VOA慢速英语--泰国解除旨在结束抗议活动的紧急法令

Thailand's government has canceled an emergency order that failed to end continuing pro-democracy demonstrations¹.

The state of emergency was declared last week. It banned public gatherings² of more than four people. It also permitted censorship of the media and gave police powers to detain people temporarily without charge. But daily protests continued in Bangkok and other cities even with the emergency order in place.

The order was lifted at 12 p.m. on Thursday. A government statement said it was canceled because "the current situation that led to the announcement of the severe situation had eased."

Government officials and state agencies were told to deal with ongoing³ events with existing laws, the statement said.

The protesters are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. He is a former army general who has led the country under military rule since his group seized power in 2014. The protesters are also pushing for changes to the constitution and reforms of the country's monarchy⁴.

Prayuth went on national television Wednesday night to appeal to protesters to reduce political tensions. "I will make the first move to deescalate this situation," he said. "I am currently preparing to lift the state of severe emergency in Bangkok and will do so promptly⁵ if there are no violent incidents."

As he spoke⁶, protesters marched near Government House, the place of his office, to demand that he step down. They also called for the release of activists⁷ arrested in connection with earlier demonstrations.

Protest leaders said that withdrawing the emergency order was not enough. "(Prayuth) is still seeking to stay in power while ignoring all the people's demands. The emergency decree shouldn't have been issued in the first place," said Sirawith Seritiwat, one of the leaders of the pro-democracy movement.

The demonstrators said if their demands were not met, they would return in three days.

There were no large demonstrations on Thursday, as some protesters said they were taking a day to rest. Wednesday had marked the eighth straight day of protests.

On Tuesday, the government approved a request to call a special meeting of parliament next week to seek to find a solution to the political crisis. But the pro-democracy movement has so far not shown much interest in a parliamentary solution. Prayuth's supporters hold a majority in parliament.

The order's cancelation came as a Bangkok court was preparing to rule on legal motions to force the government to end the order on the basis that it illegally restricted freedom of assembly.

The government suffered a legal setback⁸ Wednesday when a judge barred it from carrying out orders to ban several media companies for failing to obey rules under the emergency order. A police order permitted officials to block news websites that published what was described as "distorted information."

In Geneva, the United Nations' human rights office said its experts had urged Thailand's government to honor the rights of peaceful assembly and free speech. The U.N. statement said Thai people should be permitted "to freely speak their mind and share their political views, both online and offline, without prosecution⁹."

Words in This Story

censorship – n. the process of removing opinions from books, movies, letters and other media

monarchy - n. a system of government in which a country is ruled by a king and queen whose power is limited by a constitution

deescalate - v. decrease the size, scope, or intensity¹⁰ of something

prompt - adj. acting¹¹ quickly and without delay

decree – n. an official order or decision from a government or leader

assembly – n. the bringing of people together in a group

setback – n. a problem that makes progress difficult or success less likely

distort – v. to change the information so that it is not true or realistic

prosecute¹² – v. to officially accuse someone of a crime in a court of law

1 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。

2 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 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。

5 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 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》

8 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

9 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

10 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

11 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

12 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？