US President Joe Biden called systemic racism a “stain on our nation’s soul” in a televised address to the nation last week after a white former police officer was convicted of murdering a black man during an arrest.
Biden spoke out after a jury in the Midwestern city of Minneapolis found Derek Chauvin guilty of intentionally suffocating handcuffed George Floyd as he lay defenseless, with the officer’s knee pressing on his neck for more than nine minutes.
The president called for “confronting head on systemic racism and the racial disparities that exist in policing and our criminal justice system” — but pleaded for protesters to steer clear of violence.
Photo: AFP 照片:法新社
A jury deliberated less than 11 hours before finding the 45-year-old Chauvin guilty of all three charges against him — second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. The unanimous verdict came after a racially charged three-week trial that was seen as a pivotal test of police accountability in the US.
Appearing alongside Biden, Kamala Harris, America’s first black vice president, spoke first to articulate the “relief” the nation was feeling over justice being served, but acknowledged that the result could not “take away the pain” of Floyd’s murder.
She vowed to work with Biden to urge the Senate to pass “long overdue” legislation on police accountability, saying black men had been treated as “less than humans” throughout US history. “Here is the truth about racial injustice: It is not just a Black America problem or a ‘people of color’ problem. It is a problem for every American,” she said.
(AFP)
一名白人警察被控在逮捕一名黑人男子時將之謀殺,上週被定罪,美國總統喬‧拜登隨後在電視上發表全國演說,將結構性的種族主義稱為「我們國家精神的污點」。
美國中西部城市明尼亞波里斯之陪審團裁定德瑞克‧蕭文有罪,因擔任警察之蕭文,以膝蓋壓制喬治‧弗洛伊德之頸部超過九分鐘,故意使其窒息,當時弗洛伊德已上手銬、無力抵抗。宣判後,拜登總統發表了演說。
拜登呼籲「正視結構性的種族主義,以及維安與刑事司法系統中,因種族而異的差別對待」,但他懇求抗議民眾避免訴諸暴力。
陪審團經過近十一小時之商議,才判定四十五歲的蕭文被控的三項罪名皆成立──分別為二級謀殺罪、三級謀殺罪,以及非預謀殺人罪。經過為期三週、種族意味濃厚的審理,陪審團做出了一致的裁決。該案之審判被視為對美國警察課責制的關鍵考驗。
美國第一位黑人副總統賀錦麗與拜登共同出席該演說,她先說道,全國上下對司法公正感到「鬆了一口氣」,但她承認此判決並不能夠消除弗洛伊德被謀殺所造成的傷痛。
她誓言與拜登共同敦促參議院通過「老早以前就該完成的」警察課責制之立法,並說在整個美國歷史上,黑人都「不被當人看待」。她說:「這是種族不公的真相:這不僅僅是黑人的問題,或『有色人種』的問題,這是每一個美國人的問題」。
(台北時報林俐凱編譯)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
A: As well as Eid al-Fitr, Southeast Asia is celebrating the Water Festival this week. B: And this year, Thailand is expanding the celebration between April 12 and 16 for the event, officially known as the Songkran Festival, expecting to make 24.3 billion Thai baht in tourism revenue. A: Does Taiwan celebrate the Water Festival? B: Some local cities and counties do have similar activities. A: Let’s go experience the festival then. A: 除了「開齋節」外,東南亞「潑水節」本週也盛大登場! B: 泰國今年從4月12日到16日擴大「宋干節」連假,預估觀光收入可高達243億泰銖。 A: 台灣會慶祝「潑水節」嗎? B: 有些縣市會舉辦類似活動。 A: 那我們也去體驗一下吧。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)