Australian gov't lifts freeze on refugee processing

    CANBERRA, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Australian federal government（联邦政府） on Thursday announced it will immediately lift a freeze on the processing of claims from Afghanistan（阿富汗） asylum¹ seekers.
    The six-month freeze on processing, which has been blamed in part for overcrowding in Australia's detention² centers, was imposed by the government in April and was due to expire in early October.
    Immigration Minister Chris Bowen on Thursday said all Afghans affected³ will now have their claims assessed on a case-by-case basis.
    "During the last six months, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship⁴ has been working to improve its understanding of the situation of asylum seekers from Afghanistan, particularly the situation of Hazaras, who comprise the majority of Afghans seeking asylum in Australia," Bowen said in a statement on Thursday.
    "The Government's decision to lift the suspension has been informed by the additional information the department has gathered from a range of sources and close collaboration（合作） with the Australian embassy in Kabul (of Afghanistan)."The government was working closely with the United Nations High Commissioner⁵ for Refugees (UNHCR), and the Afghanistan government to facilitate the safe, sustainable return of unsuccessful asylum seekers, Bowen said.
    Earlier this year the Government froze refugee applications of asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, and the suspension of processing claims for people from Sri Lanka was lifted in July.
    The development followed heavy criticism of the policy from the Australian Greens and refugee advocates, and came as the government faces pressure over overcrowding in Australia's immigration detention network.
    There are almost 5,000 people in immigration detention in Australia in facilities on the mainland and on Christmas Island, and the Government has been expanding the Curtin detention center to fit in the overcrowding of illegal immigrants.
    The Government is also working to open an offshore⁶ asylum seeker processing center in Timor-Leste, however, the Opposition⁷ wants the Government to use the center already in existence on Nauru.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

2 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

5 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

6 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

7 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。