美国国家公共电台 NPR--Thai Progressive Party is still short of the majority it needs to form a government

Thai Progressive Party is still short of the majority it needs to form a government

Transcript¹

Voters in Thailand have delivered a stinging rebuke² to the nine-year rule of the military-led government. But will the opposition³ party that won the most votes get a chance to rule?

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The party that won the most seats in an election in Thailand does not yet know if they'll get to govern. Voters favored the progressive party. It's opposed to the military-backed rule of the past nine years. But with many parties represented, the progressives do not have an outright⁴ majority of seats to form a government. NPR's Michael Sullivan reports from Bangkok.

MICHAEL SULLIVAN, BYLINE⁵: The Move Forward Party's prime ministerial candidate is a good listener. Well, to NPR, at least.

PITA LIMJAROENRAT: As a big fan of Up First and Tiny Desk, it's really a good day for me today.

SULLIVAN: The charismatic 42-year-old Pita Limjaroenrat is also a single dad with a 7-year-old daughter, a peripatetic⁶ past and a colorful resume.

LIMJAROENRAT: I was born in Bangkok, grew up in Hamilton, New Zealand, until high school and then Longhorns UT Austin in Texas. Back here I worked in investment banking⁷ at Merrill Lynch and then Boston Consulting Group and then the government house here in Thailand and then a dual⁸ degree from Harvard on public policy and MIT Sloan for business administration and then family business and then ran for office.

SULLIVAN: That was just over four years ago as part of the fledgling Future Forward Party led by another charismatic young leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit. The party finished a surprising third in the 2019 general election, its calls for change and reform of the military and the monarchy⁹ striking a chord with young voters in particular. That strong finish alarmed the conservative establishment, and Future Forward was dissolved by the royalist conservative-backed courts the next year.

LIMJAROENRAT: We were hitting the right notes so much that they felt like we were threatening the elites¹⁰ and we were challenging the status quo.

SULLIVAN: The party dissolved, its leadership banned from politics. It quickly rebranded as the Move Forward Party.

NAPON JATUSRIPITAK: Pita - he was already a prominent figure within the party due to his strong performance as an opposition MP, and that's the reason why he was selected to play a key role as a leader of the Move Forward Party.

SULLIVAN: That's Napon Jatusripitak, a visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak think tank in Singapore. He says Pita and Move Forward were competing with established parties with vast patronage¹¹ networks and huge campaign war chests. Move Forward had neither, so it had to get creative.

JATUSRIPITAK: The Move Forward Party recognized early on the power of social media and adopted a robust¹² digital strategy to connect with and mobilize supporters.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHEERING)

SULLIVAN: Supporters at Move Forward rallies like this one, who use TikTok, Twitter and Instagram, voters Napon says practically live online.

JATUSRIPITAK: So online, these individuals serve as content creators for the party by engaging with its activities. They're not only given opportunities to interact with their candidates in ways that were not previously¹³ possible, but they're also transformed from passive supporters into active campaigners for the party and its candidates, even.

SULLIVAN: Move Forward ended up winning more seats than any other party, and Pita is now working furiously to form a coalition¹⁴ government with himself as prime minister. One of his biggest hurdles¹⁵ - the 250-member military-appointed Senate, which makes up a third of the votes in parliament. Most senators oppose Move Forward's call to amend¹⁶ the law against criticizing the monarchy, and without at least some of them, Pita will have a hard time winning the 376 votes he needs to become prime minister. And that's just one tool the establishment could use to thwart¹⁷ Move Forward and its allies. Again, Napon Jatusripitak.

JATUSRIPITAK: Even if they manage to do everything correctly, people anticipate a response from the conservative establishment, most likely in the form of judicial¹⁸ intervention¹⁹.

SULLIVAN: He thinks the likely first step is the disqualification of Pita on trumped-up charges, just like Future Forward leader Thanathorn before him in 2019. Dissolving the party, he says, would be more dangerous. Chulalongkorn University political analyst²⁰ Thitinan Pongsudhirak agrees.

THITINAN PONGSUDHIRAK: This time, if the same subversion²¹ is repeated with the dissolution of Move Forward, you'll see protests for sure because they're seeing the systems being rigged against them, against their future. We could be in a crisis by July, August if the vote is subverted²² systematically²³ like we've seen in the recent past.

SULLIVAN: Nine years after staging its last coup²⁴, the military royalist establishment has failed miserably²⁵ at the polls, but it still has its thumb planted firmly on the scale.

Michael Sullivan, NPR News, Bangkok.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

3 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。

4 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。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 peripatetic   

adj.漫游的，逍遥派的，巡回的

参考例句：

• Her father was in the army and the family led a peripatetic existence.她父亲是军人，所以全家人随军过着一种流动的生活。
• Peripatetic music teachers visit the school regularly.兼职音乐教师定期到校授课。

7 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

8 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

9 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

10 elites   

精华( elite的名词复数 )； 精锐； 上层集团； （统称）掌权人物

参考例句：

• The elites are by their nature a factor contributing to underdevelopment. 这些上层人物天生是助长欠发达的因素。
• Elites always detest gifted and nimble outsiders. 社会名流对天赋聪明、多才多艺的局外人一向嫌恶。

11 patronage   

n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场

参考例句：

• Though it was not yet noon,there was considerable patronage.虽然时间未到中午，店中已有许多顾客惠顾。
• I am sorry to say that my patronage ends with this.很抱歉，我的赞助只能到此为止。

12 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

13 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

14 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

15 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

16 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

17 thwart   

v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的)

参考例句：

• We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。
• I don't think that will thwart our purposes.我认为那不会使我们的目的受到挫折。

18 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

19 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

20 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。

21 subversion   

n.颠覆，破坏

参考例句：

• He was arrested in parliament on charges of subversion for organizing the demonstration.他因组织示威活动在议会上被以颠覆破坏罪名逮捕。
• It had a cultural identity relatively immune to subversion from neighboring countries.它的文化同一性使它相对地不易被邻国所颠覆。

22 subverted   

v.颠覆，破坏（政治制度、宗教信仰等）( subvert的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某人）道德败坏或不忠

参考例句：

• Their wills could be subverted only by death. 只有死神才能使他们放弃他们的意志。 来自教父部分
• Indiana State laws deliberately subverted the intent of the constitutions 14th Amendment. 印第安纳州的法律有意歪曲联邦宪法第十四条修正案的愿意。 来自辞典例句

23 systematically   

adv.有系统地

参考例句：

• This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
• The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。

24 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。

25 miserably   

adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地

参考例句：

• The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。
• It was drizzling, and miserably cold and damp. 外面下着毛毛细雨，天气又冷又湿，令人难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》