亚洲—菲律宾政治危机仍在继续

Philippine Political Crisis Continues

菲律宾政治危机仍在继续

 

Pressure continued to mount Monday for Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo¹ to resign over allegations of vote-rigging in the 2004 elections. Former president Corazon Aquino again called for Mrs. Arroyo to step down, and the opposition² is planning protests in the capital later this week.

 

Sunday's statement by influential³ Catholic bishops⁵, who stopped short of calling for the president's resignation, may have given Mrs. Arroyo a reprieve⁶. But it failed to convince her critics.

 

During a mass in Manila Monday in this largely Roman Catholic country, former president Corazon Aquino said Mrs. Arroyo's resignation was the best option.

 

Corazon Aquino: The second path is the long and inherently contentious⁷ process of a congressional impeachment⁸ that can only generate more divisions on society and cast more suspicions on the threatened institutions of our democracy, I ask the president to spare our country and herself from this second option and make the supreme⁹ sacrifice of resigning.

 

Presidential spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao repeated that Mrs. Arroyo will not resign.

 

Rigoberto Tiglao: I really can't understand why a sitting president would be forced to resign on the basis on things [where there is] no evidence that are legal for putting down a president.

 

Opposition leaders are planning a peaceful protest on Wednesday to demand Mrs. Arroyo resign.

 

Previous mass protests ended in the ouster of two previous presidents, Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and Joseph Estrada in 2001.

 

But so far, opposition calls for demonstrations¹⁰ against President Arroyo have largely gone unheeded.

 

Hotel manager Ed Samson says the country needs a new political system, not a new leader.

 

Ed Samson: I think the system has to be replaced. You need to replace the president, another president will come in, the same problem will come up and they'll want to kick him out. I think it's the system that is rotten.

 

The political crisis has prompted two international ratings agencies, Standard and Poor's and Fitch Ratings to lower their outlook for the Philippines from stable to negative.

 

James McCormack, a senior director of Fitch Ratings, says the downgrade is due to the uncertainty¹¹.

 

James McCormack: When we look at the politics in the short-term we really don't see any immediate¹² solutions to the issue.

 

Congress is due to debate an impeachment motion when it reconvenes on July 25.

 

Mrs. Arroyo admits talking to an election official during the 2004 presidential vote, but denies any wrongdoing, calling the phone call a "lapse¹³ in judgment¹⁴."

 

Nancy-Amelia Collins, VOA news, Manila.

 

注释：

resign [ri5zain] v. 辞去，辞职

vote-rigging 投票舞弊

influential [7influ5enFEl] adj. 有影响的，有势力的

catholic [5kAWElik] adj. 天主教的

bishop⁴ [5biFEp] n. 主教

convince [kEn5vins] vt. 使确信，使信服

generate [5dVenE7reit] vt. 产生，发生

sacrifice [5sAkrifais] n. 牺牲，损失

unheeded [Qn5hi:did] adj. 未被注意的，被忽视的

come up 出现

reconvene [ri:kEn5vi:n] vt. 重新集合，重新召集

1 arroyo   

n.干涸的河床，小河

参考例句：

• She continued along the path until she came to the arroyo.她沿着小路一直走到小河边。
• They had a picnic by the arroyo.他们在干枯的河床边野餐过。

2 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。

3 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

4 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

5 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

6 reprieve   

n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解

参考例句：

• He was saved from the gallows by a lastminute reprieve.最后一刻的缓刑令把他从绞架上解救了下来。
• The railway line, due for closure, has been granted a six-month reprieve.本应停运的铁路线获准多运行6 个月。

7 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

8 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

11 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

12 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

13 lapse   

n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效

参考例句：

• The incident was being seen as a serious security lapse.这一事故被看作是一次严重的安全疏忽。
• I had a lapse of memory.我记错了。

14 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。