VOA慢速英语--古巴艺术家担心新法律的审查

Artists and rights activists² are pushing the Cuban government to change a law that they fear will hurt creativity and increase censorship.

The law is to take effect next month. It bars artists and musicians from “providing their services” in any place open to the public, including privately³ owned spaces, without first getting government approval.

The Cuban government in 2010 adopted a reform measure to require government approval only for state-run places. Since then, artists and musicians have presented their work in private as part of a wider push for economic, social, and political reforms in Cuba.

Artists and musicians have been able to produce more work and expand their offerings, with increased internet access and greater freedom to travel. But that has also made it harder for the government to collect taxes and oversee⁴ their works.

The new law worries some independent artists, who fear they will not be able to get state approval. That could cost them their livelihood⁵.

Luis Puerta is an artist who has supported his family by selling his paintings in private. He told the Reuters news service, “I never thought of emigrating before, but now I am.”

Some believe the new law will prevent artists from speaking out. Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara describes himself as an “artivist.” The word is a combination of artist and activist¹. He said, “This is a measure of repression⁶ because you won’t get government approval if you are not within the socialist⁷ ideology⁸.”

Otero Alcantara has led a campaign against the measure. On social media, he and other artists have described it as a “law that converts art into a crime.” Alcantara and others have also hosted performances to protest the measure. They also have sent letters to Cuban officials.

Marco Castillo, an artist with Los Carpinteros (The Carpenters), said the law “would be a painful return to a gray, anti-cultural past of censorship.”

He was talking about the early 1970s, when the Cuban government persecuted¹⁰ artists for what it said was a lack of support for the Revolution. The government later apologized for the treatment.

The Cuban government did not answer a request for comment from Reuters. State-run media reports say that Decree 349, as the law is known, aims to prevent tax avoidance and the spread of art done in bad taste or created to “incite public disorder¹¹.”

Is the protest working?

There are signs that the artists are making their voices heard.

Amnesty International has backed their campaign against the law. The organization warned that the law could be used broadly to crack down on dissent¹².

The European Union also raised concerns about the law during recent talks with Cuba on human rights.

The Communist Party newspaper Granma reported this month that the culture minister would work with artists to revise the law.

I'm Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

livelihood - n. a way of earning money in order to live

ideology - n. the set of ideas and beliefs of a group or political party

persecute⁹ - v. to treat someone unfairly especially because of race or religious or political beliefs

crack down - v. to control or put limit on someone or something

1 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

4 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

5 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

6 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

7 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

8 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

9 persecute   

vt.迫害，虐待；纠缠，骚扰

参考例句：

• They persecute those who do not conform to their ideas.他们迫害那些不信奉他们思想的人。
• Hitler's undisguised effort to persecute the Jews met with worldwide condemnation.希特勒对犹太人的露骨迫害行为遭到世界人民的谴责。

10 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

11 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

12 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。