VOA慢速英语2015 日本请求加入世界遗产名录

AS IT IS 2015-05-28 Japan's Past Threatens Chances for World Heritage Site 日本请求加入世界遗产名录

South Korea, on Tuesday, objected to Japan’s request to add historic locations to the UNESCO World Heritage sites. South Korea wanted Japan to admit that Koreans were forced to work in the coal mines, steel factories and shipyards during World War II.

This is the latest development in a longstanding dispute between the countries over Japan’s wartime activities.

Japan has proposed 23 sites to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, for consideration. The sites show how Japan became the first Asian nation to enter the industrial age from 1850 to 1910.

Both South Korean and Chinese officials have voiced opposition¹ to seven of the 23 possible new World Heritage sites. They say about 60,000 laborers² from Korea and China were reportedly forced to work long hours under dangerous conditions in those areas. One of the sites is the island of Hashima off the coast of Nagasaki. It was once an underwater coal mine. Today, very few people live there. But the island did serve as a featured location in a recent James Bond film.

Recent discussions between South Korea and Japan on this issue have failed to resolve the dispute.

Yoshihide Suga is Japan’s chief cabinet secretary. He says the UNESCO nominated sites should be considered separate from the ongoing³ dispute over Japan’s military control of Asia in the 1900s.

Critics say Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe refuses to offer a strong apology for Japan’s wartime actions. Some of those actions include forcing thousands of women into prostitution.

Robert Kelly is an international relations professor at Pusan National University in South Korea. He says Japan’s critics have a valid⁴ complaint.

“The Koreans are terribly shrill⁵ about this and they demonize Japan far too much but I can understand why. The Japanese have a terrible tendency not to admit these kinds of things,” said Kelly.

Prime Minister Abe has said he will support apologies made by past leaders for Japanese misconduct during the war.  But he caused controversy⁶ when he visited a World War II memorial that included some Japanese war criminals. 

South Korean President Park Geun-hye has refused to meet with Prime Minister Abe until he makes a “sincere apology” for past wartime abuse. However, both South Korea and Japan continue to work together on security and trade issues.

The World Heritage Committee is expected to make a decision on Japan’s request during a meeting in Germany at the end of June.

Words in This Story

prostitution – n. the work of a prostitute; the act of having sex in exchange for money

shrill – adj. loud and difficult to ignore but often unreasonable⁷

site – n. a place where something important has happened

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

5 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

6 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

7 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。