美国国家公共电台 NPR China Monitors Assassination Probe Of North Korean Kim Jong Nam

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

North Korea's ambassador to Malaysia said today that a man killed at the Kuala Lumpur Airport last week was not the half brother of North Korea's dictator. North Korea's neighbor, China, is one of many countries trying to figure out just what's going on. Here's NPR's Anthony Kuhn in Beijing.

ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE¹: Kim Jong Nam's apparent assassination² has triggered a debate in China about what it means and how to respond. Many Chinese support their longtime ally, and they don't believe that Kim Jong Un would have ordered a hit on his half brother. On the other side are people like commentator³ and former journalist Deng Yuwen. He argues that decades of supporting North Korea has been a losing deal for China and the assassination of Kim Jong Nam is the perfect opportunity for Beijing to cut its losses.

DENG YUWEN: (Through interpreter) In the past, whatever North Korea did, China would pick up the tab for it. The cost was huge, but the payoff was next to nothing.

KUHN: The biggest cost of all, of course, was the roughly half a million Chinese troops killed or wounded defending the North in the Korean War. Deng says Beijing may also be unhappy about Kim Jong Nam's assassination. Kim lived in Beijing for several years beginning in the mid-1990s. And Deng argues that he could potentially have headed an alternative North Korean government, one that might have been more liberal and China-friendly than his half brother's. That, Deng says, would likely have been Kim Jong Un's motive⁴ in getting rid of his sibling⁵.

DENG: (Through interpreter) If, after the collapse⁶ of North Korea, China wanted to establish a stable, new regime, then Kim Jong Nam would obviously have been a card for China to play.

KUHN: Deng Yuwen says Beijing would never admit to contemplating⁷ its neighbor's collapse. Deng's criticism of North Korea got him fired from his job in 2013, as an editor at a Communist party newspaper. But Deng notes that on Saturday, China announced that it was banning all coal imports from North Korea for the rest of the year. Beijing says the ban is related to U.N. sanctions. But Deng says the timing⁸ of the announcement suggests that Beijing may have been signaling its displeasure at the killing⁹ of Kim Jong Nam.

Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Beijing.

1 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。

2 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

3 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

4 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

5 sibling   

n.同胞手足(指兄、弟、姐或妹)

参考例句：

• Many of us hate living in the shadows of a more successful sibling.我们很多人都讨厌活在更为成功的手足的阴影下。
• Sibling ravalry has been common in this family.这个家里，兄弟姊妹之间的矛盾很平常。

6 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

7 contemplating   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
• She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。

8 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

9 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。