美国敦促越南释放政治犯

US Urges Vietnam to Release Political Prisoners 美国敦促越南释放政治犯

The United States government is urging Vietnam to release all political prisoners and end its poor treatment of civil society activists¹. 

US officials made the appeals before President Barack Obama’s first visit to Vietnam. He will travel there in May.

A State Department official noted² “the promotion³ of human rights remains⁴ a crucial part of U.S. foreign policy and is a key aspect of our ongoing⁵ dialogue within the U.S.-Vietnam comprehensive partnership⁶.”

On Monday, the two nations held their 20th in a series of meetings, known as the Human Rights Dialogue. The talks took place in Washington, D.C.

The State Department said the two sides talked about a number of human rights issues during the meeting. These included the importance of continued progress on legal reform efforts, the rule of law, freedom of expression and assembly, and religious freedom. They also talked about labor⁷ rights, disability rights, and cooperation between the two countries.

The U.S. government told Vietnamese officials that it is concerned about Nguyen Van Dai, a human rights lawyer who was arrested in December, 2015. He was detained as he was preparing to meet with representatives of the European Union. The EU officials were in Hanoi for talks with Vietnamese officials about human rights.

In December, the State Department urged Vietnamese officials to make sure their actions were in agreement with international treaties. It also called on Vietnam to “release unconditionally⁸ all prisoners of conscience.”

U.S. officials are also worried about blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh, also known as Anh Ba Sam. He was sentenced to five years in prison for what Vietnamese officials called “abusing rights to freedom and democracy to infringe⁹ upon the interests of the state.”

The State Department noted several concerns about Vietnam in its 2015 Country Report for Human Rights Practices. These problems included “severe government restrictions¹⁰ of citizens’ political rights; limits on citizens’ civil liberties; and failing to protect citizens’ rights to due process, including protection against arbitrary detention¹¹.”

Vietnamese newspapers and television stations face press and media restrictions. But U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the country’s human rights policies have improved. He said Vietnam has promised to make sure its laws give the same protections as international human rights laws and treaties.

During a recent visit to Hanoi, Blinken noted that Vietnam had approved the Convention against Torture and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

He also said that Vietnam was giving permission for independent trade unions to be created “for the first time in modern history.” And he noted that the Vietnamese government is taking steps to talk with religious and civil leaders as it writes a new law on religious freedom.

The United States hopes the law will protect the rights of people of different faiths.

Words in This Story

promotion – n. the activity of helping¹² something to happen, develop or increase

crucial – adj. extremely important

dialogue – n. (formal) a discussion or series of discussions that two groups or countries have in order to end a disagreement

comprehensive – adj. including many, most or all things

prisoner of conscience – n. someone who is held in prison because of his or her political or religious beliefs

blogger – n. a person who writes about personal opinions, activities and experiences on a website.

infringe – v. to wrongly limit or restrict (something, such as another person’s rights)

due process – n. the official and proper way of doing things in a legal case; the rule that a legal case must be done in a way that protects the rights of all the people involved

arbitrary detention – n. the jailing of a person without concern for what is fair or right

1 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》

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

4 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。

5 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。

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 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

8 unconditionally   

adv.无条件地

参考例句：

• All foreign troops must be withdrawn immediately and unconditionally. 所有外国军队必须立即无条件地撤出。
• It makes things very awkward to have your girls going back unconditionally just now! 你们现在是无条件上工，真糟糕！ 来自子夜部分

9 infringe   

v.违反，触犯，侵害

参考例句：

• The jury ruled that he had infringed no rules.陪审团裁决他没有违反任何规定。
• He occasionally infringe the law by parking near a junction.他因偶尔将车停放在交叉口附近而违反规定。

10 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

11 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。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。