达赖喇嘛:

在美国之音首次广播70周年之际，我谨向你们表示最衷心的祝贺。

我清楚地记得，在1959年3月17日的夜晚，我们从拉萨的罗布林卡宫逃了出来。在那一天和随后的日子里，我的保安负责人每天都要收听美国之音，获取有关西藏的最新消息。

不幸的是，在世界的某些地方，新闻普遍受到审查和扭曲。因此，我相信，在报道全面公正新闻方面，像美国之音这样的新闻机构至关重要。美国之音藏语组通过播报不带偏见的新闻---不管是好消息还是坏消息，为藏人发挥着关键的作用。

在你们的70周年之际，我希望借此机会为今天不在场的美国之音员工祈祷，并感谢那些目前正在工作的人。最后，我希望所有那些报道客观消息的新闻媒体，特别是美国之音，能够继续成长并坚持下来。

我要对美国之音藏语组说，你们在西藏境内、喜马拉雅山地区甚至蒙古的听众，当然还有我们这些生活在流亡中的藏人，都依赖你们的广播。我代表他们感谢藏语组的服务。你们对国际新闻广播的贡献真的是最值得赞许的。谢谢你们。

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(英文）

Remarks by the Dalai Lama

Video Message on Voice of America 70th Anniversary

On the 70th anniversary of Voice of America’s first broadcast, I would like to pay my heartiest congratulations to you.

I remember clearly the night of March 17th, 1959 when we escaped from Norbulingka palace in Lhasa. On that day and the days following, my security chief listened to the Voice of America broadcasts every day for news updates on Tibet.

It is unfortunate that censorship and distortion of news is prevalent in some parts of the world. Therefore, I believe that news organizations like the Voice of America are critically important in providing comprehensive impartial news. Voice of America Tibetan Service has played a vital role for Tibetans by broadcasting unbiased news, both good and bad.

On your 70th anniversary, I want to take the opportunity to pray for VOA staff that are not here today, and thank those who are currently working. Finally, I hope that all news media that provide objective news, especially the Voice of America, will continue to grow and prevail.

And to Voice of America’s Tibetan service, your broadcasts are relied on by your listeners inside Tibet, by people in the Himalayan region and even Mongolia, and of course we Tibetans living in exile. On their behalf, I would like to thank the service. Your contribution to international news broadcasting is indeed most commendable. Thank you.