These selfless acts have made all the difference to our response to COVID-19.

• Bracing for economic difficulties ahead

We will need this unity and resilience more than ever. The crisis is far from over. Many countries brought COVID-19 under control and eased restrictions, only to see their cases rise sharply again. This can happen to us too, despite all our precautions. It will most likely take a year or two before a vaccine is widely available, and the threat of the virus is blunted. Until then, we have to maintain our vigilance and resolve, to keep ourselves, our loved ones and our neighbours all safe.

We also need to be resilient in the face of the severe economic downturn. Singaporeans are understandably anxious and worried. Business closures, retrenchments and unemployment are all likely to go up in the coming months.

But this is not the first economic crisis we have experienced. Just in the last quarter century, we have seen the Asian Financial Crisis (1997-1998), the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks (2001), and the Global Financial Crisis (2007-2009). Each time the outlook was ominous, and we feared the worst, but each time we worked hard to secure our position, gritted our teeth, and came through together.

I am confident we will get through this current crisis too, though it may take longer. All of us must do our part, but none of us will be alone. The government is actively helping people find new jobs and acquire new skills. We also have the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) and Self-employed person Income Relief Scheme (SIRS) to ease the burden on employers and individuals. The Labour Movement is working with employers to create job training programmes and career pathways. It will also ensure that every worker is treated fairly and with dignity, especially when job losses cannot be avoided. Employers too must make every effort to keep their workers, and not drop them at the first sign of trouble. This will build loyalty, and encourage the employees to help their employers rebuild when conditions improve.

Our experience fighting COVID-19, grim and hard as it has been, has brought us closer together. The shared ordeal will toughen a whole population, and bond us together as one united people. Just like how the Pioneer and Merdeka Generations were tempered by Separation and Independence, and economic crises in our early years as a nation.

Let us brace ourselves for the trials ahead, so that many years from now, when our grandchildren celebrate National Day, they will look back on these times and say yes, this generation stood together, sacrificed for one another, and built Singapore for us.

• NS Square

Every National Day, we remind ourselves that Singapore is a nation whose story is worth celebrating, whose history is worth cherishing, and whose future is worth building.

When we hold the National Day Parade at the Padang, or at the Float@Marina Bay, the audience can see the Marina Bay skyline in the background. Marina Bay used to be open sea, but we reclaimed the land around it, turned the ocean into a reservoir, and progressively built on the new land, to create an outstanding and vibrant downtown. Looking out across the Bay, you can immediately see how far Singapore has come, and imagine the possibility and promise that Singapore holds.

Today, when National Service recruits complete their Basic Military Training (BMT), they gather their families and friends at the Float and hold their passing out parade there. It helps them to understand what they are defending, and why generations of national servicemen have been willing to serve and sacrifice, to defend this metropolis that we have built together, and also the society that created all this: Our families. Our friends. Our lives. Our future.

Three years ago, I announced that we would rebuild the Float into a permanent space to commemorate National Service, and the central role that NS plays in Singapore, and that we would name this space, NS Square. The design contract has been awarded. This is how it will look like. The development will be aligned on a central axis, with The Promontory on the opposite side of the Bay. The platform will become a red dot, shining bright in our city. NS Square will be the central focus of our new downtown. We will build a gallery there to showcase our National Service story, and honour the contributions of national servicemen past and present. NS Square will also be a community space for everyone, young and old, to enjoy. And of course, we will continue to hold our National Day Parades there.

• Conclusion

This National Day, as we celebrate across the island, we will be saying the Pledge and singing Majulah Singapura in unison – not aloud as usual because of COVID- 19, but in our hearts, with more feeling than ever.

We have dreams to realise, and goals to reach for. Let us show the world that whatever the challenges, Singaporeans will stay united, and prevail once more.

I wish everyone a very happy National Day!