Nov 28, 2011

VOA Special English News 74

The South Korean Parliament has approved a free trade agreement with the United States. The bill passed with wide support during a special parliamentary meeting Tuesday. But some opposing lawmakers and protesters reacted violently to the decision. In the Parliament, a small group of opposition lawmakers shouted protests against the vote. They also set off tear gas. Outside Parliament, hundreds of protesters clashed with police. The protesters tried to hold candlelight ceremony. But police armed with water cannons stopped them. The Korea-US Free Trade Agreement was signed over four years ago. But lawmakers in both countries did not approve the agreement until now.


韓国議会は合衆国との自由貿易協定を承認した。その法案は、火曜日、緊急招集された議会で多数の支持により通過した。しかし、反対している議員や抗議者たちは決定に対して激しく反応した。議会では、反対派の少数グループは投票に対して、抗議を叫び、また催涙ガスを発射した。議会の外では、数百人の抗議者は警察と衝突した。抗議者たちは(抗議のための)キャンドルライトセレモニーを行おうとしたが、高圧水砲で武装した警官たちに止められた。韓国と合衆国の自由貿易協定は4年以上前に署名されたが、これまで両国の議員はその協定を承認しなかった。

My thought/opinion on this issue
Recently, Trans-Pacific Partnership is the talk of Japanese. If it starts, price of many things in Japan is expected to change. Most of Japanese industries have got their profit from export, so may businesses have welcomed it. But, many farmers are opposing it because their products will lose to low imported products in price. Privately, I welcome low-priced imports, but at the same time I am really anxious about ruin of Japan's farming.

1 comment:

ジョン said...

South Korean Parliament
--> The South Korean Parliament

protests against vote
--> protests against the vote

crushed with police
--> clashed with police

candle lights ceremony
--> candlelight ceremony
They do, indeed, sound the same, don't they?

police armed with water canon
--> police armed with a water cannon
--> police armed with water cannons
This is an odd one. You heard him correctly, but the English he used is weird. I don't know if this is some British variant that I'm unfamiliar with or something, but it really should be one of the options I've listed, I think.