2006年VOA标准英语-Thai Prime Minister Braces for New Rally b

By Scott Bobb
Bangkok
09 February 2006

Authorities in Thailand are bracing¹ for another large rally Saturday, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, following a controversial stock sale and allegations of official corruption². The rallies come one year after Mr. Thaksin became the first prime minister in modern Thai history to be re-elected.

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Chulalongkorn University students display banner calling for  resignation of Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra (Feb. 9, 2006)   
  

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has moved quickly to bolster³ his political image after a mass anti-government rally last Saturday. He has made numerous public appearances and has received expressions of support from thousands of Thais.

The campaign follows a mass rally last week in Bangkok organized by media magnate Sondhi Limthongkul.

At the peak of the protest, Sondhi led demonstrators in chanting for the prime minister to "get out."

Mr. Thaksin, however, rejected the call.

He says his critics are only looking at snapshots, not the big picture, and that during his five years in office, he has made Thailand healthier on the economic, social and political fronts.

Thaksin Shinawatra   
  
Criticism of the prime minister intensified⁴ after his family three weeks ago sold shares, to a Singaporean firm, in the corporation he founded. The family made nearly $2 billion in the deal, but incurred⁵ no taxes.

The tax-exempt sale was ruled legal, but many Thais were angered by the exemption⁶ for one of Thailand's wealthiest families. They also objected to the fact that the sale included important national assets, such as satellite, mobile phone and airline licenses⁷.

A professor at Bangkok's Chulanlongkorn University, Thitinan Pongsuthirak, says the deal united Mr. Thaksin's various critics.

"This is now a coalition⁸ to overthrow⁹ Thaksin that has been joined by all kinds of groups that have been disaffected¹⁰ with Thaksin for a long time," he said.

Mr. Thaksin was elected by a landslide¹¹ five years ago promising¹² to end poverty and boost social services.

However, Thailand's educated elite¹³ in recent years has voiced increasing concern that the billionaire tycoon¹⁴ was accumulating unrestrained power, which was fueling corruption and undermining checks and balances in the fledgling democracy.

A founder¹⁵ of the Corruption Watch website, former Chulalongkorn University professor Tortrakul Yomnak, says the website has received hundreds of allegations.

"It seems that in every case of government spending, almost 95, 99 percent have some irregularities, corruption. Some are very small, but some are a very high percentage," he said.

He said the bribes¹⁶ range as high as 40 percent in some projects.

These critics have been joined by single-issue groups that oppose government initiatives on free-trade, privatization and environmentally questionable¹⁷ infrastructure¹⁸ projects. This alliance is organizing Saturday's rally.

The critics say the government has muzzled¹⁹ the Thai news media in order to keep criticism from the public.

A member of the Campaign for Popular Media Reform, Supinya Klangnarong, notes that private news outlets²⁰ have been bought out by government allies and lawsuits²¹ brought against government critics.

"This government uses legal actions against journalists, academics or activists²², so it creates a chilling effect on the climate of their critics for a long time," he said.

Professor Thitinan of Chulalongkorn University notes that one year after Mr. Thaksin's landslide re-election, many voters now want a change. He calls this a classic dilemma²³ for a developing democracy.

"We don't have a mature democracy and there's a danger here," he said. "We don't want to violate the rules too often."

He says a democracy cannot repeatedly remove an elected leader using methods outside the constitution and the law. He says these must be given time to become established.

Mr. Thaksin continues to enjoy popularity among many Thais, especially the rural poor, and his two-thirds bloc²⁴ of the seats in parliament remains²⁵ strong, at least for now.

As a result, observers say the prime minister could simply try to weather the storm of criticism, or he could seek to work with his critics to improve governance and the democratic process.

They say a hardening of positions on either side could lead to political confrontation²⁶, and an increasingly weakened government.

1 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

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 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

4 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 incurred   

[医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式

参考例句：

• She had incurred the wrath of her father by marrying without his consent 她未经父亲同意就结婚，使父亲震怒。
• We will reimburse any expenses incurred. 我们将付还所有相关费用。

6 exemption   

n.豁免，免税额，免除

参考例句：

• You may be able to apply for exemption from local taxes.你可能符合资格申请免除地方税。
• These goods are subject to exemption from tax.这些货物可以免税。

7 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

8 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。

9 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

10 disaffected   

adj.（政治上）不满的，叛离的

参考例句：

• He attracts disaffected voters.他吸引了心怀不满的选民们。
• Environmental issues provided a rallying point for people disaffected with the government.环境问题把对政府不满的人们凝聚了起来。

11 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

12 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

13 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

14 tycoon   

n.有钱有势的企业家，大亨

参考例句：

• The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
• The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。

15 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

16 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

17 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

18 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

19 muzzled   

给（狗等）戴口套( muzzle的过去式和过去分词 )； 使缄默，钳制…言论

参考例句：

• The newspapers were effectively muzzled by strict censorship laws. 严厉的新闻审查法有效地使那些报纸沉默了下来。
• Whenever in the street our dog is muzzled. 每当上街时，我们的狗总是戴上嘴套。

20 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

21 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

22 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》

23 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

24 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

25 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

26 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。