[ti:Greenland to Trump: ‘Not for Sale’] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Greenland, the self-ruling territory of Denmark, told the United States Friday, "We are open for business, not for sale." [00:13.36]Greenland's foreign minister dismissed the idea of Denmark selling the territory. [00:20.72]One day earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. President Donald Trump had spoken with his advisers about possibly buying the world's biggest island. [00:35.80]The newspaper reported that Trump repeatedly expressed interest in buying Greenland. He even asked the White House counsel to explore the idea. [00:49.32]The report surfaced ahead of Trump's planned visit to Denmark in September. [00:55.60]He is set to meet with the prime minsters of Denmark and Greenland. [01:01.64]The Journal said that the planned visit is unrelated to the idea of buying Greenland. [01:09.12]Some Danish politicians have laughed at the idea. [01:14.16]"It has to be an April Fool's joke," wrote former prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen. [01:21.95]His comments appeared on Twitter. [01:25.28]Another politician, Soren Espersen, told Danish broadcaster DR, "If he is truly contemplating this, then this is final proof, that he has gone mad." [01:40.60]Espersen added, "The thought of Denmark selling 50,000 citizens to the United States is completely ridiculous." [01:51.88]But in 1917, Denmark did sell a group of islands in the Caribbean to the U.S. government for $25 million. [02:03.32]The islands are now known as the U.S. Virgin Islands. [02:08.44]As for Greenland, U.S. President Harry Truman offered to buy the resource-rich island in 1946 for $100 million. [02:21.00]Denmark refused the offer. [02:23.96]The U.S. government also had no success in trying to buy Greenland and neighboring Iceland back in 1867. [02:34.40]The United States and other world powers are showing increasing interest in Greenland because of its location near the Arctic Circle. [02:44.96]Last May, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that Russia's and China's actions in the Arctic had to be watched closely. [02:57.24]Eighty percent of Greenland's 2.2 million square kilometers is covered by ice. [03:05.80]The island is home to about 57,000 people. [03:10.52]They live along the coast. [03:13.49]The economy depends largely on exports of shrimp and fish and aid from the government of Denmark. [03:22.64]Under a 1951 defense treaty with the United States and Denmark, the U.S. military operates Thule Air Base in Greenland. [03:33.68]The base houses a radar station that is part of a missile defense system. [03:39.96]Last year, Denmark decided to help build two new airports in Greenland to prevent China from investing in the island. [03:50.40]Martin Lidegaard is a former Danish foreign minister. [03:55.36]He told the Reuters news agency, "what we can take seriously is that the U.S. stakes and interest in the Arctic is significantly on the rise and they want a much bigger influence." [04:11.16]I'm Ashley Thompson. [04:12.44]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM