Philippines President Duterte and his
Controversial War on Drugs
The new President of the Philippines, Rodrigo
Duterte, says he is determined to rid his country of crime and drug abuse, no
matter what the cost. Since he was elected by a popular majority of Philippine voters in May, over 3000 people have been killed by police and the
military. Most of the dead were suspected of being involved in the drug trade.
Critics of his ongoing “war on crime” say Duterte is
encouraging nothing less than state-sponsored murder. In effect, they allege the President has given police
the power to judge the guilt or innocence of Filipinos and to act as his personal “hit-squad”. What is most alarming from a human rights standpoint is that individuals suspected of using or trafficking drugs are being executed without a proper trial. Once they
are presumed to be guilty, they have no chance
to mount a legal defense to prove their
innocence.
Some
observers are calling the President a murderer with innocent blood on his
hands. Yet Duterte is quick to defend himself and his methods, and is
definitely unafraid to speak his mind in plain, direct language. At his press conferences, he has used rude language to insult American President Barack Obama, has
cursed the Pope, and has mocked the Secretary-General of the United
Nations. He has
even boldly claimed that the Philippines will cease its military partnership
with the U.S. in the near future. This is a potentially worrying development since such a split could seriously affect the balance of power in the Asia Pacific region.
Taking
things even further, in a recent speech Duterte shocked many by comparing
himself to Adolf Hitler, the infamous Nazi leader. After mentioning that Hitler had killed three million Jews,
Duterte said he would gladly slaughter three million drug addicts in similar fashion if it would save future
generations of his country.
Human
rights watchers allege Duterte is on his way to becoming a dictator. There’s also growing concern
about the impact his bloody law and order campaign will have on tourism, which
is vital for the Philippines. Some industry insiders worry foreign visitors may stay away to avoid ending up in the crossfire.
Despite
the controversy surrounding his methods and his brash and abrasive personality, Duterte reportedly
has a 92 percent approval rating. This suggests strong support for his objectives, even if his methods are so
extreme that they violate the rule of law.
Reading Comprehension
(
) 1. What is the main reason of Duterte’s “war”?
(A) Duterete
wants to win the next presidential election.
(B) Duterete
wants to eliminate crime and drug abuse in Philippines.
(C) Duterte
decides to cease Philippines’ military partnership with the U.S.
(D) Duterete
decides to give police the power to judge the guilt or innocence of Filipinos
and to act as his personal “hit-squad”.
( ) 2. According to the passage, why are human rights watchers concerned about President Duterte’s “war on
crime”?
(A) Those suspected of using or trafficking
drugs are being executed without a proper trial.
(B) Duterte’s
“war on crime” would save future generations of his country.
(C) Duterte used rude language to insult American
President Barack Obama at a press conference.
(D) The
Philippines will cease its military partnership with the U.S. in the near
future.
( ) 3. According to the passage, which
political dictator did President Duterte recently compare himself to?
(A) Idi Amin
Dada (B) Benito Mussolini
(C) Joseph
Stalin (D) Adolph
Hitler
(
) 4. It could be inferred from the passage that ______.
(A) the Philippines
does not need to cooperate with the U.N.
(B) the Philippines
does not need the tourism industry
(C) there is
a lot of serious crime in the Philippines
(D) the Philippines
does not need military cooperation with the U.S.
(
) 5. Which of the following statements is true?
(A) Most Filipinos
seem to disapprove of President Duterte’s methods.
(B) Duterte
has slaughtered three million drug
addicts.
(C) Duterte’s
“war on crime” may have impact on tourism of Philippines.
(D) Duterte’s
“war on crime” is strongly supported without controversy.
Vocabulary and Phrases
1.
critic [`krItIk] n. [C] 批評家，評論家
Although the movie is very popular, it hasn’t
received any good reviews from movie critics.
2.
allege [1`lE7] vt. 主張，斷言
It is alleged that the famous director is
going to retire next year.
3.
alarming [1`lArmI9] adj. 令人憂心的
Some
kinds of rare animals in Taiwan are disappearing at an alarming rate.
4.
standpoint [`st8nd&pOInt] n. [C] 立場；觀點
From
the standpoint of most students, much homework means much pressure.
5.
execute [`EksI&kjut] vt. (尤指依法) 處決，處死
The
judge ordered that the criminal be executed for the murders he had
committed.
6.
presume [prI`zum] vt. 假設，認定
According
to the law, a person is to be presumed innocent until there is enough
concrete proof of that person’s guilt.
7.
mount [ma5nt] vt. 發起，進行
The
workers mounted a campaign to protest against the law of payment.
8.
press [prEs] n.
[U] 新聞媒體
The superstar announced in the press conference that he would get
married the next month, which came as a surprise to the public.
9.
conference [`kAnf1r1ns] n.
[C] 會議
Mr. Charles has
been working frantically the entire weekend to get everything ready for the conference on Monday.
10. mock [mAk] vt. 嘲弄，譏笑
You shouldn’t have mocked the shy boy. It’s really rude and inappropriate, and it wasn’t
funny at all.
11.
potentially [p1`tEnS1lI]
adv. 可能地，潛在地
Research has
revealed that certain chemicals used for whitening teeth are potentially harmful to tooth enamel (琺瑯質).
12. split [splIt] n. [C] 分裂
A civil war caused the split of this country which then
divided into several independent nations.
13. infamous [`Inf1m1s] adj. 惡名昭彰的
William is afraid of his teacher who is infamous for hitting her students.
14.
slaughter [`slOt2] vt. 屠殺
Tens of
thousands of people were slaughtered
during the war. Thus, many families were left sad and heartbroken.
15.
dictator [`dIktet2] n. [C] 獨裁者
Joseph
Stalin is a famous dictator who cruelly suppressed those who opposed his
policies.
16. insider [In`saId2] n. [C] 熟悉內幕的人，消息靈通人士
According
to the insiders, the basketball player is not selected in the national
team.
17. objective [1b`dZEktIv] n. [C] 目標，目的
Although the salesperson worked hard, he
still failed to achieve his sales objectives.
Words for
Recognition
1.
Philippines [`fIl1&pinz] 菲律賓
Philippine [`fIl1&pin] adj. 菲律賓的
Filipino [&fIl1`pino] n. [C] 菲律賓人
2.
in effect 實際上
3.
hit-squad n. [C] 暗殺小組
4. Secretary-General n. [C] 秘書長
5.
United Nations 聯合國
由主權國家所組成的國際組織，成立於1945年，總部設在紐約。目前有193個成員國與2個觀察員國。
6.
Adolf Hitler 希特勒
7.
crossfire [`krOs&faIr] n. [U] 交叉火力
8.
brash [br8S] adj. 無禮的，粗俗的
9. abrasive [1`bresIv] adj. 令人不快的
Translation
菲律賓總統掃毒爭議
新上任的菲律賓總統杜特蒂已下定決心，會不計代價將國內犯罪及毒品氾濫問題一掃而空。從他五月高票當選之後，已經有超過三千人被警方及軍方擊殺，這些人大部分都是毒品交易的嫌疑犯。
有人批評杜特蒂的「掃毒戰爭」是在助長國家資助型的謀殺，實際上，他們宣稱總統給予警方權力，藉此，警方可以審判菲律賓人民有罪或清白，還可充當總統的個人暗殺小組。從人權的觀點來看，最令人憂心的是，每個吸食或交易毒品的嫌疑犯不會經過適當的審判即被處死，一旦他們被判罪，就沒有機會以法律辯護證明清白了。
有些人稱杜特蒂為濫殺無辜的殺人犯，然而杜特蒂很快地為自己辯護，他毫不畏懼以直接且強硬的言詞表達自己的想法。他曾在記者會上用難聽的話謾罵美國總統歐巴馬、詛咒教宗，還嘲笑聯合國秘書長。他甚至大膽地宣稱短時間內會中止菲律賓與美國的軍事夥伴關係，這可能是個讓人擔憂的發展，因為他們的分裂可能會嚴重地影響亞太地區的權力平衡。
杜特蒂在最近的一次演講中，將自己比做惡名昭彰的納粹領導人希特勒，此說法震驚許多人。提到希特勒屠殺三百萬猶太人，杜特蒂表示，如果能因此保護國家的後代，自己很樂意以同樣的方式屠殺三百萬名吸毒者。
人權觀察者稱杜特蒂未來會走向獨裁。也有越來越多人關心這樣殘酷的法令及指令行動對旅遊業所造成的影響，畢竟旅遊業對菲律賓來說是非常重要的。一些業內的知情人士擔心遊客可能會為了避免麻煩而遠離菲律賓。
儘管杜特蒂的做事方法以及無禮的個性引來不少爭議，他仍有百分之九十二的支持率，這代表著即使他用的方法過度極端，以致觸犯法律，他的目的仍獲得強烈的支持。
閱讀測驗解答：1. B
2. A 3. D 4. C 5. C
