香港问题已经有近一个半世纪的历史，这个问题不解决，在我们两国和两国人民之间总是存在着阴影。
This problem has lasted for a century and a half.
As long as it remained unsolved, it cast a shadow over the relations between us.
现在这个阴影消除了，我们两国之间的合作和两国人民之间的友好前景光明。
Now that the shadow has been lifted, a bright prospect has opened up for cooperation between our two countries and friendly contact between our two peoples.
如果“一国两制”的构想是一个对国际上有意义的想法的话，那要归功于马克思主义的辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义，用毛泽东主席的话来讲就是实事求是。
If the concept of ``one country, two systems'' has international significance, that should be attributed to Marxist dialectical materialism and historical materialism or, in the words of Chairman Mao Zedong, to the principle of seeking truth from facts.
这个构想是在中国的实际情况下提出来的。
This concept was formulated on the basis of China's realities.
中国面临的实际问题就是用什么方式才能解决香港问题，用什么方式才能解决台湾问题。
The practical problem confronting China was how to settle the questions of Hong Kong and Taiwan.
只能有两种方式，一种是和平方式，一种是非和平方式。
There were only two possible ways: one was peaceful, the other non-peaceful.
而采用和平方式解决香港问题，就必须既考虑到香港的实际情况，也考虑到中国的实际情况和英国的实际情况，就是说，我们解决问题的办法要使三方面都能接受。
To settle the Hong Kong question peacefully, we had to take into consideration the actual conditions in Hong Kong, in China and in Great Britain.In other words, the way in which we settled the question had to be acceptable to all three parties.
即使不发生武力冲突，香港也将成为一个萧条的香港，后遗症很多的香港，不是我们所希望的香港。
Even if there had been no armed conflict, Hong Kong would have become a bleak city with a host of problems, and that is not something we would have wanted.
所以，就香港问题而言，三方面都能接受的只能是“一国两制”，允许香港继续实行资本主义，保留自由港和金融中心的地位，除此以外没有其他办法。
So the only solution to the Hong Kong question that would be acceptable to all three parties was the ``one country, two systems'' arrangement, under which Hong Kong would be allowed to retain its capitalist system and its status as a free port and a financial centre.There was no alternative.
“一国两制”构想的提出还不是从香港问题开始的，是从台湾问题开始的。
The idea of ``one country, two systems'' had first been suggested not in connection with Hong Kong but in connection with Taiwan.
一九八一年国庆前夕叶剑英委员长就台湾问题发表的九条声明，虽然没有概括为“一国两制”，但实际上就是这个意思。
The nine principles concerning the Taiwan question, as proposed by Ye Jianying, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, on the eve of National Day in 1981, were not summed up in the formula ``one country, two systems'', but that is in fact what they meant.
两年前香港问题提出来了，我们就提出“一国两制”。
And when the Hong Kong question was put on the table two years ago, we presented the idea in those terms.
也有人怀疑这个主张能否行得通，这就要拿事实来回答。
Some people doubted that it would work.They will have to be convinced by the facts.
现在看来是行得通的，至少中国人坚信是行得通的，因为这两年的谈判已经证明了这一点。
It seems to have worked so far.
The Chinese, at least, think it works, because the negotiations of the past two years have proved that it does.
这个构想在解决香港问题上起了不说是决定性的作用，也是最重要的作用。
This concept of ``one country, two systems'' has played a very important, if not decisive, role in the settlement of the Hong Kong question.
再过十三年，再过五十年，会更加证明“一国两制”是行得通的。
Its viability will have been further demonstrated 13 years from now and 50 years after that.
人们担心中国在签署这个协议后，是否能始终如一地执行。
Some people are worried whether China will abide by the agreement once it has been signed.
我们不仅要告诉阁下和在座的英国朋友，也要告诉全世界的人：中国是信守自己的诺言的。
Your Excellency and the other British friends present here and people all over the world may be sure that China will always keep its promises.
一位日本朋友问我，你们为什么还有一个“五十年”，即一九九七年后还要保持香港现行的资本主义制度五十年不变？
A Japanese friend once asked me: Why do you specify a further period of 50 years?
Why do you need to keep Hong Kong's current capitalist system unchanged for 50 years after 1997?
What is the basis for this proposal?
Do you have any particular reason in mind?
I answered that we had,
你们根据的是什么，是否有个什么想法？
A Japanese friend once asked me: Why do you specify a further period of 50 years?
Why do you need to keep Hong Kong's current capitalist system unchanged for 50 years after 1997?
What is the basis for this proposal?
Do you have any particular reason in mind?
I answered that we had,
我对他说，有。
A Japanese friend once asked me: Why do you specify a further period of 50 years?
Why do you need to keep Hong Kong's current capitalist system unchanged for 50 years after 1997?
What is the basis for this proposal?
Do you have any particular reason in mind?
I answered that we had,
中国现在制定了一个宏伟的目标，就是国民生产总值在两个十年内，即到本世纪末翻两番，达到小康水平。
China has set itself the ambitious goal of quadrupling its GNP in two decades -- that is, by the end of this century -- and of reaching a level of comparative prosperity.
就是达到了这个目标，中国也不算富，还不是一个发达国家。
But even then, China will still not be a wealthy or developed country.
中国要真正发达起来，接近而不是说超过发达国家，那还需要三十年到五十年的时间。
It will take another 30 to 50 years after that for China to become a truly developed country, to approach -- not surpass -- the developed countries.