VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS 2013-12-04 Critics Raise Concerns About Vietnam's New Constitution

 

AS IT IS 2013-12-04 Critics Raise Concerns About Vietnam's New Constitution

Welcome to As It Is from VOA Learning English. I’m Mario Ritter. Vietnam is changing its constitution. But critics say the document does not include reforms that will improve the economic competitiveness of the Southeast Asian nation. Then we hear an update about the cost of Typhoon Haiyan and how the disaster may affect the Philippines’ future growth.

Vietnam Makes Changes to Its Constitution

Vietnam’s National Assembly voted in favor of changes to the constitution last week. However, critics say the changes are a step back instead of a step forward for the country. Christopher Cruise has Marianne Brown’s report from Hanoi.

Ninety-eight percent of lawmakers voted in support of the changes to Vietnam’s 1992 constitution. Nguyen Sinh Hung is chairman of both the National Assembly and the drafting committee. He said the final document was the result of a lot of discussion and suggestions from many different groups of people.

But there are many critics. Phil Robertson is deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch. He said the new document does not include reforms that could have brought the nation in line with international human rights policies. He said it did not deal with important issues like the independence of the judiciary.

One of the biggest disputes is with Article 4, which restates the central role of the Communist Party. The new changes require that the armed forces be loyal to the party.

“Article 4 is important because it goes against the international covenant¹ on civil and political rights, which sets out that people have the right to participate in their governance and elect governance through period exercise of free elections.”

The amendments² also add that the government can seize land for economic or development purposes. This expands on the original wording in the 1992 constitution, which simply said “national interests.”

A group raised the issue of land reform earlier in the year. They signed a petition calling for changes in the constitution to include free and fair elections and private ownership of land. They posted the petition on several popular Internet blogs after the government asked for public comment on a proposed draft.

Phil Robertson said the new document does not make it clear what the state’s limits are in its effort to seize land and what rights citizens have to appeal.

“That sort of grant of authority for the state to essentially³ seize land for projects again raises some significant questions of what limitations will be placed there.”

Local media said the amendments would provide a sustainable legal structure for Vietnam’s continued development and improve cooperation between public and private industry. But, critics say the amendments only confirm the state’s central role in the economy.

Adam Sitkoff is the director of the American Chamber⁴ of Commerce. He said the American business community is disappointed with the final document. He said it fails to deal with problems in the state-owned enterprises, or SEOs. This, he said, could hurt negotiations⁵ on the U.S.-led trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership⁶.

“One of the things in TPP is the state-owned enterprise chapter that seeks to level the playing field and so the fact that in the final text that that somehow snuck back in is almost seen as a step backwards⁷.”

Mr. Sitkoff said Vietnam must reform in order to be competitive. While the country has done well attracting foreign investment, he said it is only in certain industries. He said the government cannot afford to take anything for granted.

I’m Christopher Cruise.

How Will Typhoon Haiyan Affect the Philippines Economy?

The economic damage to the Philippines from Typhoon Haiyan is likely to be less than other storms in recent years. However, officials say there remains⁸ a strong need to help farming areas and provide jobs to communities directly in the path of the storm. Bob Doughty⁹ has Simone Orendain’s report from Manila.

Three weeks after Typhoon Haiyan hit the central Philippines, government numbers show damages cost $635 million. The losses are about $300 million less than those of Typhoon Bopha, which struck the southeastern Philippines late last year.

Last week, the National Economic Development Authority said the economy grew by 7 percent in the third quarter. The agency says the Philippines had the second best economic growth in East Asia after China. However, the areas affected¹⁰ by the typhoon contribute 12 percent to the gross domestic product. Experts predict that they will hold back the year’s growth by half a percent.

Philippine Central Bank Governor Armando Tetangco says the economic problems will last for the next three months.

“But the counterforce to that would be the increased government spending for relief, rehabilitation¹¹ and reconstruction¹².”

Tetangco says the Philippines has shown the ability to recover from crises because it has sustained a steady growth rate and kept inflation down. In addition, it has a surplus in domestic savings¹³ and keeps significant international reserves, which permits it to keep up with debt payments.

The Central Bank predicts a five percent increase in payments from overseas, or remittances¹⁴. These were at $21 billion last year. However, Tetangco says there could be additional money coming in to the country as relatives send extra money to support storm survivors¹⁵.

While the losses from the typhoon will have less of an effect on the overall economy, many Filipinos are looking for work. Rice, coconut¹⁶ farming and fishing are main sources of income in the hardest hit areas. The United Nations says the typhoon affected more than 13 million people and left 5 million people without an income.

Government agencies last week presented a proposal to the president requesting immediate¹⁷ reconstruction needs in the typhoon-stricken area. Officials say it includes plans for providing shelter, restoring jobs and rebuilding public structures such as schools and hospitals. The agencies plan to make changes to the immediate needs proposal and resubmit it this week.

I’m Bob Doughty.

1 covenant   

n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约

参考例句：

• They refused to covenant with my father for the property.他们不愿与我父亲订立财产契约。
• The money was given to us by deed of covenant.这笔钱是根据契约书付给我们的。

2 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

3 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

4 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

5 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

6 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

7 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

10 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。

11 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。

12 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

13 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

14 remittances   

n.汇寄( remittance的名词复数 )；汇款，汇款额

参考例句：

• He sends regular remittances to his parents. 他定期汇款给他父母。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Remittances sometimes account for as much as 20% of GDP. 在这些国家中，此类汇款有时会占到GDP的20%之多。 来自互联网

15 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

16 coconut   

n.椰子

参考例句：

• The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
• The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。

17 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。