奧巴馬簽署孟昭文法案 聯邦法律中去除"Oriental"

President Barack Obama has signed legislation sponsored by a Queens congresswoman, which removes the term "Oriental" from federal law.

日前，美國總統貝拉克·奧巴馬同意了一項由皇后區的衆議院女議員的提議，並簽署了法案，將"Oriental"這一詞從聯邦法律中去除。

The legislation sponsored by U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) replaces the term "Oriental" with the term "Asian-Americans." The term "Oriental" still appears in Title 42 of the U.S. Code, Meng's office said.

這一法令由國會衆議員孟昭文（皇后區民主黨）提出，將 "Oriental"(東方人)一詞用"Asian Americans"(亞裔)取而代之。孟昭文辦公室表示，"Oriental"一詞仍出現在美國法典的第42篇。

"The term 'Oriental' has no place in federal law and at long last this insulting and outdated term will be gone for good," Meng said in a news release. "No longer will any law of the United States refer to Asian Americans in such an offensive way, and I applaud and thank President Obama for signing my bill to get rid of this antiquated term.

孟昭文在新聞發佈會上說："'Oriental'字眼不應該出現在聯邦法律中，最終這一帶有侮辱色彩的、過時的詞彙將永遠消失。美國任何提及亞裔美國人的法律將不再以如此冒犯的形式出現。我讚賞並感激奧巴馬總統能夠簽署我提出的去除這個古老的詞彙的法令。"

"Many Americans may not be aware that the word 'Oriental' is derogatory. But it is an insulting term that needed to be removed from the books, and I am extremely pleased that my legislation to do that is now the law of the land," Meng continued.

"許多美國人也許都沒有意識到'Oriental'這個詞帶有貶意。但是，它確實是一個侮辱性的詞彙，必須從聯邦法律中去除。看到我的提議已經成爲美國的法律，我非常高興。"

"Nobody, let alone the federal government, should use a hurtful term like 'Orientals' when referring to Americans of Asian descent," U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and an original cosponsor of Meng's bill, said in the release.

新聞發佈上，孟昭文法案的聯合發起人之一、美國衆議員（加利福尼亞州共和黨議員）、衆議院外交事務委員會主席埃德·羅伊斯說: "當提到亞裔美國人的時候，任何人都不應該使用如'Oriental'這樣的有傷害性的字眼，更別說是美國聯邦法律了。"

Title 42 of the U.S. Code deals with federal laws on public health, social welfare and civil rights. Its references to the term "Oriental," which date back to the 1970s, are the last of two places in U.S. law where the term is used to refer to people, Meng's office said.

孟昭文辦公室表示，美國法典第42篇是涵蓋公共衛生、社會福利與公民權利的聯邦法律。其中，"Oriental"字樣（可追朔到20世紀70年代）是美國法律中最後兩處將這一詞用來指代人。

The word also appears in the text of the Department of Energy Organization Act and the Local Public Works Capital Development and Investment Act of 1976, Meng's office said.

孟昭文辦公室還表示，這一詞也出現在"美國能源組織法案"和"1976年基礎設施資金開發與投資法案"中。