万花筒 2012-08-17&08-19 中日钓鱼岛争端激化

 Planting the Chinese flag on a disputed island in the East China Sea, Japanese helicopters hover¹ as this turf dispute gets ugly. Protest in Japan, Hong Kong and Beijing as a nationalist spirit grips. 

"A hard fact proves that Japan is a monster, a devil. We must eliminate the beast in order to protect the Chinese nation."

Anger, discontent after Japan detains five members of an activist² group from China, Hong Kong and Macau, sailing from Hong Kong harbor, tracking their movements on Facebook. They land on the island chain claimed by both China and Japan. The island sits in the sensitive spot lodged³ in between Japan, China and Taiwan.

"From the Beijing's perspective, I think there would be a major change of leadership coming up at the 18th Party Congress, so at this stage the government also doesn't want to appear as weak, particularly given the rise of Chinese nationalism."

Control over Asian sea ways has become one of the most contentious⁴ deal political issues this year. As China's economy raises, so too does its political voice. The world's No.2 economy claims sovereignty over virtually the entire South China Sea, neighbor both patrolling the region. These South Korean athletes swim to an island at the center of a territorial⁵ dispute between Seoul and Tokyo. 

Further south, the Philippines stands behind its own sovereignty claims. Diplomatic spats⁶ like these could jeopardize⁷ a huge Asia trade flow. China is the largest trading partner of both Japan and Korea. Japan had invested about 80 billion dollars in China up to the end of last year. South Korea, 50 billion dollars. 

"Already in China, there are very emotional netizens calling for boycott⁸ of the Japanese products. I think both governments, at this stage, are very anxious to prevent the trade war. I think they realize very well that trade is perhaps the only positive factor in the bilateral⁹ relations."

And across the region, old grudges¹⁰ linger. Japanese ministers commemorate¹¹ 67 years since the end of the World War II. Koreans demand an apology for women forced into sexual slavery by Japan during that conflict. More signs, the forces of history still exert a powerful pole in the new epicenter of the global economic growth.

Tara Joseph reporting for Reuters.

1 hover   

vi.翱翔，盘旋；徘徊；彷徨，犹豫

参考例句：

• You don't hover round the table.你不要围着桌子走来走去。
• A plane is hover on our house.有一架飞机在我们的房子上盘旋。

2 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

3 lodged   

v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属

参考例句：

• The certificate will have to be lodged at the registry. 证书必须存放在登记处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Our neighbours lodged a complaint against us with the police. 我们的邻居向警方控告我们。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

5 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

6 spats   

n.口角( spat的名词复数 )；小争吵；鞋罩；鞋套v.spit的过去式和过去分词( spat的第三人称单数 )；口角；小争吵；鞋罩

参考例句：

• Gasoline is a solvent liquid that removes grease spats. 汽油是一种能脱去油迹的有溶解能力的液体。 来自辞典例句
• Then spats took a catnap, and the bird looked out for dogs. 然后斯派茨小睡了一会儿。小鸟为它站岗放哨，防止狗跑过来。 来自互联网

7 jeopardize   

vt.危及，损害

参考例句：

• Overworking can jeopardize your health.工作过量可能会危及你的健康。
• If you are rude to the boss it may jeopardize your chances of success.如果你对上司无礼，那就可能断送你成功的机会。

8 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

9 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

10 grudges   

不满，怨恨，妒忌( grudge的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He never grudges money. 他从不吝惜金钱。
• They bear grudges against each other. 他俩有过节儿。

11 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。