VOA慢速英语2012 Technology Report - Bahrain and Belarus Added to an ‘Enemies of the Internet’ List

Technology Report - Bahrain and Belarus Added to an ‘Enemies of the Internet’ List

This is the VOA Special English Technology Report. A media rights group has added to its list of countries with the most restrictions¹ on Internet freedom. At the same time, the group removed Libya and Venezuela from a list of countries considered under surveillance.

Reporters Without Borders released the lists earlier this month in its latest “Enemies of the Internet” report.

The report notes the importance of the Internet and social networks in the Middle East during what has been called the Arab Spring. It says social media like Facebook and Twitter have been firmly established as tools for protests and vehicles for freedom.

The group identifies twelve countries as “Enemies of the Internet.” Among them are Burma, China, Cuba, Iran and North Korea. The list also includes Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Bahrain and Belarus are the newest additions to the list. Reporters Without Borders says Bahrain used repressive measures to block news and information after unrest began in the Arab world last year. The group says the government has used a combination of methods to suppress the opposition². These include keeping international media away from the country, arresting bloggers and harassing³ human rights activists⁴.

Delphine Halgand heads the Reporters Without Borders office in Washington. She says Bahrain has a very developed system for watching and blocking online communications. She says the country has increasingly used these systems in reaction to the political unrest.

DELPHINE HALGAND: “The authorities in Bahrain were able to arrest bloggers and netizens for what they are publishing online. And actually even one of these people who was arrested for what he was publishing online died when he was in detention⁵.”

That man, Zakariya Rashid Hassan, was arrested and accused of inciting⁶ hatred⁷. The group says he was charged with disseminating⁸ false news and calling for the ouster of Bahrain’s rulers. Mister Hassan died on April ninth. Two officers have been accused of beating him to death.

Reporters Without Borders says several other bloggers and activists have suffered repeated physical attacks and been discredited⁹ by the government.

As for Belarus, Ms. Helgand says its government has increasingly blocked websites.

DELPHINE HALGAND: “The lists of the websites which are inaccessible¹⁰ in the country are becoming bigger and bigger. And even some news websites or opposition websites were attacked.”

The “Enemies of the Internet” report also notes an increase in violence against citizen journalists.

DELPHINE HALGAND: “Last year will be remembered as one of unprecedented¹¹ violence against netizen. Five were killed while engaging in reporting activity and more than two hundred bloggers were arrested.”

And that's the VOA Special English Technology Report, written by June Simms. Transcripts¹², MP3s and podcasts of our reports are at voanews.cn. We're also on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I'm Steve Ember.

1 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

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 harassing   

v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人）

参考例句：

• The court ordered him to stop harassing his ex-wife. 法庭命令他不得再骚扰前妻。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was too close to be merely harassing fire. 打得这么近，不能完全是扰乱射击。 来自辞典例句

4 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》

5 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

6 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

7 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

8 disseminating   

散布，传播( disseminate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Our comrades in propaganda work have the task of disseminating Marxism. 我们作宣传工作的同志有一个宣传马克思主义的任务。
• Disseminating indecent photographs on the internet a distasteful act. 在因特网上发布不雅照片是卑劣的行径。

9 discredited   

不足信的，不名誉的

参考例句：

• The reactionary authorities are between two fires and have been discredited. 反动当局弄得进退维谷，不得人心。
• Her honour was discredited in the newspapers. 她的名声被报纸败坏了。

10 inaccessible   

adj.达不到的，难接近的

参考例句：

• This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
• The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

11 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

12 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句