2007年VOA标准英语-Thai Court Orders Thaksin to Show Up for Corrup

By Roger Wilkison
Bangkok
10 July 2007

Thaksin Shinawatra

A panel of Thai Supreme¹ Court judges has agreed to hear the first corruption² case against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra next month. From Bangkok, Roger Wilkison reports the court ordered Mr. Thaksin and his wife to appear at the trial, which is scheduled to begin on August 14.

The charges against Mr. Thaksin relate to his wife's purchase of a prime piece of Bangkok real estate in 2003.

Prosecutors³ accuse the former Thai prime minister of illegally influencing the deal to allow his wife to buy the land from a government agency at a bargain.

It is the first time that Thai authorities have brought formal corruption charges against Mr. Thaksin, who was ousted⁴ last September in a military coup⁵. The coup leaders justified⁶ their action by accusing Mr. Thaksin of widespread corruption.

The billionaire entrepreneur and his wife deny the charges. But they are not expected to obey the court's order that they show up for the trial on August 14.

Mr. Thaksin has said he will not return to Thailand until democracy is restored. He says he cannot get a fair trial under a military-appointed government.

At a news conference in Hong Kong on Saturday, Mr. Thaksin indicated that he has no plans to return to Thailand anytime soon.

"When the timing⁷ is right, I definitely will go back … I want to go back," he said. "I want to stay in my country, but the timing is very important … the timing is purely⁸ politics."

In recent months, Mr. Thaksin's successors have stepped up their campaign against him. A military-appointed tribunal found his party guilty of electoral fraud and banned him and more than 100 other party executives from politics for five years. The authorities have also frozen more than one-point-five billion dollars of his assets.

Still, Mr. Thaksin refuses to disappear from the public eye. His recent purchase of an English Premier⁹ League football club, Manchester City, and his pledge to strengthen its squad¹⁰ of players, are almost guaranteed to keep his profile high among his fellow Thais, many of whom are obsessed¹¹ with English football.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 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。

3 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

4 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

5 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。

6 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

7 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

8 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

9 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

10 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

11 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。