Speech is a channel for the speaker to deliver an idea or message to a target group for a response. From a theoretical point of view in translation studies, therefore, operative function is sometimes found in the source text (ST). This study attempts to investigate the translation of political speech in a written form from a functionalist perspective. The theoretical basis of the research will be based on the text typology of Reiss and text analysis of Nord. Two presidential speeches by Barack Obama were analyzed because the speeches contain many cultural references that are worth further investigation. Translations were collected from two press media reports from the Chinese Mainland and Taiwan, respectively. Text types, the functions of the speeches, and the translation strategies and methods used are examined and analyzed, and the possible reasons for the translators’ decisions are discussed. Speech is a kind of text type that contains all three functions. However, function shifts play a key role during the translation process and different translation strategies may be applied according to the need of the receivers and the perception of the translators. Keywords: text type, function, informative, expressive, operative, documentary translation, instrumental translation, speech