美国国家公共电台 NPR A Long List Of Challenges Awaits Rex Tillerson In Asia

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The U.S. secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, begins a six-day sweep through East Asia today. It's his first trip to the region as America's top diplomat¹. And his first stop is Japan. And as NPR's Elise Hu reports, he heads into a region full of challenges old and new.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing in Korean).

ELISE HU, BYLINE²: South Koreans celebrated³ in the streets of Seoul last weekend after the ouster of their president for abuse of power. But the historic impeachment⁴ also brought on a power vacuum just as the new American administration begins its engagement in Asia.

JOHN DELURY: South Korea now enters a vortex of a political campaign, an election that has to take place in two months.

HU: John Delury is a professor of international relations at Seoul's Yonsei University. He echoes recent Korean opinion polls in saying opposition⁵ parties, which are liberal, are likely to take power.

DELURY: One of the clearest differences between South Korean liberals and conservatives is how they approach North Korea.

HU: The State Department says the North Korean threat is a top priority for Tillerson's trip. Since President Donald Trump⁶ took office, North Korea has twice tested missiles, last week firing four of them into the Sea of Japan. And North Korea observers say Pyongyang appears to be preparing for another rules-breaking nuclear test.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner admits existing approaches to curb⁷ Pyongyang haven't worked.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MARK TONER: Thus far, we've been unable to persuade them either through U.N. action, through sanctions, whatever. So I think we need to look at new possibilities.

HU: New policy approaches are likely if South Korea does indeed vote in a new center-left administration. John Delury.

DELURY: Liberals think you engage North Korea. You draw them out. You have dialogue. You work on denuclearization. But you have to work on a lot of other issues at the same time.

HU: But those who are likely to take charge in South Korea aren't the leaders Tillerson will be meeting with on Friday. He'll instead talk through the North Korean threat and other regional issues with a lame⁸ duck South Korean government picked by a president who's no longer there.

DELURY: South Korea has two more months of a political vacuum. There's a lot of tensions. I mean, just from a South Korean perspective, the relationship with China is quite bad over THAAD.

HU: THAAD is a missile defense⁹ system the U.S. is installing in South Korea against Chinese objections.

DELURY: The relationship with Japan is bad. And the relationship with the United States is uncertain just because of all the questions around Trump.

HU: Japan and China are the two other countries on Tillerson's Asia trip. And the missile defense system promises to get a hearing from various perspectives on each leg. The State Department says getting cooperation from China, Japan and South Korea is key to trying to slow down North Korea's advancing nuclear program. Toner.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TONER: Everybody agrees on the challenge, which is how do you stop North Korea's bad behavior?

HU: Not everyone agrees on how to solve it. And a main player in the region will soon have a new government, adding another complication to what was already one of the thorniest¹⁰ issues facing the White House. Elise Hu, NPR News, Seoul.

(SOUNDBITE OF GOLD PANDA'S "TIME EATER - RECOVER")

1 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

2 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。

3 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

4 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

7 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

8 lame   

adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的

参考例句：

• The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
• I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 thorniest   

adj.多刺的( thorny的最高级 )；有刺的；棘手的；多障碍的

参考例句：

• Paradoxically, the thorniest outstanding issue involves Bolivia. 而荒谬可笑的是，最棘手的国家要事却牵涉到了玻利维亚。 来自互联网