韓國在美國贏得韓日海洋名稱之爭

South Korea has welcomed Virginia state lawmakers’ approval of a bill that requires new school textbooks to use the Korean name for the Sea of Japan when referring to the body of water between Japan and Korea.

韓國對美國弗吉尼亞州議員批准一項法案表示歡迎，該法案要求新版教科書在提到日本和韓國之間的海域時，同時採用“日本海”(Sea of Japan)和韓國名稱。

Virginia’s House of Delegates voted 81-15 to approve the two-line bill, which requires “all text books approved by the board of education . . . when referring to the Sea of Japan, shall note that it is also called the East Sea”.

弗吉尼亞州議會以81票贊成、15票反對通過了這項兩行字的法案，要求“教育局批准的所有課本……在提到日本海時，應註明它也被稱爲東海(East Sea)”。

The issue has emerged as the latest diplomatic spat between South Korea and Japan, and comes at a time when relations between the two countries are exceptionally bad amid a territorial dispute over an island group that lies in the sea.

這個問題已成爲韓國和日本之間最新的外交口水戰，併發生在兩國關係因圍繞上述海域一個島羣的領土糾紛而陷入低谷之際。

Seoul has argued that Tokyo won foreign recognition of the name “Sea of Japan” only during its imperial expansion, and views the term as emblematic of Korea’s humiliation by its neighbour.

首爾主張，東京只是在日本帝國擴張時期才贏得國外對“日本海”這個名稱的認可。韓方將這個名稱視爲朝鮮半島被鄰國佔領的羞辱象徵。

The passage of the Virginia bill is a rare victory on the matter for the South Korean government, which has struggled for more than two decades to gain international acceptance of its preferred name for the sea.

弗吉尼亞州通過該法案，標誌着韓國政府在這個問題上取得罕見的勝利。韓國爲了爭取國際承認其對該海域的稱謂，已經鬥爭了20餘年。

“We welcome the move. And we’re closely watching the remaining procedure,” said Cho Tae-young, spokesman for Seoul’s foreign ministry.

“我們歡迎這一動態，並正在密切關注後續程序，”韓國外交部發言人趙泰永(Cho Tae-young)表示。

The bill will come into effect from July, should Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe sign it into law.

該法案將從7月起生效，前提是弗吉尼亞州州長特里•麥考利夫(Terry McAuliffe)簽署法案，使其正式成爲法律。

Mr McAuliffe holds veto power but is widely expected to sign the measure, given his previous comments during his election campaign in favour of the Korean perspective.

麥考利夫擁有否決權，但從他此前在競選期間發表的贊同韓國觀點的言論看，普遍預計他將簽署該法案。

Mr Cho added that using both of the terms “East Sea” and “Sea of Japan” for the sea made sense, given past resolutions by the United Nations and other international agencies that encouraged such a move when the parties involved have competing claims to a geographic name.

趙泰永表示，同時使用“東海”和“日本海”這兩個名稱是合理的，因爲在有關各方對於某個地理名稱存在不同主張的情況下，聯合國和其他國際機構以往做出的決議鼓勵這麼做。

“We think this reasonable claim was accepted by the Virginia assembly this time,” said Mr Cho. “We also think highly of our brethren’s efforts in the US to bring this change.”

“我們認爲這一合理訴求現在得到弗吉尼亞州議會的接受，”趙泰永表示。“我們也對我們在美國的同胞推動這一變化的努力給予高度讚賞。”

The passage is a result of a lobbying campaign by local Korean Americans, which has been enthusiastically endorsed by Seoul. Hundreds of Korean Americans showed up on Thursday to cheer the vote in Richmond, the state capital. Virginia’s 82,000 Korean Americans outnumber the state’s 19,000 ethnic Japanese.

該法案得以通過是當地韓裔美國人發起的一場遊說活動的結果，而韓國政府對他們的努力熱情支持。週四，數百名韓裔美國人出現在州府里士滿市，爲投票活動助威。弗吉尼亞州有8.2萬名韓裔美國人，遠遠多於該州的日裔人數（1.9萬）。

“I hope that Korean Americans in other states will start this movement in their own cities or states,” said Peter Kim, a Virginia resident and president of the Voice of Korean Americans.

“我希望居住在其它州的韓裔美國人在所在的城市或州發起這項運動，”弗吉尼亞州居民、“韓裔美國人之聲”(Voice of Korean Americans)主席彼得•金(Peter Kim)表示。

The US federal government officially recognises only the name Sea of Japan while the International Hydrographic Association has repeatedly rejected Seoul’s demand that the name “East Sea” be recognised.

美國聯邦政府只承認“日本海”這個名稱，而國際海道測量組織(International Hydrographic Organization，簡稱IHO)已多次拒絕韓國有關承認“東海”這一名稱的要求。

The dispute over the bill came amid strained relations between Seoul and Tokyo, which have worsened due to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent visit to the Yasukuni shrine, where convicted war criminals are among those commemorated.

圍繞該法案發生糾紛之際，首爾和東京之間關係緊張，而日本首相安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)最近參拜靖國神社(Yasukuni shrine)加劇了這種緊張。靖國神社供奉着日本戰爭死難者的亡靈，其中包括一些戰犯。