VOA慢速英语2014 活动人士督促瑞士冻结朝鲜资产

 

AS IT IS 2014-11-19 Activists¹ Urge Switzerland to Freeze North Korean Assets² 活动人士督促瑞士冻结朝鲜资产

Twenty North Korean defectors urged Switzerland to block all assets of the North Korean leadership immediately. The 20 have fled North Korea.  They said the country’s leaders are directly responsible for human rights crimes against their own people.

The group wrote an open letter to Swiss President Didier Burkhalter. In it, they argued that freezing assets could help reduce human rights violations⁴ that have been happening in North Korea for many years.

Mr. Burkhalter said he understood why the group was angry at the country’s leaders. But, he said he could not freeze North Korean assets without orders from the U.N. Security⁵ Council⁶.   

Ahn Myeong Chul is a well-known North Korean defector³. Mr. Ahn said he was not happy about President Burkhalter’s response.

Mr. Ahn served as a prison camp guard in North Korea from 1987 to 1994. He says that, as a result, he knows how badly political prisoners are treated in that country. 

Mr. Ahn now leads a nonprofit organization called NK Watch. It aims to help end North Korea human rights violations. The organization is based in Seoul, South Korea.  

Mr. Ahn said no one knows how much money North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un and other top North Korean officials have in Swiss bank accounts. But, he said many people claim that North Korean assets could be as high as $4 billion.

And, Mr. Ahn said the money came from illegal or oppressive activities. He spoke⁷ through an interpreter.   

North Korea at the International Criminal Court?

Mr. Ahn spoke to the U.N. last year about the human rights situation in North Korea.  

He said it was very important to send North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un to the International Criminal Court for trial. Mr. Ahn said putting Mr. Kim on trial would send a strong message to the people in North Korea that their leader is a criminal.

The U.N. General Assembly⁸ is expected to vote Tuesday whether to advise the ICC to consider the case of North Korea.

The U.N. has already warned Mr. Kim to improve oppressive conditions in his country. If he does not, the group said he could face justice for past and present crimes.

Some reports have said the human rights situation has improved since North Korea released⁹ some American prisoners. But Mr. Ahn said the country is only using the issue to improve its image.

Words in This Story

assets – n., something owned by a person, company or country

defector – n., someone who leaves a country goes to a different one that is a competitor or an enemy

interpreter – n,. a person who translates words that someone is speaking into a different language

1 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》

2 assets   

n.财产；资产

参考例句：

• We capitalized our assets to avoid bankruptcy.我们把资产转作资金以避免破产。

3 defector   

n.逃兵，背叛者

参考例句：

• A defector revealed the disposition of the enemy fleet. 有一名叛变者透露了敌方舰队的部署。 来自辞典例句
• While being debriefed the defector named two double agents. 在询问过程中叛变者供出了两名双重间谍。 来自辞典例句

4 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

5 security   

n.安全，安全感；防护措施；保证(金)，抵押(品)；债券，证券

参考例句：

• A security guard brought him down with a flying tackle.一名保安人员飞身把他抱倒。
• There was tight security at the airport when the President's plane landed.总统的专机降落时，机场的保安措施很严密。

6 council   

n.理事会，委员会，议事机构

参考例句：

• The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.市议会通过法律，禁止散发传单。
• The city council has declared for improving the public bus system.市议会宣布同意改进公共汽车系统。

7 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。

8 assembly   

n.集会(不可数)；会议(可数)，装配(不可数)

参考例句：

• He took his seat in an unobserved corner of the assembly room.他在会议室一个不为人注意的犄角坐下来。
• It was very quiet in the assembly hall.会场里静悄悄的。

9 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。