VOA慢速英语2015 权利组织称朝鲜领导人虐待国民

AS IT IS 2015-02-20 Rights Groups: N. Korean Leader Abused His People 权利组织称朝鲜领导人虐待国民

North Korea honored its former leader Kim Jong Il this week on what would have been his 73rd birthday. Officials in the country praised Mr. Kim for his political skills and his opposition¹ to the United States. But human rights groups want the man to be remembered for how he abused his people, including starving millions to death.

The celebration began Monday with a huge show of fireworks in the capital Pyongyang.

Kim Jong Il died in December, 2011, reportedly from a heart attack. He had ruled North Korea for 17 years. His birthday is now a three-day-long national holiday called the “Shining Star Festival.” It includes shows of sport and the distribution of free food.

Kim Jong Il’s son Kim Jong Un now rules the country.

Ahn Chan-il is the president of the World Institute for North Korea Studies. He says these kinds of celebrations are used to strengthen the Kim family’s control of the country.

He says North Korean officials give gifts to people during these celebrations to deepen their loyalty² to the Kim family.

A leader of the Workers’ Party of Korea spoke³ to party, state and army officials. He praised Kim Jong Il for making North Korea, in his words, a “world-class military power and nuclear weapons state that no one dares provoke.”

International negotiations⁴ to end North Korea’s nuclear program failed during Kim Jong Il’s rule. This caused Western nations to establish severe diplomatic and economic restrictions⁵ on the country.

Many Westerners have laughed at Kim Jong Il for the stories North Korean officials tell about him. They say he wrote 1,500 books and three operas in three years. They say he played a perfect game of golf on his first attempt.

Phil Robertson works at Human Rights Watch. He says Kim Jong Il repressed and abused his people.

“Kim Jong Il ruled North Korea based on human rights abuses. His repression⁶, his ruthlessness, his prioritizing of the maintenance of his power over the welfare of his people is his real legacy⁷.”

Mr. Robertson says Kim Jong Il strengthened the country’s nuclear program in the 1990s while failing to deal with a severe shortage of food. Experts estimate almost 3.5 million North Koreans died as a result.

Mr. Robertson says the leader also kept in place a huge system of political prisons. Experts estimate the system now holds more than 100,000 North Koreans. They say it uses the prisoners as slaves, and tortures and executes them.

Some observers hoped Kim Jong Un would reform the country. He was educated outside the country and some experts thought he might hold some Western beliefs. But Mr. Robertson says Kim Jong Un is continuing his father’s policies.

In December, the U.N. Commission of Inquiry⁸ provided the United Nations Security Council with a report about North Korea. The report said the International Criminal Court should try North Korea’s leaders for crimes against humanity. 

No action has been taken. But Mr. Robertson says activists⁹ will continue to fight the government in North Korea and demand its leaders be punished.

Words in This Story

fireworks – n. a small device that explodes to make a display of light and noise

distribution – n. the act of giving or delivering something to people

provoke – v. to cause (a person or animal) to become angry, violent, etc.

opera – n. a kind of performance in which actors sing all or most of the words of a play with music performed by an orchestra

ruthless – adj. having no pity; cruel or merciless

legacy – n. something that happened in the past or that comes from someone in the past

1 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。

2 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

6 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

7 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

8 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

9 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》