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VOA慢速英语2014 人权活动人士质疑美国对越军售

时间:2014-10-09 22:30:53

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AS IT IS 2014-10-09 Activists1 Criticize Planned US Arms Sales to Vietnam 人权活动人士质疑美国对越军售

Last week, the United States announced it would partly end its 30-year-long ban on the sale of lethal2, or deadly, weapons to Vietnam. Some observers think it is an important step toward improving relations between the two former enemies. But some human rights activists are unhappy about the decision.

In announcing the lifting of the ban, the U.S. State Department said the decision to do so was not an anti-China move. Earlier this year, China moved an oil drilling structure, or rig, into waters also claimed by Vietnam. It caused extreme tension between the two countries.

Ian Storey is with the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. He says the oil rig crisis led the U.S. to end the ban sooner than it would have had the crisis not happened.

“It underscores America’s increasing concern about recent developments in the South China Sea and in particular how Chinese assertiveness3 is seen as potentially undermining U.S. interests in the region.”

Mr. Storey says the decision to permit U.S. sales of deadly weapons to Vietnam is not very important. He says Vietnam for many years has had an agreement with Russia to buy much less-costly military equipment. Some observers believe Vietnam wants to buy the American P3 Orion aircraft used to patrol ocean waters.

Vietnam has been trying to persuade the U.S. to end the ban for several years. The United States said it first wanted Vietnam to improve its record on human rights. Mr. Storey says there has been some improvement, but not much.

“So they’ve got around this issue partly by saying, ‘Well Vietnam has improved its human rights situation,’ although it’s, I mean, it’s not a vast improvement on what it was. But second they’ve said that ‘We’ll provide non-lethal equipment to Vietnam to improve its maritime4 domain5 awareness6.’ So, we’re not talking about submarines or war ships or, you know, that kind of equipment, but equipment that would enable Vietnam to improve its maritime surveillance capabilities7.”

John Sifton is the Asia Advocacy Director for the group Human Rights Watch. He wrote about the decision to end the ban in Foreign Policy magazine. The decision, in his words, “undercuts the brave work of Vietnamese activists.” He says they want the U.S. to pressure Vietnam to improve its human rights record.

Le Quoc Quan is one of Vietnam’s best-known activists. Vietnam’s government detained him last year on charges of not paying taxes. Critics say the charges are false. Le Quoc Quyet is his brother.

“I think U.S. is concerned about human rights in Vietnam, but it’s not a pre-condition (for the lifting of the ban). They have to be concerned (with) many other issues as well as human rights.”

The U.S. State Department says Vietnam still needs to improve its human rights record. And it says the U.S. continues to examine its security relationship with Vietnam.

Nguyen Tri Dung is the son of Dieu Cay, who has criticized the Vietnamese government on blog posts. Dieu Cay is serving a 12-year prison sentence for his posts. Nguyen Tri Dung said officials from the U.S. Embassy visited his father for the first time last week. Until then, Dieu Cay had only been permitted to meet with family members. Nguyen Tri Dung believes the visit showed that Vietnam is considering releasing his father. And he says he knows why.

“If my father is released it must be something to do with it, about deal, because I know them for a long time, Vietnamese government. They will not do anything without profit.”

Dieu Cay’s family members want him released. But, Nguyen Tri Dung says the United States should not sell deadly weapons to Vietnam while its human rights record is poor.

“We need to have more critical move like to remove the Article 88 about propaganda against the nation, or remove the Article 79 about people who took action against the nation, or the Article number 258 that forbids people to talk on Facebook or (the) Internet about the nation. (With) these articles it’s really agreed the government can catch anyone they want without no reason at all.”

He says he thinks if his father is freed he will not be permitted to stay in Vietnam. He believes his father will probably be permitted to move to the United States.

Words in This Story

lethal – adj. causing or able to cause death

tension – n. a state in which people, groups, countries, etc., disagree with and feel anger toward each other

patrol – v. the act of walking or going around or through an area in order to make sure that it is safe; the act of patrolling an area

persuade – v. to cause (someone) to do something by asking, arguing, or giving reasons

taxes – n. an amount of money that a government requires people to pay according to their income, the value of their property, etc., and that is used to pay for the things done by the government

embassy – n. the building where an ambassador lives and works


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1 activists 90fd83cc3f53a40df93866d9c91bcca4     
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》
2 lethal D3LyB     
adj.致死的;毁灭性的
参考例句:
  • A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
  • She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。
3 assertiveness tyJzon     
n.过分自信
参考例句:
  • Her assertiveness was starting to be seen as arrogance. 她的自信已开始被认为是自负了。
  • Role playing is an important element in assertiveness training. 在果敢自信训练班上,角色扮演是个重要内容。
4 maritime 62yyA     
adj.海的,海事的,航海的,近海的,沿海的
参考例句:
  • Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
  • The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。
5 domain ys8xC     
n.(活动等)领域,范围;领地,势力范围
参考例句:
  • This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
  • This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。
6 awareness 4yWzdW     
n.意识,觉悟,懂事,明智
参考例句:
  • There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
  • Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。
7 capabilities f7b11037f2050959293aafb493b7653c     
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

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