美国国家公共电台 NPR--Japan and South Korea address a dispute over their bitter past

Japan and South Korea address a dispute over their bitter past

Transcript¹

South Korea's government is introducing a new plan to resolve historical disputes with Japan, and compensate² Koreans for the forced labor³ imposed by Tokyo's 35-year colonial rule.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

For years, two key U.S. allies in Asia have been embroiled⁴ in bitter disagreements over wartime history and just as the U.S. needs their regional help. Today, South Korea has proposed a deal to resolve a dispute with Japan, and the White House has praised the move. NPR's Anthony Kuhn joins us now from Seoul. Anthony, so this dispute - what's it about, and what's the plan to resolve it?

ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE⁵: Well, the South Korean government has estimated that some 1.2 million Koreans were coerced⁶ or tricked into working for Japan during the war in Japan, China and elsewhere. And these people worked in mines and factories, and thousands of them died under brutal⁷ conditions. Then, in 2018, South Korea's Supreme⁸ Court ruled that two big Japanese companies that used forced labor had to compensate the victims. But the companies refused to pay because they argued the issue was settled when Seoul and Tokyo normalized diplomatic relations in 1965.

So this dispute recently escalated⁹ into a trade war, which affected¹⁰ intelligence sharing, which, in turn, affected these countries' alliances with the U.S. So the new plan is that instead of the Japanese companies compensating¹¹ the forced laborers¹², South Korea will do it through a public foundation funded through donations. And instead of Japan issuing a new apology for its wartime actions, it'll affirm statements made before in which Japan basically said, we feel remorse¹³ for what we did. We apologize. Now let's all move on.

MART?NEZ: How are they able to come together on this?

KUHN: Well, several factors facilitated this deal. You have conservative, pro-U.S. leaders in both capitals - Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Japan and President Yoon Suk-yeol in South Korea. You also have North Korea launching a record number of missiles last year and China flexing¹⁴ its military muscles near Taiwan last year. South Korea is hoping this new proposal is going to help end the trade spat¹⁵ with Japan. And the two countries' leaders will resume visits, and they'll haul relations out of the deep freeze. Let's hear what South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said about the deal today.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PARK JIN: (Speaking Korean).

KUHN: So he says, "we hope that this solution will be a window of opportunity for a new history for the two countries, going beyond antagonism¹⁶ and conflict and moving forward toward the future. I think this is our last chance."

So what he seemed to be implying by last chance was that the elderly victims of forced labor are fading from the scene, and such a deal might not be possible under different administrations.

MART?NEZ: The victims of the forced labor - I'm sure they have thoughts.

KUHN: Yeah. That's the crucial issue. The victims themselves are not buying this deal at all. They want Japan to apologize. They want the Japanese companies to compensate them, not a South Korean foundation. And the victims' lawyers have said that they intend to challenge this deal in court. And the South Korean Supreme Court ruling ordering the Japanese companies to pay still stands, so this issue is far from settled.

MART?NEZ: You mentioned earlier how the U.S. needs South Korea and Japan right now. What's the U.S. reaction been?

KUHN: Well, President Biden hailed this deal in a statement, saying that it marks a groundbreaking chapter for the two key U.S. allies. And from the U.S. perspective, it's just inconceivable that this decades-old history is distracting its allies at a time when they face growing security threats in the region, particularly from North Korea and China. And many South Koreans and Japanese agree with this. But the victims feel that it's inconceivable that any country could act as if it had no historical memory or that any countries could try to move forward without facing up to past injustices¹⁷.

MART?NEZ: That's NPR's Anthony Kuhn joining us from Seoul. Anthony, thanks.

KUHN: Thanks, A.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 embroiled   

adj.卷入的；纠缠不清的

参考例句：

• He became embroiled in a dispute with his neighbours. 他与邻居们发生了争执。
• John and Peter were quarrelling, but Mary refused to get embroiled. 约翰和彼得在争吵，但玛丽不愿卷入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 coerced   

v.迫使做( coerce的过去式和过去分词 )；强迫；（以武力、惩罚、威胁等手段）控制；支配

参考例句：

• They were coerced into negotiating a settlement. 他们被迫通过谈判解决。
• He was coerced into making a confession. 他被迫招供。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

8 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

9 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

11 compensating   

补偿，补助，修正

参考例句：

• I am able to set up compensating networks of nerve connections. 我能建立起补偿性的神经联系网。
• It is desirable that compensating cables be run in earthed conduit. 补偿导线最好在地下管道中穿过。

12 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

13 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

14 flexing   

n.挠曲，可挠性v.屈曲( flex的现在分词 )；弯曲；（为准备大干而）显示实力；摩拳擦掌

参考例句：

• Flexing particular muscles allows snakes to move in several ways. 可弯曲的特殊的肌肉使蛇可以用几种方式移动。 来自电影对白
• China has become an economic superpower and is flexing its muscles. 中国已经成为了一个经济巨人而且在展示他的肌肉。 来自互联网

15 spat   

n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声

参考例句：

• Her parents always have spats.她的父母经常有些小的口角。
• There is only a spat between the brother and sister.那只是兄妹间的小吵小闹。

16 antagonism   

n.对抗，敌对，对立

参考例句：

• People did not feel a strong antagonism for established policy.人们没有对既定方针产生强烈反应。
• There is still much antagonism between trades unions and the oil companies.工会和石油公司之间仍然存在着相当大的敌意。

17 injustices   

不公平( injustice的名词复数 )； 非正义； 待…不公正； 冤枉

参考例句：

• One who committed many injustices is doomed to failure. 多行不义必自毙。
• He felt confident that his injustices would be righted. 他相信他的冤屈会受到昭雪的。