美国国家公共电台 NPR After Otto Warmbier's Release, Will U.S. Ban Travel To North Korea?

 

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The Trump¹ administration is looking into ways to stop Americans from going to North Korea. This comes after the dramatic news this week that an American student detained for more than a year in North Korea returned home in a coma². NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE³: Fred Warmbier describes his son Otto as a thrill seeker who was on a trip organized by a Chinese-based company called Young Pioneer Tours.

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FRED WARMBIER: They advertise it's the safest trip ever. And, you know, it's the one your mother wouldn't want you to go on. But what they do is they provide fodder⁴ for the North Koreans. And they happen - my son happened to become fodder for the North Koreans.

KELEMEN: The travel company claims that North Korea is still safe. An official told a news site that focuses on the region that only one person was arrested among the 8000 or so international travelers that have been on its tours. The State Department warns Americans against travel to North Korea. And Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is signaling he may go further.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

REX TILLERSON: We have been evaluating whether we should put some type of travel visa restriction⁵ to North Korea. We've not come to a final conclusion, but we are considering it.

KELEMEN: It's highly unusual for the U.S. government to restrict the ability of Americans to go abroad. A former Treasury⁶ Department official, Elizabeth Rosenberg, says there are plenty of restrictions⁷ on what Americans can do in countries like Iran or North Korea that face sanctions. It would take an act of Congress for a travel ban.

ELIZABETH ROSENBERG: Putting in place the kind of restrictions that would require U.S. citizens to seek a license⁸ in order to go to North Korea - most of that falls to Congress to do.

KELEMEN: South Carolina Republican Joe Wilson is co-sponsoring a House bill to do just that. And the congressman⁹ says he wants to make sure that the Treasury Department does not issue licenses¹⁰ for tourism.

JOE WILSON: If there are humanitarian¹¹ efforts that are being conducted, that's fine. But tourism really only backs up a totalitarian regime.

KELEMEN: Congressman Wilson went on a congressional delegation¹² to North Korea back in 2003 and describes it as a Potemkin village.

WILSON: It appears to be exotic to go to the country. But it's all staged. People don't need to go because there's nothing real. While I was there, it was very clear to me that the people on the street, the people that we met on the tours that we had were not real.

KELEMEN: Wilson points out that 17 Americans have been detained in recent years in North Korea. Three are still in jail. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 coma   

n.昏迷，昏迷状态

参考例句：

• The patient rallied from the coma.病人从昏迷中苏醒过来。
• She went into a coma after swallowing a whole bottle of sleeping pills.她吃了一整瓶安眠药后就昏迷过去了。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 fodder   

n.草料；炮灰

参考例句：

• Grass mowed and cured for use as fodder.割下来晒干用作饲料的草。
• Guaranteed salt intake, no matter which normal fodder.不管是那一种正常的草料，保证盐的摄取。

5 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

6 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

8 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

9 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

10 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

11 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。

12 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。