2006年VOA标准英语-Ousted Thai PM Leaves Mixed Record as Governmen

By Ron Corben
Bangkok
21 September 2006

Thaksin Shinawatra leaves a London hotel with his daughter Pinthongta, September 21, 2006

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, deposed¹ this week by a military coup², left office tarnished³ by allegations of corruption⁴ and abuse of power.  His ungraceful exit is in stark⁵ contrast to the high hopes many had when he took office in 2001.

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Thaksin Shinawatra, a former policeman and telecommunications tycoon⁶, was elected to office in 2001 by a landslide⁷. He often extolled⁸ the virtue⁹ of business management in his approach to government.

His chief executive officer style was applied¹⁰ from cabinet meetings to the local government level, where he called on governors to apply skill to delivering services to local communities.

It wasn't long after the Thai Rak Thai party that he founded won election, however, that Mr. Thaksin's critics were accusing him of arrogance¹¹ and authoritarianism¹³. In an address in 2003, he answered his critics.

"Under a democratic system you have to make it clear, you have to make it strong and push it. This is not authoritarian¹². Under a democratic system how can I be authoritarian? [But] If you try to make democracy, at the end you will run a country by playing politics everyday," he said.

At the time of Mr. Thaksin's first victory, the Thai economy, bruised¹⁴ by Asia's financial crisis of the late 1990s, was in need of a strong leader.

After the election, he quickly began implementing¹⁵ populist policies aimed at the poor, including subsidized public health programs, low-cost loans for the rural poor and village-based micro-industries.

His brusque manner made him unpopular among politicians, academics and the middle class in Bangkok, but his policies were extremely popular in the countryside. He easily won election again earlier this year, despite the allegations against him, and many of the people he helped have expressed dismay at his being thrown out of office.

Thitinand Pongsutthirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, has been critical of Mr. Thaksin. But he concedes that the prime minister did make positive contributions during his time in office.

"The focus on the rural poor, the rural grass roots, the urban poor - his restructuring of the bureaucracy was done when it was needed. So he left a very mixed legacy¹⁶. I would say 95 per cent is not good - but don't forget the five percent," said Pongsutthirak.

Street protests against Mr. Thaksin's policies began in Bangkok in late 2005, and evolved into outright¹⁷ calls for his resignation in January, after his family's tax free-sale of nearly $2-billion worth of stock in the company he founded.

Chulalalongkorn University's Thitinand said that act became a key factor leading to Thaksin's downfall.

"The reasons for the coup was Thaksin's lack of legitimacy¹⁸ stemming from the charges we've seen all throughout the year - constitutional violations¹⁹, corruption, conflict of interests, abuses of power, selling state assets to foreign companies," he continued. "These are charges that Thaksin has not answered."

But Thitinand believes Thaksin may yet attempt to make a return to Thai politics.

"Thaksin's support runs deep - it's extensive, it's widespread," added Thitinand. "And we have to admit that he's done something that no one else in Thailand has done - he has made himself very popular to a majority of the Thai people."

Mr. Thaksin was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly when the coup took place. He is now in London, where he released a statement Thursday calling for "national reconciliation," and urging all parties to work together for the sake of the Thai king and country.

It was a typically flamboyant²⁰ gesture from a forceful politician who has not yet admitted that he has lost.

1 deposed   

v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The president was deposed in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被废黜。
• The head of state was deposed by the army. 国家元首被军队罢免了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

3 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

4 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

5 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

6 tycoon   

n.有钱有势的企业家，大亨

参考例句：

• The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
• The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。

7 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。

8 extolled   

v.赞颂，赞扬，赞美( extol的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school. 他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Tessenow decried the metropolis and extolled the peasant virtues. 特森诺夫痛诋大都市，颂扬农民的美德。 来自辞典例句

9 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

10 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

11 arrogance   

n.傲慢，自大

参考例句：

• His arrogance comes out in every speech he makes.他每次讲话都表现得骄傲自大。
• Arrogance arrested his progress.骄傲阻碍了他的进步。

12 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

13 authoritarianism   

权力主义，独裁主义

参考例句：

• Modern authoritarianism is a vestige of traditional personal rule. 现代独裁主义则是传统的个人统治的残余。
• In its latter days it was a byword for authoritarianism, incompetence, and corruption. 在后期，它是独裁、无能和腐化的代号。

14 bruised   

[医]青肿的，瘀紫的

参考例句：

• his bruised and bloodied nose 他沾满血的青肿的鼻子
• She had slipped and badly bruised her face. 她滑了一跤，摔得鼻青脸肿。

15 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

16 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

17 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

18 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

19 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

20 flamboyant   

adj.火焰般的，华丽的，炫耀的

参考例句：

• His clothes were rather flamboyant for such a serious occasion.他的衣着在这种严肃场合太浮夸了。
• The King's flamboyant lifestyle is well known.国王的奢华生活方式是人尽皆知的。