VOA慢速英语2014 AS IT IS 2014-02-18 Cambodia to Restart International Adoptions 柬埔寨重新开始国际收养

AS IT IS 2014-02-18 Cambodia to Restart International Adoptions 2 柬埔寨重新开始国际收养

This is As It Is.  Thanks for joining us today.  I’m June Simms in Washington.

Today on the program, more and more Chinese couples are having babies by women in the United States.  We tell why the practice is growing in popularity coming up later in the show.

在今天的节目里，越来越多的中国夫妇通过美国妇女产子。我们将在稍后的节目里讲述这种现象为何流行。

But first, Cambodia has announced plans to restart international adoptions this year.  The move comes four years after the government suspended the practice after widespread reports of children being trafficked.  Steve Ember has the story from VOA’s Robert Carmichael in Phnom Penh.

不过首先，柬埔寨今年宣布了重启国际收养的计划。此举出现在政府暂停这项活动的 4 年之后，此前有大量贩卖儿童的报道。

Cambodia to Restart International Adoptions

柬埔寨重启国际收养

When it comes to international adoptions, Cambodia has had a poor record.  For many years, local media reported many stories of poor parents being tricked into giving up their children.

说到国际收养，柬埔寨的情况很差。多年来，当地媒体报道了很多贫困家长受骗放弃他们孩子的故事。

The children were being placed with foreign families, in exchange for thousands of dollars in so-called processing costs.  Security checks were often not carried out on the people seeking to adopt.

这些儿童被交给外国家庭，换取数千美元的所谓处理费。寻求收养的人通常未经安全核查。

The situation was so bad that in 2001 several countries barred their citizens from adopting children from Cambodia.  France, the United States and the United Kingdom were among those countries.

该情况在 2001 年变得非常糟糕，所以一些国家禁止他们的公民收养柬埔寨儿童。这些国家包括法国、美国和英国。

The Hague Conference, or HCCH, is an international governmental organization that works to balance laws across national borders.  In recent years, the group has joined with UNICEF to help the Cambodian government improve its adoption 1 process.

海牙国际法会议（HCCH）是一个国际政府组织，职责是平衡各国之间的法律。近年来，该组织加入了联合国儿童基金会帮助柬埔寨政府改善其收养程序。

Laura Martinez-Mora is the group's main legal officer.  She says Cambodia has made good progress.  This includes passing a law on international adoptions and supporting legislation.

Laura Martinez-Mora 是该组织的主要司法官员。她说，柬埔寨进展不错，包括通过了一部有关国际收养的法律，以及支持立法。

She says workers are training local officials to make sure the parents have given their permission and that they fully 3 understand what they have agreed to.

她说，工作人员培训当地官员以确保父母给出授权并完全理解他们所同意的内容。

“They have done so after being informed and counseled, and after having tried that they keep their child, so that there is information, they know what they are signing and even if they don't know how to read, they know what they are saying yes to.”

“他们在得到通知和咨询、以及尝试保留孩子之后这么做，从而能够掌握一些信息。他们知道他们签了什么，即便他们看不懂，他们还是知道自己确认了什么。”

Another issue is making sure the children have birth certificates.  That is important in many countries, and a problem in Cambodia where less than 40 percent of children have one.

另一个问题是确保孩子有出生证明。这在很多国家都很重要，而柬埔寨的问题是只有不到 40% 的孩子有证明。

“So we need to have essential safeguards to do inter-country adoptions as well as domestic adoptions.  For example, to be sure that Child A is really Child A, that there is no problem with the birth certificate.  Other types of issues like this need to be in place before any adoption takes place.  So these are the things that Cambodia is working on now.”

“所以在国际收养和国内收养问题上，都需要基本的安全保障。比如，确保孩子甲真的是孩子甲，出生证没问题。还有一些这类问题需要在收养之前解决。因此，这些事情是柬埔寨目前工作的重心。”

Under the terms of the 1993 Hague Adoption Convention, which Cambodia has signed, participating states are required to put the interests of the child first.  The number one goal is to try to keep the child with their birth family or their extended family.

在柬埔寨参与签署的 1993 年《海牙收养公约》条款下，参与国必须将孩子的利益放在首位。第一目标是尽量让孩子和亲生父母或他们的亲属在一起。

If that is not possible, the next step is to try to find a home within the country.  Experts want Cambodia to do more to support domestic adoption over the third and last possibility, which is international adoption.

如果做不到这些，下一步就是试着在国内找一个家庭。专家希望柬埔寨更多地支持国内收养，而不是第三种选择，也就是最后一种选择——国际收养。

States must also put safety measures in place to prevent the kidnapping, sale and trafficking of children for adoption.  And they must guarantee that there is no corruption 5 in the process.  That continues to be a major issue in Cambodia.  Last year, Transparency International ranked the country as one of the 20 most corrupt 4 in the world.

各国也必须采取安全措施防止绑架、贩卖和非法交易儿童。而且他们必须确保这个过程没有贪污腐败。这在柬埔寨仍是一个重要问题。去年，透明国际组织将该国家列为世界上贪腐最严重的 20 个国家之一。

UNICEF Cambodia's deputy representative, Sun Ah Kim, says several important measures still need to be in put in place.  She says staff must receive the correct training.  They have to make sure that the children are really in need of adoption.  And, she says, they must also make sure the adopting parents are qualified 6.

联合国儿童基金会的柬埔寨副代表 Sun Ah Kim 说，还有一些重要措施需要到位。她说，员工必须接受适当的培训。他们要确保这些孩子真正需要被收养。而且，她说，他们还必须确保收养父母的资格。

“As of now, not all these requirements are in place.  The resumption of adoptions should take place gradually to guarantee the proper and orderly implementation 7 of both the International Country Adoption Law and the Hague Convention.”

“到现在为止，不是所有要求都得到了满足。收养的恢复应该逐步实施，确保《国际国家收养法》和《海牙公约》都能够适当地、有序地执行。”

The Ministry 8 of Social Affairs says that 3,800 Cambodian children were adopted internationally between 1997 and 2009.  That is the year Cambodia suspended adoptions.  The recent announcement suggests that the country believes it is close to meeting the necessary requirements to begin again.

社会事务部称，有 3800 名柬埔寨儿童在 1997 年到 2009 年被国际收养。这是柬埔寨暂停收养的时期。最近的公告表明，该国家认为重启收养的必需要求基本得到了满足。

I’m Steve Ember.

You are listening to As It Is, from VOA Learning English.  I’m June Simms in Washington.

Chinese Couples Having Babies by American Moms

中国夫妻通过美国妈妈产子

More Chinese families are looking for surrogate mothers in the United States.  A surrogate mother is a woman who agrees to become pregnant and carry a baby to full term for another woman who cannot have children.  Surrogacy is illegal at most hospitals in China.  But agencies are now connecting Chinese couples with Americans who will carry their children for a price.

越来越多的中国家庭在美国寻找代孕妈妈。代孕妈妈就是同意代替另一位无法怀孕的女性怀孕、生育的女性。但现在有中介为中国夫妻联系那些以代孕挣钱的美国人。

Tony Jiang and his wife Cherry live in Shanghai.  The couple has three children, all born in the United States to an American surrogate mother.  Their daughter and twins were born in California.

Tony Jiang 和他的妻子 Cherry 住在上海。这对夫妇有三个孩子，都是靠代孕妈妈出生在美国的。他们的女儿和一对双胞胎出生在加利福尼亚。

“The elder girl is now three years old.  The younger twins are now 13 months.”

“大女儿现在 3 岁了。较小的一对双胞胎现在 13 个月。”

The couple had twice tried surrogacy services in China through military hospitals, which can legally perform the operation.  But their efforts were unsuccessful.  They then contacted a surrogacy agency in the United States.  There, they connected with Amanda, a California woman who wishes to use only her first name.  She gave birth to all three of the Jiangs’ children.

这对夫妇曾两次尝试在中国通过军医院接受代孕服务，后者可以合法进行手术。但他们没有成功。然后他们联系了美国的一个代孕机构。在那里，他们联系了Amanda，她是一位加利福尼亚妇女，只希望我们透露她的名。Jiang 夫妇的三个孩子都是由她代孕的。

“Cherry was actually in the room with me when Nicole was born so she got to actually witness the birth and see Nicole come into this world.  And she was so ecstatic, and she was crying, and she was just so happy.”

“在 Nicole 出生的时候，Cherry 实际上跟我在一个房间，所以她其实见证了出生过程，看着 Nicole 来到这个世界上。她非常欣喜，哭了出来，她只是太高兴了。”

China changed its one child policy last year.  It now permits couples to have two children if one of the parents is an only child.  This has led to an increase in the number of families seeking to have children. 

中国去年改革了计划生育政策，现在允许单独或双独父母生两个孩子。这导致要孩子的家庭正在增多。

The Jiangs are among an increasing number of wealthy Chinese couples seeking to have babies by women in the United States.  That decision comes with other values.

Jiang 夫妇是越来越多寻求在美国代孕生子的富裕家庭之一。这项决定还有其他价值。

Under the 14th Amendment 9 to the U.S. Constitution, anyone born in the United States has a right to citizenship 10.  U.S. citizens may also apply for green cards for their parents when they turn 21.

在美国宪法第 14 修正案中，任何在美国出生的人都是美国公民。美国公民到 21 岁后可以为他们的父母申请绿卡。

Tony Jiang started an agency in Shanghai that works with Chinese couples who want to have children.  He says most couples, like him and his wife, seek surrogate mothers because they are medically unable to have children themselves.  They choose the United States because of the high quality of its health care system.

Tony Jiang 在上海为想要孩子的中国夫妇办了一家中介。他说，大多数夫妇，比如他和他的妻子，找代孕是因为他们在生理上无法自己生育。他们选择美国是因为那里高质量的医保体系。

“More and more patients are inquiring about services at clinics.”

“有越来越多的病人询问诊所服务。”

Surrogacy services can cost as much as $120,000.  However, Chinese couples are increasingly willing to pay those high prices for the chance to have a child born in the United States.

代孕服务的价格高达 12 万美元。但是，中国夫妇越来越愿意支付高价让孩子有机会出生在美国。

And that is As It Is, from VOA Learning English.  I’m June Simms.  Thanks for joining us.  VOA world news is coming up at the beginning of the hour Universal Time.