11-25-2005

台湾总统谴责中国宗教政策 (Taiwan President Denounces China's Religion Policy)

陈水扁指责中国继续拘押和逮捕不在政府控制的教会从事宗教活动的人。陈水扁星期五在台北发表上述评论之前会晤了来访的罗马天主教会的高级官员。

陈水扁对枢机主教让.路易.图兰说，台湾在民主、人权、自由以及和平等方面所持的价值观与梵蒂冈有许多相似之处。陈水扁说，他希望台湾可以“永远”和梵蒂冈保持关系。

这位枢机主教访问台湾加重了人们的猜测，一些猜测认为，罗马天主教教会不久可能断绝跟台湾的关系，恢复与中国的正式外交关系。

Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian has denounced what he calls China's long-term religious repression.

Mr. Chen accused China of continuing to detain and arrest people who practice their faith outside government-controlled churches. His remarks in Taipei Friday followed a meeting with a visiting senior official of the Roman Catholic Church.

Turning to Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, Mr. Chen said Taiwan and the Vatican share many of the same values, on democracy, human rights, freedom and peace. The president said he hopes Taiwan can maintain its relations with the church "forever."

The cardinal's visit has heightened speculation that the church may soon cut its ties with Taiwan and re-establish formal diplomatic relations with China.

中国哈尔滨市居民忍受连续三天断水 (China's Harbin City Endures Third Day Without Water)

中国东北最大城市之一的哈尔滨市的几百万居民已经连续3天断水，因为几天前有大约100吨有毒化学物质苯流入松花江。

中国的新华社报导说，到星期五早晨为止，松花江的苯含量仍然高出国家安全标准28倍。

星期四，长达80公里的被化学物质苯污染的水流开始进入哈尔滨市供水系统的取水河段。专家说，哈尔滨地区的江水要到星期六才能干净。

当局警告人们远离江水中升起的含有苯的气体。

另一方面，中国最大的石油公司(中国石油天然气集团公司)属下的石化公司为11月13日化工厂爆炸事件表示道歉，那次爆炸导致癌物质苯流入松花江上游的吉林市河段。

Millions of residents of Harbin, one of northeast China's largest cities, are enduring their third day without water after about 100-tons of a toxic chemical were released into a river.

China's official Xinhua news agency says that, as of early Friday, the level of chemicals in the Songhua River remained 28-times above national safety standards.

Thursday, the leading edge of an 80-kilometer long slick of benzene reached Harbin's municipal water inlets. Experts say it will be sometime Saturday before the river flows clean again in Harbin.

Authorities are warning people to avoid the benzene fumes rising from the river.

Meanwhile, Petrechemical Corporation, a subsidiary of China's largest oil producer, (China National Petroleum Corporation) has apologized for the chemical plant explosion November 13th that spilled the cancer-causing pollutants upstream in Jilin City.