10-20-2005

中國警告說中日經濟關係可能下降 (China Warns of Declining Economic Relations with Japan)

中國官員說，中國與日本的一系列領土和外交糾紛可能影響兩國的經濟關係。中國國家統計局發言人星期四在北京說，如果政治關係繼續動蕩，經濟和貿易關係也將受到衝擊。

兩國之間的矛盾包括日本首相小泉純一郎參拜靖國神社的活動。為了抗議小泉參拜，中國和南韓取消了同日本高層官員會見的計劃。靖國神社供奉著日本的戰爭亡靈，其中也包括被定罪的戰犯。

日本和中國還因為東中國海海底天然氣開採權而陷入爭端。

Officials in China say a range of territorial and diplomatic disputes with Japan may affect economic relations. Speaking today (Thursday) in Beijing, a spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics said if political relations continue rocky, economic and trade relations will suffer.

Among the issues dividing the nations is that of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to the Yasukuni shrine. China and South Korea canceled meetings with top Japanese officials in protest. The shrine honors Japanese war dead, including convicted war criminals.

Japan and China are also feuding over the rights to undersea gas deposits in the East China Sea.

泰國證實又有人死於禽流感 印尼疑似病例 (Thailand Confirms New Bird Flu Death, Suspected Cases in Indonesia)

亞洲各地星期四又報告發現禽流感疫情。泰國宣佈，一名48歲的男子因接觸染病的家禽死亡。已經有13名泰國人死於禽流感。在印度尼西亞，醫生星期四說，一對父子患者因疑似染上禽流感而住進醫院，這使人們更加擔心禽流感可能會在人與人之間傳染。

台灣農業官員星期四核實，上星期在從中國走私入境的一個集裝箱內發現的禽鳥感染了H5N1型病毒。所有禽鳥都在當場被銷毀。中國農業部說，在本星期發現禽流感的內蒙古地區，有大約9萬隻禽鳥被宰殺。

自從2003年以來，H5N1型禽流感病毒在亞洲已經奪去了60多人的生命。衛生專家擔心，病毒可能會變異成為很容易在人群中間傳播的毒株，從而造成全球性的流行病。

There are more reports of bird flu outbreaks across Asia today (Thursday).Thailand announced that a 48-year-old man (from Kanchanburi province) died after contact with infected poultry. Thirteen Thais have died from the disease. In Indonesia doctors said a father and son have been hospitalized with suspected bird flu, raising fears of the possibility of human-to-human transmission.

Taiwan agriculture officials today confirmed that birds found last week in a container smuggled from China were infected with H5N1 avian flu. All the birds were destroyed on the spot.And China's Agriculture Ministry says about 90-thousand birds have been culled in the Inner Mongolia Region were the virus was found this week.

The virus has killed more than 60 people in Asia since 2003. Health experts fear it could mutate into a strain easily spread by humans, creating a worldwide pandemic.