【637】As Elections Near, Singapore Considers New Media Laws
1): 邀你加入->【漂泊者乐园-英语学习群】
【每日一歌】
24 小白花 Edelweiss
歌曲选自《最适合学习英语的英文歌曲80首》
提示：关注漂泊者乐园微信公众号公众号后， 回复 d2 可收听查看所有《As It Is 》文章。
《As It Is 》栏目在本号自2018年4月初开始全马力运行，已经推文 621 篇，每日仍在不断增加中。
亲爱的朋友，如果您能能坚持跟着本号听读，相信不用多久，您的英语听力一定会有极大的提高！
漂泊者乐园微信公众号在线英语学习资料
美国之音特别英语节目：慢速英语听力
学英语的朋友，想提高听力的话，请听下面的音频。
有问题可在【漂泊者乐园-英语学习群】里一起交流，谢谢！
*【637】
AS IT IS
As Elections Near, Singapore Considers New Media Laws
December 01, 2018
Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong arrives at the ASEM leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium October 19, 2018. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
The ruling party in Singapore has named a likely replacement to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Lee is 66 years old and has said he will step down at age 70. He is the son of Singapore’s founder, Lee Kuan Yew.
Late last week, Singapore’s 57-year-old finance minister, Heng Swee Keat, was given an important position in the party’s leading decision-making group. That group of 16 ministers, known as the fourth generation, or 4G, declared Heng “first among equals.” His new position is expected to lead to the prime ministership.
Lee Hsien Loong has been Singapore’s prime minister since 2004. He is widely expected to step down after elections in early 2021. Lee also heads the People’s Action Party, or PAP, which has ruled since Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965. The island, which today is home to about 5.6 million people, has been a model of stableeconomic growth since that time.
Preparing the way for new leadership
Party leaders want to protect that stability and the PAP’s control. In May, they watched as Malaysia’s longtime ruling party suffered defeat in elections.
Lee said after the Malaysian vote, “The ruling party, the PAP, does not have a monopoly of power.”
Lee is Singapore’s third prime minister after Lee Kwan Yew and Goh Chok Tong. Both men continued to influence the governance of the country after leaving office. It is unclear if the same will be true of Lee.
FILE - In this April 6, 2018, file photo, Singapore's Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat delivers his opening address at the start of the ASEAN Finance Ministers' Meetings in Singapore. Heng is a former central banker. Observers say he is considered a “safe pair of hands.” In 2016, he suffered a stroke and collapsed during a cabinet meeting.
Singapore’s mainly pro-government media have reported that the PAP supports Heng. However, Zakir Hussain of the Straits Times said, “Leadership transitions in political parties are generally never smooth.”
Critical voices
People are increasingly criticizing the Singaporean government on social media. Singapore calls many such posts “fake news.” Lawmakers have called for legislation to deal with what they call “online falsehoods.”
The government has blocked a foreign based website. It has criticized Facebook for not taking down a post. And, it has seized equipment belonging to a local blog called The Online Citizen, or TOC.
Terry Xu is chief editor of TOC. He told Reuters that the government is reacting more strongly than before. The site is being investigated for possibly spreading false statements about government officials.
Rights groups have criticized Singapore for its control over the media. The group Human Rights Watch said it is concerned that the situation will get worse as the ruling PAP considers possible elections in as early as 2019.
The group Reporters Without Borders ranks Singapore below Russia and Myanmar for freedom of the press. The group said it was concerned about stronger control of the media as elections near.
A spokeswoman for Singapore’s communications ministry said in an emailed statement that the TOC investigation “is in no way related to elections.”
She said discussions including criticism of the government take place every day on many sites. But, she added, that does not mean the government will permit “public institutions to be impugned under the cover of free speech.”
I’m Mario Ritter Jr.
Mario Ritter Jr. adapted this Reuters story for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.
_________________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
stable –adj. in a good state or condition that is not easily changed or likely to change
monopoly –n. complete ownership or control of something
transition –n. a change from one state or condition to another
impugn –v. to criticize a person by suggesting that they are not honest or should not be trusted
We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.
AS IT IS
Trump to Attend State Funeral for Bush
December 01, 2018
The US flag flies at half-staff at the White House in tribute to former US President George H. W. Bush, on December 1, 2018, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Katie SCHUBAUER / AFP) U.S. President Donald Trump has declared a period of national mourning Saturday to honor former President George H.W. Bush.
The nation's 41st president died late on Friday, November 30, 2018, at the age of 94 - about eight months after the death of his wife, Barbara Bush. A former Navy pilot, he went on to serve the country as a congressman, an ambassador to the United Nations, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, vice-president and, finally, president.
In a statement issued after Bush’s death, the president and first lady Melania Trump said Bush had “inspired generations of his fellow Americans to public service.” The president also ordered American flags to be flown at half-staff for 30 days to honor Bush.
The White House announced Saturday that the Trumps will attend a state funeral for the former president at Washington’s National Cathedral. Trump was not invited to the funeral of former first lady Barbara Bush earlier this year. Melania Trump attended instead.
FILE - Former U.S. Presidents and former U.S. first ladies Laura Bush, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and first lady Melania Trump pose with former U.S. President George H.W. Bush at the funeral of Barbara Bush in Houston. Former President Barack Obama said in a statement: “America has lost a patriot and humble servant in George Herbert Walker Bush.”
-t1-
Bill Clinton, the man who defeated Bush in the 1992 presidential election, said, “Few Americans have been—or will ever be—able to match President Bush’s record of service to the United States and the joy he took every day from it.”
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev worked closely with Bush to end the Cold War in the late 1980s. He told the Interfax news agency, “It was a dramatic time demanding huge responsibility from everyone. The result was the end of the Cold War and the nuclear arms race.”
FILE - Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, left, and President George H. Bush shake hands following the signing of accords at the White House in Washington on Friday, June 1, 1990.
您好！既然漂到这里，就顺便把本文转到朋友圈吧！