时事政治英文

US urged not to sell arms to TaiwanPROVIDENCE, Rhode Island - China's envoy to the United States stepped up pressure on Washington on Thursday to abandon arms sales to Taiwan following recent pro-independence comments from Taiwan's leader. Chinese Ambassador to the US Zhou Wenzhong talks about China-US relations in this April 13, 2006 photo. [Xinhua] While stressing that Sino-US relations "continue to make new progress," Beijing's envoy to Washington said the United States was sending the wrong signals to independence forces in Taiwan. "If you are serious about your commitment to one China, you will stop selling weapons to Taiwan," Zhou Wenzhong said in response to a question at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, after giving a speech there. He chided Washington for selling arms to Taiwan several times in a one-hour appearance at the Ivy League school. "Stop selling weapons to Taiwan and stop sending any wrong signals to Taiwan's independence forces," he said in his speech. "The civil war status between Beijing and Taiwan is not yet over." Tensions across the Taiwan Strait were strained this month when Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian said on March 4 that the island should pursue independence and change its official title, "the Republic of China." China denounced Chen's statement as "deliberate provocation" and "a dangerous step." Zhou said Chen had become more "reckless and dangerous in pursuing Taiwan independence through the so-called constitutional reform." Although it switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, recognizing "one China," Washington said it is obliged by the Taiwan Relations Act to sell arms to the island. Angering China, the Pentagon told Congress this month it had approved the possible sale of up to $421 million in missiles to Taiwan for use on its F-16 fighter jets. Taiwan is also seeking to buy around 60 advanced Lockheed Martin Corp. F-16 C/D fighter aircraft to replace more than 40 mothballed F-5E fighter jets and other aging aircraft.

Hundreds of people have been killed in a massive earthquake in Japan that triggered a devastating tsunami. The quake -- the most powerful to hit Japan in more than 100 years -- caused massive damage and many people are missing and feared dead.The 8.9 magnitude quake struck Friday off Japan's eastern coast, and prompted tsunami warnings across the Pacific as far away as South America and the U.S. West Coast. The Red Cross warned that the 10-meter high tidal wave could wash over some small islands entirely.In Japan, the tsunami swept away boats, cars and hundreds of houses in coastal areas north of Tokyo.The quake shook buildings in the Japanese capital and caused several fires. All train and subway traffic in Tokyo has been stopped, and thousands of people there were unable to get back home.Authorities ordered the evacuation of about 3,000 people from the area around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant north of Tokyo. No radiation leaks were detected, but officials are concerned the reactor's core may overheat due to a system malfunction. A fire was also reported earlier in the turbine building of the Onagawa nuclear plant in Miyagi.Addressing the nation, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the government would do everything it can to minimize the effects of the disaster. And in Washington, President Barack Obama said the United States is ready to help the people of Japan. The U.S. military in Japan has opened up the Yokota Air Base to some commercial flights diverted from Japanese airports.日本的大规模地震造成数百人死亡。这次地震引发了毁灭性的海啸。这次日本100年来最强烈的地震造成大规模的损失，许多人失踪，甚至恐怕已经死亡。这次8.9级的地震星期五发生在日本东海岸125公里外，引发了环太平洋地区海啸警报，涉及范围远至南美地区和整个美国西海岸。红十字会警告说，10米高的巨浪可能将把一些小岛整个淹没。在日本，海啸冲走了东京以北的沿海地区的船只、汽车和数百幢房屋。地震震动了日本首都的建筑物，并引起了几起火灾。东京所有火车和地铁停止运行，数以千计的人无法回家。当局下令将东京以北的福岛核电厂周围大约3千人撤出这一地区。尽管没有探测到任何核泄漏，但官员们担心系统故障可能导致反应器的核心过热。早些时候的报导说，宫城县附近的女川核电厂发电机组发生火灾。日本首相菅直人向全国发表讲话。他说，政府将尽其所能把灾害的影响控制在最小程度。在华盛顿，美国总统奥巴马说，美国准备随时帮助日本人民。驻日美军向无法在日本机场降落的一些商业飞机开放了横田空军基地。

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