09-26-07

中国承认三峡大坝可引发生态灾难 (China Admits Three Gorges Dam Could Cause Environmental Disasters)

中国官方媒体报导，专家表示，如果不立即解决巨大的三峡大坝所导致的环境问题，中国可能面临巨大灾难。政府经营的新闻媒体星期三说，专家对三峡大坝周围的长江沿岸洪灾和山坡水土流失感到关注。

报导提到中国国务院三峡建设委员会办公室主任汪啸峰的担心。报导援引汪啸峰的话说，中国不能以牺牲生态环境来获得经济繁荣。他说，三峡水电站工程导致了土地缺乏的冲突矛盾和不合理开发造成的生态退化。

中国政府曾把三峡大坝工程誉为继长城之后中国最伟大的工程项目。

Chinese state media report that experts say the country could face a catastrophe if it fails to quickly resolve environmental problems caused by the massive Three Gorges Dam. Government-run news outlets Wednesday said experts are concerned by flooding and erosion on hillsides along the Yangtze River around the dam.

The reports note the concerns of Wang Xiaofeng, the head of the office in charge of constructing the dam. He is quoted as saying China can not win by achieving economic prosperity at the cost of the environment. He said the hydro-electric project has caused conflicts over land shortages and environmental degradation caused by irrational development.

The Chinese government has hailed the Three Gorges Dam as its greatest engineering project since the Great Wall.

一摩门教派领袖被判强奸案从犯 (Mormon Sect Leader in Utah Convicted of Being Accomplice to Rape)

美国一个主张一夫多妻教派的领袖被判定因安排一名并不情愿的14岁少女和她的19岁的表亲结婚而成为一起强奸案的从犯。

美国西部犹他州的陪审团星期二判定沃伦.杰夫斯有罪。杰夫斯是摩门教内一个实行一夫多妻的偏激教派的领袖。总部设在亚利桑那州的科罗拉多城的这个教派据信有大约1万信徒，将杰夫斯奉为先知。

杰夫斯在陪审团宣布他有罪的时候面无表情。杰夫斯在稍后的量刑判决时，可能面临终身监禁。在杰夫斯被认定有罪后，受害人说，这场审判并不是有关宗教，也不是为了打击报复，而是关系到虐待少年儿童以及如何防止虐待发生。犹他州的检察长马克.施特莱夫说，星期二的宣判对于很多受到杰夫斯伤害、但又不敢声张的人来说是一场胜利。

The leader of a polygamous sect in the United States has been convicted of being an accomplice to rape for arranging a marriage between an unwilling 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin.

Jurors in the western state of Utah Tuesday convicted Warren Jeffs, the leader of a radical Mormon sect that practices polygamy. Based in Colorado City, Arizona, the sect is believed to have around 10-thousand followers who consider Jeffs a prophet.

Jeffs - who showed no emotion as the verdict was read - faces a possible sentence of life in prison when he is sentenced at a later date. After the verdict, the victim said the trial was not about religion or vendetta but child abuse and preventing abuse. Utah's attorney-general, Mark Shurtleff, said the verdict is a victory for the many victims who have been hurt by Jeffs and have been too afraid to speak out.