冷如刀 灼如炬 李光耀名言录

新加坡前总理李光耀因病于23日凌晨3时18分在新加坡中央医院去世，享年91岁。李光耀是新加坡开国元首，1959年至1990年担任总理，被誉为“新加坡国父”。同时也是新加坡现任总理李显龙的父亲。

强悍、充满斗志甚至偏执的强人远去，我们一起来回顾一下他冷硬如刀、直指人心的箴言。

李光耀谈媒体

【没有新闻就是好新闻】

“我总是觉得此事很奇怪：一个国家有麻烦时，就会受到国际媒体注目......1942年日本占领新加坡之前，或1955年和1956年新加坡发生暴动期间导致两名记者遇害之前，世上没有多少人听过新加坡这个地方。後来我开始明白，当涉及外国媒体时，没有消息就是好消息。”

──李光耀於1959年9月16日於外国记者协会发言

【No news is good news】

“I have always thought it strange that a country figures prominently in the world press mainly when it is in trouble…Nobody in the rest of the world heard much about Singapore until it was captured by the Japanese in 1942 or again until there were riots in 1955 and 1956 in the course of one of which two members of your fraternity were killed. I have come to believe that, so far as the foreign press is concerned, no news is good news.”

- Speech at Foreign Correspondents Association, 16th Sep, 1959

关於国际领袖

【谁最伟大？】

“我觉得最伟大的是邓小平。以他这个年纪，要承认自己的错误，承认马克斯丶列宁丶毛泽东思想不可行而必须放弃，只有伟人才能做到。”

──《李光耀对话录》（Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew ）汤姆．普雷特（Tom Plate）著

“I would say the greatest was Deng Xiaoping. At his age, to admit that he was wrong, that all these ideas, Marxism, Leninism, Maoism, they are just not working and have to be abandoned, you need a great man to do that…”

- Tom Plate's Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew

【再谈邓小平】

“邓小平是个伟人。中国原是一个破败的国家，本可能像苏联那样崩溃，但他一手改变了中国的命运，让这个国家变成今天的面貌，并逐步成为全球最大经济体。”

──《新加坡赖以生存的硬道理》

【On Deng Xiaoping (again)】

Deng Xiao Ping is a great man because he changed China froma broken-backed state, which would have imploded like the Soviet Union, into what it is today, on the way to becoming the world's largest economy.

- "Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going"

【谈及习近平】

“我认为习近平能够与纳尔逊．曼德拉（NelsonMandela）相提并论：一个情绪极为稳定丶不受自身苦难影响判断的人──换言之，是个了不起的人物。”

──《时代杂志》（2007年11月19日）

【On Xi Jinping】

“I would put him in Nelson Mandela's class of persons. A person with enormous emotional stability who does not allow his personal misfortunes or sufferings to affect his judgement. In other words, he is impressive.”

- TIME Nov 19, 2007

【谈美国人】

“美国人是了不起的传教士，他们有一股难以压抑的冲动，要别人改变信仰。”

──《李光耀才智名人名言录》（1992年）

【On Americans】

“The Americans are great missionaries. They have an irrepressible urge to convert others.”

- 1992, The Wit & Wisdom of Lee Kuan Yew

【最伟大的美国总统是？】

“如果没有水门事件，我认为是理查•尼克森（Richard Nixon）。他的世界观很务实，分析力很强，实事求是，还精於谋略，把事情办好。但他凡事过问的性格，加上极希望连任，令他为人变得过於执着。”

──《李光耀对话录》（Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew ）汤姆．普雷特（Tom Plate）著

【On thegreatest US President that he'veseen】

“But for the misfortune of Watergate, I would say Richard Nixon. He had a realistic view of the world. He was a great analyst, realistic, but also a tactician to get things done. But this need with wanting to know everything and to make sure he got re-elected became obsessive.”

- Tom Plate's Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew

【最差劲的美国总统是？】

“我的名字是吉米．卡特（Jimmy Carter），我是种花生的，现在竞选总统。然後，他就当了总统！”

──《李光耀对话录》（Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew ）汤姆．普雷特（Tom Plate）著

【On the worst US President】

“my name is Jimmy Carter, I'm a peanut farmer, I'm running for president. The next thing you know, he was the president!”

- Tom Plate's Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew

【谈乔治•布什】

“我不认为他是第二差的总统。我觉得小布什的顾问分析事物过於悲观……布什自知经验不足，了解自己是一种美德。”

──《李光耀对话录》（Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew ）汤姆．普雷特（Tom Plate）著

【On George W. Bush】

“I would not put him (George W Bush) the second worst. Iwould say Bush Jr. had melancholy advisers…Bush Jr. knew he didn't have much experience. It is virtue to know yourself”.

- Tom Plate's Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew

【谈比尔•克林顿】

“他很聪明，精於政治，且性格外向，很讨人欢喜……跟他说话，你会自觉是世上最重要的人。但我想，他经常犯规，这大致上也是事实……就他的情况来说，这部份是他性格所致。我不知道。我的意思是：他的童年很艰苦，诸如此类…….”

──《李光耀对话录》（Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew ）汤姆．普雷特（Tom Plate）著

【On Bill Clinton】

“Very clever man, very political, likeable fellow because he's got that outgoing personality… When he talks to you, you are the most important person in the world. But I think, it's generally true, he breaks the rules… Well, in his case, it's partly his character. I don't know. I mean, he had a difficult childhood and so on, so forth”.

- Tom Plate's Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew

【谈及英国政治人物】

“在英国，要是看看牛津或剑桥一等荣誉毕业生的事业历程，就会发现这些人最终没有从政，而是当上银行家丶金融家或专业人士。”

【On British politicians】

“In Britain, if you look at the First Class Honours list of Oxford or Cambridge and trace their careers, you will find that these people end up not in politics, but in banking, finance and the professions.”

【谈及李显龙】

“如果我没当上总理，他可能早几年就坐上那个位置了。我不会让不够格的家庭成员担任要职，因为这对新加坡或我本人的历史功过来说，都是个灾难。绝不能允许有那样的事。”

──《李光耀才智名人名言录》（2005年）

【On Lee Hsien Loong】

“If I were not the Prime Minister, he [Lee Hsien Loong]could have become Prime Minister several years earlier. It is against my interest to allow any family member, who's incapable, to be holding an important job because that would be a disaster for Singapore and my legacy.That cannot be allowed.

- 2005 The Wit & Wisdom of Lee Kuan Yew

【谈是否为儿子当上总理而自豪】

“是的。但我也非常小心，以免他犯错……他正面对一个艰难时期，但比起我掌政之初，他可以运用的资源丰富得多。”

──《李光耀对话录》（Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew ）汤姆．普雷特（Tom Plate）著

【On whetherhe was proud of his son being the PM】

“Yeah, but at the same time, I must be very careful that heis not going to smudge the record.. Well, he has got a tough time, but he has got more resources than I had when I started.”

- Tom Plate's Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew