英闻天下——70 Year End Review: General Elections in 2012

 　　2012 can be called a year of political change. Many countries including the United States, Russia, Japan and South Korea all held their general elections.

 

　　As such, today's key words are "general elections".

 

　　CRI's Zheng Chenguang has more.

 

　　"And whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you, I have learned from you, and you've made me a better president. And with your stories and your struggles, I return to the White House more determined¹ and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do and the future that lies ahead."

 

　　That was US President Barack Obama shortly after winning a second term in office in November, 2012.

 

　　Obama defeated Republican candidate Mitt² Romney in the tightest race for the White House in decades.

 

　　Though winning the elections, the President's second term will not be easy. On top of economic challenges, the US is facing strained ties with emerging countries, as well as the ongoing³ fight against terrorism. Bruce Jones is professor of political science at New York University.

 

　　"The US economy is supposed to integrate with the world economy now at a scale that is substantially different than 20 years ago. There are rising powers who have greater influence in world politics and national security than even ten years ago. The Middle East is in turmoil⁴. And our allies and our stakes in that region are substantial."

 

　　In Russia, Vladimir Putin won the presidential election in March, returning to Kremlin for a third time.

 

　　"Thanks those who bless Great Russia. I promised you we would win, and we won. We won in an open and honest battle. Thank you!"

 

　　Putin has vowed⁵ to build Russia into a stronger global power.

 

　　Jiang Yi, Researcher at the Institute of Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, believes Russia's relationship with the west is a priority for Putin.

 

　　"Russia still has strained ties with the west. But they will try to find common ground to move forward."

 

　　In East Asia, Japan's Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide⁶ victory in parliamentary elections in December. The win helps Party leader Shinzo Abe become Japan's Prime Minister for the second time.

 

　　"It doesn't mean we got 100-percent of the nation's trust. I think it only means people think it is time to stop the chaos⁷ caused by the DPJ over the past three years."

 

　　Abe said strengthening the alliance between Japan and the U S is a top priority.

 

　　He also wants to improve ties with China. Relations between the two countries entered a historic low in 2012 due to an argument over the disputed Diaoyu Islands. Japan's former Noda government attempted to buy the islands, despite China's strong opposition⁸. Abe takes a tough stance on the issue.

 

　　However, Satoshi Amako, director of the Modern China Research Institute at Waseda University in Japan, says the Abe cabinet's bark is worse than its bite.

 

　　"Abe's thinking is supposed to be the hawkish⁹. He may also make such statements. However, once he is in power, he's unlikely to put his ideas into action. Instead, he will react pragmatically to real issues."

 

　　In the same month, Japan's neighbor South Korea elected its first female President, Park Geun-hye.

 

　　"This election is your victory. This is a victory is brought by the people's hope for overcoming crisis and economic recovery."

 

　　The 60-year-old daughter of former President Park Chung-hee won victory over liberal rival Moon Jae-in.

 

　　Park vowed to achieve national unity¹⁰ and overcome partisan¹¹ wrangling¹² during her five-year term.

 

　　Her as South Korea's President marked the final of general elections in 2012, which also took place in France, Mexico, Venezuela, Ghana, and so on. Qu Xing is Director of China Institute of International Studies. He says despite so much political change in 2012, a lot remains¹³ the same for 2013.

 

　　"In the US, Obama was re-elected. In Russia, Putin and Medvedev just switched their position. In South Korea, Park was in power, but she comes from the same party with former President. The key factor lies in Japan where the opposition party was returned to power. Therefore, their foreign policies may change more relatively¹⁴."

 

　　Analysts¹⁵ will be watching closely to see what lies ahead for the next 12 months.

 

　　For CRI, this is Zheng Chenguang.

1 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

2 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

5 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

6 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

7 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 hawkish   

adj. 鹰派的, 强硬派的

参考例句：

• My staff's advice that first day was amazingly hawkish. 在第一天，我的僚属们的意见是令人吃惊的鹰派意见。
• Antiwar groups fear Barack Obama may create hawkish Cabinet. 反战团体担心巴拉克·奥巴马可以创建强硬派内阁。

10 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

11 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

12 wrangling   

v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The two sides have spent most of their time wrangling over procedural problems. 双方大部分时间都在围绕程序问题争论不休。 来自辞典例句
• The children were wrangling (with each other) over the new toy. 孩子为新玩具（互相）争吵。 来自辞典例句

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

15 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。