VOA常速英语2007年-US Official Challenged on Vietnam Religious Rig

By Dan Robinson
Washington
07 December 2007

At a U.S. congressional hearing Thursday, witnesses challenged the testimony¹ of a U.S. official who was defending a decision to remove Vietnam from a list of countries failing to do enough to promote religious freedom. VOA congressional correspondent Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill.

In a move that angered some members of Congress and was criticized by human rights groups, the State Department in late 2006 removed Vietnam from a list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) believed to be severe violators of religious freedom.

Whether Vietnam should remain off that list is a decision U.S. officials will have to make, and was also the focus of a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill.

U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, John Hanford, points to significant progress by the government of Vietnam in addressing key religious freedom concerns.

Noting that to be on the list a government must be found to be engaging or tolerating systematic², ongoing³ egregious⁴ violations⁵, Hanford says legal changes implemented⁶ by Hanoi banned such things as forced renunciations of faith, and granted clear legal rights for freedom of religious belief and practice. "I would say that what we have seen occur in Vietnam is the biggest turnaround that I have seen a sitting government make in a two year period on religious freedom," he said.

But Hanford's remarks, which also attributed progress by Hanoi to what he called strong diplomatic engagement by the U.S., were challenged by other witnesses.

Leonard Leo of the U. S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, says what he calls serious and systematic problems continue to darken the religious freedom picture in Vietnam.

These include abuses by provincial⁷ authorities; long delays in processing religious group applications for legal recognition; confiscations of land of ethnic⁸ minority Protestants and in some areas training of provincial officials to deny medical, educational and other services to religious families or families of converts.

At the core of problems, Leo says Buddhist⁹ groups such as the United Buddhist Church of Vietnam and others are still viewed by the government as a threat to its power. "There is no religious freedom if there is control. What Vietnam essentially¹⁰ has done is, it has begrudgingly¹¹ allowed religious worship but it has built a very large fence around it, an effort to ensure that it does not grow, and in an effort to make sure that the religions that are present in Vietnam are doing things that the government wants them to do," he said.

Amnesty International representative T. Kumar asserts Vietnam's government continues to use criminal laws to harass¹² believers, particularly those in ethnic minority groups. "Even though they have these regulations, we have documented reports that still forced renunciation is going on, in the Montagnard areas, still people have been arrested, short-term detentions¹³, harassment¹⁴ and other issues, and people are still fleeing to neighboring Cambodia," he said.

Nguyen Dinh Thang of the Vietnamese-American organization Boat People SOS, asserts that little has changed in the Vietnam government's attitude toward religious freedom. "Before the CPC designation Vietnam closed down over four-thousand protestant churches, mainly in the central highlands and the northwest highlands. After the ordinance¹⁵ was promulgated¹⁶ so far only about two dozen religious organizations or churches have benefited from that ordinance. The Unified¹⁷ Buddhist Church of Vietnam, prior to the [CPC] designation they were outlawed¹⁸, now they continue to be outlawed. The entire leadership was under temple arrest, now they remain under temple arrest. There is no change. And the catholic church, prior [to CPC] designation Father Ly was in prison, now he is still in prison," he said.

In other testimony, Chris Seiple of the Institute for Global Engagement supported Ambassador Hanford's view of progress, citing among other things the cessation of forced renunciation, and increasing registration¹⁹ of churches. "There are significant and ongoing challenges to be sure, but I think we are in the beginning of a significant and strategic paradigm²⁰ shift. We are in the initial stages, but we have to take the long view," he said.

Democratic congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, who chaired the hearing, used her remarks to draw attention to Father Nguyen Van Ly, the noted²¹ dissident and Roman Catholic priest imprisoned²² again last March, along with the recent arrests of two Vietnamese-American democracy activists²³: "I want the government of Vietnam to know that we will continue to fight for the release of our U.S. citizens, as well as for other dissidents currently being imprisoned in Vietnam," she said.

Sanchez says she hopes the U.S. Senate acts on legislation called the Vietnam Human Rights Act, approved by the House of Representatives last September.

Among other things, it would prohibit any increase in non-humanitarian aid to Vietnam beyond 2007 levels unless it shows substantial progress toward releasing political and religious prisoners and solidifying²⁴ religious freedom.

The sponsor of the legislation, Republican copngressman Chris Smith, told VOA Thursday he still hopes the Senate will act on the measure which also supports democracy programs for Vietnam, and contains funds to help the U.S.-government funded Radio Free Asia overcome Vietnamese government jamming of its transmissions.

1 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

2 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 egregious   

adj.非常的，过分的

参考例句：

• When it comes to blatant lies,there are none more egregious than budget figures.谈到公众谎言，没有比预算数字更令人震惊的。
• What an egregious example was here!现摆着一个多么触目惊心的例子啊。

5 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

6 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

7 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

8 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

9 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

10 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

11 begrudgingly   

小气地，吝啬地

参考例句：

• Then, begrudgingly, I clean up – which doesn't really take that much time. 于是，为了省钱，我打扫干净－－那也不需要花很多时间。
• His terrible directness made me feel peeved, and begrudgingly I conceded that he was right. 他的坦率让我恼火。我承认他是对的，但十分不甘心。

12 harass   

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

• Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。
• They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

13 detentions   

拘留( detention的名词复数 )； 扣押； 监禁； 放学后留校

参考例句：

• Teachers may assign detention tasks as they wish and some detentions have been actually dangerous. 老师可能随心所欲指派关禁闭的形式，有些禁闭事实上很危险。
• Intimidation, beatings and administrative detentions are often enough to prevent them from trying again. 恐吓，拷打和行政拘留足以阻止请愿者二次进京的脚步。

14 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

15 ordinance   

n.法令；条令；条例

参考例句：

• The Ordinance of 1785 provided the first land grants for educational purposes.1785年法案为教育目的提供了第一批土地。
• The city passed an ordinance compelling all outdoor lighting to be switched off at 9.00 PM.该市通过一条法令强令晚上九点关闭一切室外照明。

16 promulgated   

v.宣扬（某事物）( promulgate的过去式和过去分词 )；传播；公布；颁布（法令、新法律等）

参考例句：

• Hence China has promulgated more than 30 relevant laws, statutes and regulations. 中国为此颁布的法律、法规和规章多达３０余项。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The shipping industry promulgated a voluntary code. 航运业对自律守则进行了宣传。 来自辞典例句

17 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

18 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

19 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

20 paradigm   

n.例子，模范，词形变化表

参考例句：

• He had become the paradigm of the successful man. 他已经成为成功人士的典范。
• Moreover,the results of this research can be the new learning paradigm for digital design studios.除此之外，本研究的研究成果也可以为数位设计课程建立一个新的学习范例。

21 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

22 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

23 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》

24 solidifying   

（使）成为固体，（使）变硬，（使）变得坚固( solidify的现在分词 )； 使团结一致； 充实，巩固； 具体化

参考例句：

• The substances are formed from a mixture of liquids solidifying under pressure. 这些材料是由几种液体混合在一起并加压使之凝固而成的。
• Painting is an art solidifies time and space for solidifying. 绘画是凝固了的时间和空间的艺术。