新奇事件簿 比利时国王雕像被拆除

A statue of a former Belgian king was covered in paint and then pulled down by anti-racism protestors. The statue was of King Leopold II, who was King of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909. He was also ruler of the Congo Free State in Africa from 1885 to 1908. A statue of him in the Belgian city of Antwerp was attacked by protestors over the weekend. It was removed from its pedestal on Tuesday. Hundreds of protestors cheered as the statue came down. City officials say they will probably put the statue in a city museum. A city official said: "The square where the statue stood will be redesigned in 2023. There will be no room for it there afterwards. It will remain part of the museum's collection."

Over 64,000 people signed an online petition¹ against the memory of Leopold on Tuesday. They want more people to know about what he did in the Congo. Historians² say he was responsible for the deaths of more than 10 million Congolese people during his 23-year reign³. A newspaper said these deaths led to the first use of the term, "crime against humanity⁴". The petition said: "In the space of 23 years, this man killed more than 10 million Congolese without ever having set foot in the Congo." He made a huge personal fortune from the rubber plantations⁵ he owned. Another petition was signed by 8,000 people. They believe he was not a "slave king" and that the people who ran the Congo led to the millions of deaths.

比利时前国王的雕像被涂上油漆后被反种族主义抗议者推倒。这座雕像是利奥波德二世，他在1865到1909年间任比利时国王。1885年至1908年，他还是非洲刚果自由邦的统治者。周末，他位于比利时安特卫普市的雕像遭到抗议者攻击。周二，它被从基座上移除。随着雕像倒塌，数百名抗议者欢呼。市政府官员说，他们可能会把这座雕像放在城市博物馆。一名市政官员表示：“这座雕像所在的广场将于2023年重新设计。之后广场上就没有放置这座雕像的空间了。它将成为博物馆藏品。”

周二，超过64000人在线签署请愿书，抗议这个纪念利奥波德的雕像。他们想让更多人知道他在刚果的所作所为。历史学家表示，他要为自己在任23年间，一千多万刚果人的死亡负责。一份报纸说到，这些人的死导致“反人类罪”一词的首次使用。请愿书上写道：“在23年的时间里，这个人在未曾踏入刚果的情况下，就杀害了那些的一千多万刚果人。”他从自己拥有的橡胶种植园中获得了巨大的个人财富。另一份请愿书有8000人签字。他们认为他不是一个“奴隶国王”，是那些统治刚果的人导致了数百万人的死亡。

1 petition   

n.请愿书，申请书，诉状；v.请愿，正式请求

参考例句：

• Thousands of citizens subscribed the petition.几千名公民在请愿书上签名。
• The number of signers of the petition for a new school snowballed.要求增设新学校而签名的人像滚雪球似的越来越多。

2 historians   

n.历史学家，史学工作者( historian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Historians seem to have confused the chronology of these events. 历史学家好像把这些事件发生的年代顺序搞混了。
• Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。

3 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

4 humanity   

n.人类，[总称]人(性)，人道[pl.]人文学科

参考例句：

• Such an act is a disgrace to humanity.这种行为是人类的耻辱。
• We should treat animals with humanity.我们应该以仁慈之心对待动物。

5 plantations   

n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园，使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后，那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句