VOA标准英语2015--韩国争辩国家安全法

S. Korea Reviews Controversial Security Law 韩国争辩国家安全法

SEOUL—

U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert is out of the hospital and recovering a week after he was slashed¹ across the face and wrist by a knife-wielding assailant. Now authorities say the attacker might have also violated a decades-old anti-Communism law. But, some rights groups say the attack shows how the law mainly limits freedom of speech without improving public safety.

Suspect Kim Ki-jong was immediately arrested after attacking the American ambassador.

Following a search of the 55-year-old’s home and office, South Korean police say they found pro-North Korean propaganda, which is illegal under the country’s National Security Law.

That law concerns Park Kun-young of the civic² group People’s Solidarity³ for Participatory Democracy.

“It is a shame that this attack, carried out by one violent man, is bringing attention to other activists⁵ who do not share the South Korean government’s thoughts on North Korea and might use the National Security Law to go after them now,” Park said.

The late 1940s law was created to stop the spread of communist North Korea’s influence in the south.

Today, rights advocates say it mainly limits freedom of speech and sends innocent people to jail.

In 2012 Park Jung-geun was found guilty of violating the National Security Law and given a suspended sentence.

Last year, a higher court overturned that decision, declaring Park innocent.

The 26-year-old photographer says he was only trying to make a joke about North Korea on Twitter.

“I think North Korean society, the way its leaders are worshiped is like a dark comedy. I only re-tweeted a message that was originally from a pro-North Korea website. I just thought it was funny,” he said.

Park says he now thinks twice before writing on social media.

But there are still many others who support the law, saying the fight against North Korea continues.

Suh Jung-kap of the National Action Campaign says the attack on the American ambassador proves that the government needs to crack down on pro-North Korean elements here even harder.

“North Korea is the world’s worst dictatorship. They launched attacks in 2010 and killed 46 of our soldiers. I do not think issues like the economy and human rights are as important as unifying⁶ the nation,” said Suh Jung-kap.

While many critics do not dispute that North Korea remains⁷ dangerous, they say the ambassador attack reveals that the law does little to keep anyone safe.

That is one reason why activist⁴ Park Kun-young says it should be abolished.

“Of course security is important and the country needs laws to stop spies who work for the enemy. However, the National Security Law does not do that, it only stops people from expressing their opinions," Park said.

As South Korean investigators⁸ look for North Korean links to the ambassador's assault, Pyongyang praised the attack but maintains it had nothing to do with it.

1 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

3 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

4 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。

5 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》

6 unifying   

使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一

参考例句：

• In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
• There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。

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 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》