VOA慢速英语2012 IN THE NEWS - Japan’s Diplomatic Tensions With China and South Korea Intensify Over Disputed

 

IN THE NEWS - Japan’s Diplomatic Tensions With China and South Korea Intensify¹ Over Disputed 

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Japan is at the center of separate diplomatic crises with China and South Korea over two groups of disputed islands. The long-standing disputes intensified² recently as countries in the area marked the end of World War Two.

Japanese officials have decided³ to deport⁴ fourteen Chinese activists⁵ and journalists accused of illegally entering the country’s territory. They were seized when they landed on an island that Japan controls, but China claims.

The group traveled by boat to what is known in Japan as the Senkaku islands. In China and Taiwan, the islands are called Diaoyu. No one lives there. However they are in a gas-rich area and surrounded by rich fishing grounds.

The activists who landed on one of the islands Wednesday placed a Chinese flag in the ground. They also sang the country’s national anthem⁶ before being arrested.

Chinese officials said the arrests were illegal and called for the immediate⁷ release of the group. Demonstrators supporting China gathered in front of the Japanese Embassy and its consulates⁸ in China.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda decided Friday to deport the activists without charging them.

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Mr. Noda said it was “deeply regrettable” that the activists entered Japan’s territorial⁹ waters and landed on one of the Senkaku islands illegally. He added that they had been warned not to do so.

Japan controlled the Senkaku Islands until after World War Two. At that time, they came under temporary control of the United States. China does not recognize the nineteen fifty-one Treaty of San Francisco, under which Japan transferred control of the islands to the United States.

In nineteen seventy-two, the United States transferred the islands back to Japan. They represent not only important natural resources, but also a source of national pride in both Japan and China. Taiwan also claims the islands.

In separate developments, Japanese officials want to take a territorial dispute with South Korea before the International Court of Justice.

The dispute centers on a group of islets called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea. South Korea controls the very small islands, but Japan claims them. The dispute worsened last week, when South Korean President Lee Myung-bak visited the islands. His visit caused a sharp protest from Japan.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said Friday that his country wants to deal with the dispute calmly, under international law.

He says Japan proposed to the South Korean government that the country take the case to the International Court of Justice within the next few days. Japan needs South Korea’s approval to take the matter to court. But South Korea’s foreign ministry¹⁰ dismissed the proposal. The ministry said the islands are part of its territory.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

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Contributing: Miguel Quintana 

1 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

2 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 decided   

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 deport   

vt.驱逐出境

参考例句：

• We deport aliens who slip across our borders.我们把偷渡入境的外国人驱逐出境。
• More than 240 England football fans are being deported from Italy following riots last night.昨晚的骚乱发生后有240多名英格兰球迷被驱逐出意大利。

5 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》

6 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

7 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

8 consulates   

n.领事馆( consulate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Consulates General of The People's Republic at Los Angeles. 中华人民共和国驻洛杉矶总领事馆。 来自互联网
• The country's embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions stationed in other countries. （七）家驻外使馆、馆和其他外交代表机构。 来自互联网

9 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

10 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。