VOA标准英语2014--Thai Protesters Undeterred by Election Plan 泰国抗议者对选举计划无动于衷

 

Thai Protesters Undeterred by Election Plan 泰国抗议者对选举计划无动于衷

BANGKOK — Thailand's anti-government protesters are vowing¹ to oust² Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her family from politics even if Sunday’s elections reaffirm her popular support. Thai experts say mediation³ is needed to prevent further violence, and so far there are few signs of negotiation⁴.

Thailand's protesters, like Surachet Sinkreawan, say they are undeterred by the government's decision to proceed Sunday with national polls.

The mainly middle and upper class protesters want to suspend elections that their candidates in the Democrat⁵ Party keep losing and replace the government with an unelected council that will push through unspecified reforms.

 “We will not lose, even though the government goes ahead with the election. But I am not sure whether any violence will occur like it did on advance voting day,” said Surachet.

Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban said he and his supporters do not intend to block voters Sunday, but aim to eliminate the Shinawatra family and loyalists from politics.

If protesters, the courts or the army make good on such threats, it likely would cause the government's Red Shirt supporters in the north to rise up, risking violent conflict.

Kriengsak Chareonwongsak, president of the Institute of Future Studies for Development in Thailand, said, “You either negotiate before the violent clashes or you do it afterward⁶. Somewhere, negotiation must happen. And, I think it will happen in Thailand. Unfortunately, my prediction now: [if] it is going this way without change, it will be after bloodshed.”

The Thai military has often stepped in when political violence escalated⁷. While many oppose another military coup⁸, independent legal analyst⁹ Verapat Pariyawong said the military remains¹⁰ the most likely mediator¹¹.

“So, if there's going to be someone who can conduct a principled mediation, which is in itself quite against the principle because I don't think the military is supposed to be conducting mediation between the government and protest leaders, but it has to be the military," said Verapat. "And, I think the only legitimate¹² way for that to happen is for there to be a strong turn-out on February 2nd so Thai people can send the message to the military commanders that they want this country to move forward.”

Even if Sunday’s voting goes smoothly¹³, protesters already succeeded in blocking enough candidate registrations¹⁴ to prevent the government from filling the 475 seats needed to convene¹⁵ parliament.

 

That leaves Thailand's future in a dangerous power vacuum.

1 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

2 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

3 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

4 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

5 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

6 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

7 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

8 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。

9 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

10 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。

11 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

12 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

13 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

14 registrations   

n.登记( registration的名词复数 )；登记项目；登记（或注册、挂号）人数；（管风琴）音栓配合（法）

参考例句：

• In addition to the check-in procedures, the room clerks are customarily responsible for recording advance registrations. 除了办理住宿手续外，客房登记员按惯例还负责预约登记。 来自辞典例句
• Be the Elekta expert for products registrations in China. 成为在中国注册产品的医科达公司专家。 来自互联网

15 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。