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VOA慢速英语2014 AS IT IS 2014-04-30 American Textbooks Are Caught in Diplomatic Fight 美国教科书身陷外交纠纷

时间:2014-05-04 13:39来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
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AS IT IS 2014-04-30 American Textbooks Are Caught in Diplomatic Fight 美国教科书身陷外交纠纷

Hello, and welcome to As It Is from VOA Learning English!

I’m Christopher Cruise in Washington.

Today on the program, we report on an international dispute that has reached the American state of Virginia.

“From an American perspective, it’s a little bit frustrating1 that, you know, our democracy becomes the venue2 for this battle, and it’s probably not the best way to create your social studies textbooks.”

The dispute involves Japan and South Korea. The two countries have long argued about what to call a waterway that separates them. Recently, a group of Korean-Americans asked lawmakers in Virginia to consider the issue. What the state lawmakers decided3 to do is the subject of our program today on As It Is.

American Schoolbooks Involved in Diplomatic Dispute 

Japan and South Korea have been arguing over the name of a sea in Asia that lies between the two countries. That disagreement has reached the legislature in the American state of Virginia. The dispute went all the way to Virginia’s governor. 

What Japan calls “The Sea of Japan,” South Korea calls “The East Sea.” A group of Korean-Americans wants schoolbooks in Virginia to show both names. That has caused a diplomatic battle between the two countries.

It all started when a man named Peter Kim asked his son -- who was in 5th grade -- a question. The answer surprised him.

“I asked him ‘Kris, do you know the name, do you know the sea between South Korea and Japan?’ He said ‘Yes, daddy.’ ‘What’s the name of it?’ He says ‘The Sea of Japan.’ And I got really upset. And, and I checked the textbook and there it was: the Sea of Japan only.”

Mr. Kim was born in South Korea. He says everyone there calls it the East Sea.

Some Korean-American activists4 say the name “Sea of Japan” dates back to a time when Japan ruled Korea. They say the sea should not have the name given to it during a time when the Japanese military illegally occupied and colonized5 Korea. Japanese forces took control of Korea in 1910 and ruled the peninsula until the end of World War II in 1945.    

Peter Kim appealed to the administration of President Barack Obama for help. He sent the Obama administration a document asking that both names be used. The document contained the signatures of more than 100,000 people. 

But administration officials said the United States only recognizes the name “Sea of Japan.” Yet the State Department has noted6 that South Korea wants to use the name East Sea.  

Soon, Mr. Kim learned that he should deal with the issue on a state, not a federal, level. So he formed a group called “The Voice of Korean Americans” and began talking to state lawmakers in Virginia. In February, the Virginia legislature approved a bill requiring future school textbooks to use both names.

State lawmaker Timothy Hugo wrote the bill. VOA spoke7 with him on the day when Virginia’s House of Delegates approved the measure. 

“It was a lot of work. I am glad we got it passed today with over 80 votes in the House of Delegates.”

Large majorities in the House of Delegates and Senate voted to approve the bill.

Governor Signs Bill Requiring Textbooks Use "East Sea" 

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe quietly signed the bill into law at the end of March. So, beginning in July, Virginia will be the first state to require that new textbooks include the name “East Sea” in addition to “Sea of Japan.”

It was not a surprise that the governor approved the measure. Last year he wrote a letter in support of the effort by The Voice of Korean-Americans. The Reuters news agency reports there are 82,000 Korean-Americans in Virginia, but just 19,000 ethnic8 Japanese. 

But the Washington Post reported that the governor and his aides attempted to quietly cancel the bill before Virginia legislators voted on it. They felt approval might affect relations and the state’s strong economic ties with Japan. The newspaper reported that soon after Mr. McAuliffe was elected governor last year, he received a letter from the Japanese embassy in Washington, DC. It said a change of the name of the sea in Virginia textbooks could hurt trade between Japan and the state.

The Associated Press reported that Japan’s ambassador to the United States was personally involved in efforts to try to keep the bill from becoming law. Kenichiro Sasae reportedly met with Governor McAuliffe in January to ask him not to sign the measure. The ambassador noted that Japan is the second-largest foreign investor9 in Virginia. Japanese-owned companies employ 13,000 workers statewide. But Mr. McAuliffe had promised during his election campaign that he would sign a bill and he kept his promise.

The History of the Dispute 

James Schoff works at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He explains how the dispute over the name of the waterway first began.

 

“In 1929 I think it was, the International Hydrographic Organization went around and said ‘We need to, to officially name all the international bodies of, of water,’ and they chose ‘The Sea of Japan.’ This was at a time that Japan was occupying -- colonizing10 -- Korea, and so Korea felt that they had no voice.”

Last year, the IHO rejected a demand by South Korea to change the name. The IHO will not meet again until 2017.

James Schoff says the Virginia state legislature is not the right place to settle this kind of dispute.

“From an American perspective, it’s a little bit frustrating that, you know, our democracy becomes the venue for this battle and it’s probably not the best way to create your social studies textbooks.”

Mark Keam is a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. He was a supporter of the bill. He came to the United States from Korea when he was 14 years old. 

“What they’re saying is Korean history has been somewhat misplaced or misrepresented in the past; let’s make sure that Virginia corrects that.”

There are also efforts in the American states of Georgia, New York and New Jersey11 to require textbooks to use the name East Sea. Many Korean-Americans live in those areas. 

And that’s our program for today. It was based on a report from VOA’s Mariama Diallo and from stories by the Kyodo News Service, Reuters, The Washington Post and the Associated Press.  

You can listen to and read the report anytime at our website: learningenglish.voanews.com.

We really do want to hear what you would like to hear about on a future program. Write to us at:

VOA Learning English                                                   

Washington, DC  20237

USA


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 frustrating is9z54     
adj.产生挫折的,使人沮丧的,令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 );挫败;使受挫折;令人沮丧
参考例句:
  • It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间,真令人懊恼。
  • It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 venue ALkzr     
n.犯罪地点,审判地,管辖地,发生地点,集合地点
参考例句:
  • The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
  • The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。
3 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
4 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》
5 colonized b6d32edf2605d89b4eba608acb0d30bf     
开拓殖民地,移民于殖民地( colonize的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The area was colonized by the Vikings. 这一地区曾沦为维京人的殖民地。
  • The British and French colonized the Americas. 英国人和法国人共同在美洲建立殖民地。
6 noted 5n4zXc     
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。
7 spoke XryyC     
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。
8 ethnic jiAz3     
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 investor aq4zNm     
n.投资者,投资人
参考例句:
  • My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
  • The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。
10 colonizing 8e6132da4abc85de5506f1d9c85be700     
v.开拓殖民地,移民于殖民地( colonize的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The art of colonizing is no exception to the rule. 殖民的芸术是� 有特例的。 来自互联网
  • A Lesson for Other Colonizing Nations. 其它殖民国家学习的教训。 来自互联网
11 jersey Lp5zzo     
n.运动衫
参考例句:
  • He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
  • They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致,都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。
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