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Anonymous Posted 19 years ago
Grammar
press for
How to interpret the phrase 'press for' has evolved into a big quarrel in Hongkong. Dr. Martin Lee, the famouns Hongkong legislator, wrote an article in Wall Street Journal asking western country leaders to 'step up the direct engagement' on China's human right issues. He wrote,
When President George W. Bush accepted President Hu Jintao's invitation to attend the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Mr. Bush's press secretary said that he was going to the Games as "a sports fan, not to make any political statement." I too am a great sports fan -- especially of the Soccer World Cup -- but I would encourage President Bush to take a broader vision of the possibilities for the Beijing Games. He should use the next 10 months to press for a significant improvement of basic human rights in my country, including press, assembly and religious freedoms.
The phrase 'press for' was quoted by some Hongkong press as 'applying pressure' to the Chinese government. However, Mr. Lee and his advocates denied such blames. They defended that the phrase 'press for' has nothing to do with 'pressure' at all!
I'm really interested to know that how would a native speaker understand this phrase in this context?
When President George W. Bush accepted President Hu Jintao's invitation to attend the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Mr. Bush's press secretary said that he was going to the Games as "a sports fan, not to make any political statement." I too am a great sports fan -- especially of the Soccer World Cup -- but I would encourage President Bush to take a broader vision of the possibilities for the Beijing Games. He should use the next 10 months to press for a significant improvement of basic human rights in my country, including press, assembly and religious freedoms.
The phrase 'press for' was quoted by some Hongkong press as 'applying pressure' to the Chinese government. However, Mr. Lee and his advocates denied such blames. They defended that the phrase 'press for' has nothing to do with 'pressure' at all!
I'm really interested to know that how would a native speaker understand this phrase in this context?
Top answer
Hi Anon To me, 'press for' in this context means give regular/continual arguments in favor of something.
- Hi Anon To me, 'press for' in this context means give regular/continual arguments in favor of something.
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3 Answers
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Hi Anon
To me, 'press for' in this context means give regular/continual arguments in favor of something.
To me, 'press for' in this context means give regular/continual arguments in favor of something.
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