2014年10月29日 星期三

Week 2- Malaysia Airlines MH370, missing

Malaysia still searches for MH370, missing 100 days
Tue, Jun 17, 2014 AFP, KUALA LUMPUR
Malaysia’s government yesterday pledged that it “will not rest” until missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 is found, as it marked the 100th day since the plane vanished on March 8 with 239 passengers and crew.
“One hundred days after MH370 went missing, its loss remains a painful void in the hearts of all Malaysians and those around the world. We cannot and will not rest until MH370 is found,” Malaysian Minister of Transport Hishammuddin Hussein said.
In a statement, Hishammuddin also promised that Malaysia “cannot and will not abandon” the families of the missing passengers, some of whom have sharply criticized the Malaysian government’s handling of the mystery.
The Boeing 777 inexplicably disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
No trace of it has been found despite an extensive Australian-led search effort deep in the Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have gone down.
Hishammuddin also offered Malaysia’s thanks to Australia, China, the US and fellow Southeast Asian countries for their assistance in the search.
Malaysia Airlines chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya issued a separate statement pledging similar resolve in finding the plane, calling the period since March 8 “the longest and most painful 100 days in Malaysia Airlines’ history.”
Anguished relatives of MH370 passengers have accused Malaysia’s government of a bumbling and chaotic response to the crisis and covering up what happened to the plane.
Malaysia denies it is withholding information, but has remained tight-lipped over investigations that it has launched into the mystery and given no timetable for when the findings of those probes are to be released.



 Structure of the Lead
   WHO-Malaysia’s government
   WHEN-yesterday 
   WHAT-Malaysia’s government yesterday pledged that it “will not rest” until missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 is found
   WHY-as it marked the 100th day since the plane vanished on March 8 with 239 passengers and crew.
   WHERE-Malaysia
   HOW-not given


Keywords
   1. pledge:保證
   2. vanish:消失
   3. rest:休息
   4. statement:陳述
   5. abandon:放棄、中止
   6. criticize:批評
   7. assistance:幫助
   8. bumbling :裝模作樣的
   9. chaotic:混亂的
 10. deny:否認

2014年10月22日 星期三

Week1-Sunflower student movement

Torontonians show support for ‘Sunflower student movement’

Tue, Apr 01, 2014 By Tomson Chen  /  Contributing reporter in Toronto


Toronto joined worldwide support for the Sunflower Student Movement (太陽花學運) on Saturday when approximately 600 Taiwanese students, youths, seniors and children gathered in Nathan Philip Square next to the Toronto’s City Hall to protest the cross-strait service trade agreement.
Organizer Philip Wu, an advisor to the Taiwanese-Canadian Association of Toronto, says the aim of the demonstration is to “protest peacefully against the non-transparent handling of the trade agreement and use of violence against the students.”
The Support Taiwan Democracy campaign occurred in more than 21 countries and 49 cities worldwide, beginning in New Zealand and ending in Canada. The demonstration in Toronto, which began at 5:30pm, covered a few different activities over the course of an hour and a half, from 5:30pm to 7pm.
Protestors formed 318 as a symbol of support to the student protests that started on March 18 in Taiwan, when students began their siege of the legislature. Taking a cue from the Taipei sit-in, they sang Good Night, Taiwan (晚安台灣) and Our Home (我的家園). Tobias C. Enverga Jr., an Ontario senator, also attended to voice his support for free speech and peaceful demonstrations.
The motto of the protest, etched on large banners, was Support Transparency, Democracy and National Security in Taiwan.
“This [protest] is not against the trade agreement, but against the non-transparent signing of the agreement … We are [also] against the “black-box” and the use of violent forces against the peaceful protest,” Wu said.
In addition to these protest aims, the demonstrators had different reasons for coming to lend their support.
Eric Lee, a photographer who attended the Vancouver protest, commented on the event page and said that aside from his support of the goals of the protest, he also felt that the “shocking turn of events [from a peaceful protest to an apparently violent police confrontation] is undermining the nation’s largely prudent record of democracy.”
Additionally, in regards to the Ma Administration’s response he further commented: “it is deplorable to think that a wide-reaching agreement such as the trade pact was not carried out with an item-by-item review and transparency to Taiwanese stakeholders for input. Subsequently, the poor and dubious responses from Ma’s administration have failed to address the impasse.”
A similar protest led by students occurred on March 20 at the University of Toronto in the immediate wake of the protests in Taiwan. This protest later sparked a debate held by the University of Toronto Chinese Politics Society.


 Structure of the Lead
   WHO-approximately 600 Taiwanese students, youths, seniors and children
   WHEN-Saturday
   WHAT-joined worldwide support for the Sunflower Student Movement
   WHY-protest the cross-strait service trade agreement.
   WHERE-Toronto
   HOW-gathered in Nathan Philip Square next to the Toronto’s City Hall

Keywords
   1. protest抗議
   2. demonstration遊行
   3. peaceful:和平的
   4. non-transparent不透明的
   5. violence暴力
   6. siege:包圍
   7. comment:評論
   8. deplorable:可悲的
   9. spark:發動
 10. debate:辯論