2007年VOA标准英语-Vietnamese President, Bush Discuss Economy, Hum

By Scott Stearns
White House
22 June 2007

U.S. President George Bush and Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet met at the White House Friday to discuss human rights and commercial ties. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns has more about the first U.S. visit by a Vietnamese president since the Vietnam war.

President Bush meets with Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet in Oval Office of White House, 22 Jun 2007

With flag-waving Vietnamese-Americans protesting outside the White House gate, President Bush welcomed President Triet to the Oval Office saying he is impressed by Vietnam's growing economy.

Mr. Bush said America has good economic relations with Vietnam, but the country must improve its human rights record to take that relationship further.

"I also made it very clear that in order for relations to grow deeper, that it is important for our friends to have a strong commitment to human rights and freedom and democracy," said President Bush. "I explained my strong belief that societies are enriched when people are allowed to express themselves freely or worship freely."

President Bush criticized Vietnam's human rights record in a speech to a pro-democracy forum¹ in the Czech Republic earlier this month, saying President Triet's government has imprisoned² peaceful religious and political activists³.

Vietnam is a one-party communist state.

The human rights group Amnesty International last month called on Vietnamese authorities to reform a penal⁴ code criminalizing peaceful dissent⁵ following prison terms for three leading dissidents.

President Triet has downplayed human rights issues during this trip to the United States. In New York earlier this week, he said all the people in Vietnamese jails are criminals.

Following his White House talks, the Vietnamese leader said human rights are a small part of a much larger relationship.

"Mr. President and I also had a direct and open exchange of views on a matter that we remain different, especially on matters related to religion and human rights," he said.

He says the leaders agreed to increase their dialogue in order to better understand each other's position on human rights and not let those differences affect their larger commercial interests. Trade between the two counries last year totaled nearly $10 billion.

President Bush thanked the Vietnamese leader for his help in searching for the remains⁶ of Americans killed during the Vietnam War. President Triet thanked the American leader for help in dealing⁷ with the continuing effects of deadly chemicals used by U.S. forces during that conflict.

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

3 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》

4 penal   

adj.刑罚的；刑法上的

参考例句：

• I hope you're familiar with penal code.我希望你们熟悉本州法律规则。
• He underwent nineteen years of penal servitude for theft.他因犯了大窃案受过十九年的苦刑。

5 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

6 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。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。