2017年2月28日 星期二

Week Two : Same-sex marriage criticized

Same-sex marriage criticized

CHILDREN AND CIVILIZATION:The Alliance of Religious Groups for the Love of Families Taiwan tried to highlight problems caused by legalizing same-sex marriage

By Loa Iok-sin  /  Staff reporter
 
Religious groups of various faiths yesterday voiced their strong opposition to legislation allowing for same-sex marriage and family diversity, saying that same-sex marriage might lead to the eventual destruction of human society.
“Legalizing same-sex marriage is a reverse tide in the international movement for sexual liberation, it is not progressive, rather, it is a downward step that will lead to the collapse of civilizations,” Unification Church Taiwan vice president Paul Chang (張全鋒) told a press conference hosted by the Alliance of Religious Groups for the Love of Families Taiwan at the Legislative Yuan.
“Legalizing same-sex marriage is legalizing adultery, incest and group sex,” he said.
He said the gay rights movement seeks to create more homosexuals through group sex.
“We must understand how dangerous it is, because once such legislation is passed, our children will be taught at school that it is OK to be gay, which will lead to very serious consequences for our society,” he said.
Whether looking for an Eastern or Western perspective, marriage should for a union between a man and a woman, Chang said.
“From our traditional perspective, it is in line with the heavenly way for a man and a woman to get married,” Chang said. “From the Christian perspective, God has created men and women, and blessed their union.”
Chang also spoke against allowing gay couples to adopt children, saying that children raised in same-sex families are more likely to become criminals or victims of sexual violence.
Chen Chih-hung (陳志宏), a Taiwan Lutheran Church bishop, said that marriage between a man and woman is the best system, and that legalizing same-sex marriage would encourage more people to become homosexuals, which would destroy the marriage system.
“If, one day, after the bill to legalize same-sex marriage is passed, if your child or grandchild tells you that he or she is homosexual, and thus your family lineage would stop right there, can you accept it?” Chen asked.
He also said that Taiwan already has a large number of people with AIDS.
“Would you like to see more people being infected with AIDS due to same-sex marriage? Would you like to see the birthrate continues to decline due to same-sex marriage?” he said.
Buddhist master Shih Ching-yao (釋淨耀) said the religious leaders were speaking out because they “feel it is our responsibility to stand up for family values and the stability of our society.”
“The family is the basis of social stability. How will we able to maintain social stability if people of the same sex could form a family?” Shih said.
He said it is also the duty of a family to produce children.
“People should not sacrifice this important moral value just because they want to enjoy sex,” he said.
“Many Western countries have legalized same-sex marriage, but no Asian country has done so,” Shih said. “I hope that Taiwan will learn from countries upholding the right values, not from those who follow bad values.”
 
 
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2013/09/19/2003572509
 
*Structure of the Lead
WHO-
Religious groups of various faiths
WHEN-yesterday
WHAT-
voiced their strong opposition to legislation allowing for same-sex marriage and family diversity  
WHY-that same-sex marriage might lead to the eventual destruction of human society
WHERE-
not given
HOW-not  given
 
 *Keywords
1.
legislation : 制定法律,立法 
2. diversity : 多樣性
3. perspective : 看法,觀點
4. lineage : 後裔;家系,世系
5. upholding : 維護;維持;贊成;確認

Week One : Aung San Suu Kyi leaves for Europe

Aung San Suu Kyi leaves for Europe

POLITICAL AND PERSONAL:The democracy icon will visit five countries and deliver her Nobel Peace Prize speech, but also attend a family reunion and celebrate her birthday

AFP, YANGON, MYANMAR



Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi left Myanmar yesterday on her first trip to Europe since 1988 to formally accept the Nobel Peace Prize that thrust her into the global limelight two decades ago.
Her visit marks a new milestone in the political changes that have swept the country since decades of military rule ended last year, bringing to power a new quasi-civilian government.
“I would like to do my best for the interests of the people,” Aung San Suu Kyi told reporters before her plane left Yangon airport.
She will visit Switzerland, Norway, Britain, France and Ireland on her more than two-week tour, which will include a speech in Oslo for her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.
She leaves as western Myanmar is rocked by sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya that has left dozens dead and prompted Burmese President Thein Sein to warn of disruption to the fragile reform process.
Aung San Suu Kyi could face calls in Europe to address the underlying sectarian issues, although analysts say she may instead choose to focus on the wider topic of human rights.
“It’s a very explosive situation and whoever touches the issue will have to walk a very, very fine line,” said Aung Naing Oo, a Myanmar expert with the Vahu Development Institute in Thailand.
The Myanmar government and many Burmese consider the Rohingya to be illegal immigrants and view them with hostility. Even key figures in the democratic movement have come out to say the Rohingya are not one of Myanmar’s ethnic nationalities.
A spokesman for Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party said the former political prisoner had instructed him to work “to help both sides equally” before she left for Europe.

Aung San Suu Kyi is due to speak at an International Labour Organization conference, address Britain’s parliament and receive an Amnesty International human rights award in Dublin from rock star Bono.
The veteran activist will also join a “family reunion” in Britain, according to her party and celebrate her 67th birthday on Tuesday in the country.
For years, since returning to her homeland to care for her sick mother, Aung San Suu Kyi did not dare leave — even to see her sons or British husband before his death from cancer in 1999 — fearing the ruling generals would not let her return.
She made her first overseas foray for 24 years earlier this month to visit Thailand.
Her lecture on Saturday in Oslo to accept the Nobel Prize, which propelled her onto the global stage and spurred decades of support for her party’s democratic struggle against authoritarian rule, will be hugely symbolic. However, she may also inject a note of caution.
“She will re-iterate the message that there’s still a long way to go in Burma,” said Gareth Price, an Asia expert at Chatham House in London. “She will also call for responsible trade and investment and support for the rule of law in Burma, as the reforms are reversible.”
Aung San Suu Kyi is traveling with her personal assistant, her security chief, the dissident rapper-turned-politician Zayar Thaw and a youth member from her National League for Democracy party, Nay Chin Win.
There is also a strong personal dimension to the tour, although her party has declined to say whether she will see both her sons, Kim and Alexander Aris, as well as her grandchildren. While Kim has visited his mother in Myanmar since her release, Alexander has not and he now lives in the US.


http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2012/06/14/2003535305 

*Structure of the Lead
WHO-
Aung San Suu Kyi
WHEN-yesterday
WHAT-
left Myanmar 
WHY-
to formally accept the Nobel Peace Prize
WHERE-
Europe
HOW-not  given

 *Keywords
1. formally :
正式地;正規地
2. milestone : 里程碑
3. fragile : 易碎的;脆的;易損壞的 
4. hostility : 敵意,敵視
5. dimension : 重要性;範圍