2007年VOA标准英语-New US Envoy to Laos Hopes for Greater Cooperat

By Stephanie Ho
Washington
02 July 2007

The man heading out to be the U.S. envoy¹ to the small Southeast Asian nation of Laos says he hopes U.S. concerns over the Lao government's human rights record will not overshadow the many areas in which the two countries can work together. VOA's Stephanie Ho spoke² with the U.S. ambassador in Washington and has this report.

The new U.S. ambassador to Laos, Ravic Huso, says there are many areas where U.S.-Lao cooperation is good. "One of the most important is the humanitarian³ effort to achieve the fullest possible accounting⁴ of those servicemen and women who were missing in action from the Indochina conflict. Another legacy⁵ of the Indochina conflict is the unexploded ordnance⁶ that remains⁷ in Laos and constitutes a continuing threat to the safety and welfare of the Lao people," he said.

Huso said other areas of cooperation include combatting narcotics⁸, human trafficking and avian flu. He said trade and investment is one area with growth potential. But, he added, Washington and Vientiane do not agree on everything. "We have differences over human rights. We do have some concerns that we've expressed to the Lao, in the areas of human rights and religious freedoms, and in the protection of their ethnic⁹ minorities," he said.

 

Another sticking point has been the area of military cooperation. Nearly one year ago, the Lao defense¹⁰ minister (Major General Duangchay Phichit) rejected a U.S. proposal to expand military contacts between the two countries. The proposal included allowing American military medical teams to provide services in some Lao communities, and allowing U.S. military engineers to build schools, clinics and roads in Laos.

At the time, the Lao official said his country must first build its own capabilities¹¹ before it can work with the American military. He said he would welcome funds to build schools or clinics. But he added that he does not want more U.S. troops on Lao soil, because of what he called lingering hostility¹² toward the United States among some Lao people.

When asked about the status of U.S.-Lao military cooperation, Ambassador Huso said the two sides are now in what he described as the "first stages of exploring" what might be in both countries' mutual¹³ interests. "We think that there may be some opportunities that the Lao would like to explore. They have recently sent some senior officials to the United States, to become more familiar with the types of opportunities that might exist," he said.

Huso said some areas of potential cooperation are mostly humanitarian, including disaster relief and dealing¹⁴ with bird flu. "We also see the potential for using our programs to send a clear message that we send in all of our military cooperation programs, regarding the importance of a professional military that is subordinate to civilian¹⁵ rule and respectful of human rights," he said.

 

One issue of particular interest in Laos and in the United States is the case of Vang Pao, a former Lao general who led Hmong tribesmen to fight with the U.S. military against Communist guerillas nearly 40 years ago. Vang Pao, who is now a prominent leader in California's ethnic Hmong community, was formally charged in a federal court in California last month for taking part in a plot to violently overthrow¹⁶ the government of Laos. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The U.S. ambassador refused to comment specifically on the Vang Pao case. But he said, on policy and on principle, the U.S. government is opposed to acts of violence against friendly governments.

1 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

2 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。

3 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

4 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

5 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。

6 ordnance   

n.大炮，军械

参考例句：

• She worked in an ordnance factory during the war.战争期间她在一家兵工厂工作。
• Shoes and clothing for the army were scarce,ordnance supplies and drugs were scarcer.军队很缺鞋和衣服，武器供应和药品就更少了。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 narcotics   

n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 )；毒品；毒

参考例句：

• The use of narcotics by teenagers is a problem in many countries. 青少年服用麻醉药在许多国家中都是一个问题。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Police shook down the club, looking for narcotics. 警方彻底搜查了这个俱乐部，寻找麻醉品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 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。

11 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

12 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

13 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

14 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

15 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

16 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。