[E351]Wounded society|经济学人
本文音频及原文摘自杂志The Economist《经济学人》2016年第7期，Leaders版块。
Hong Kong
Violent unrest in Hong Kong suggests a need for political cures
Feb 13th 2016
ON SOCIAL media the rioting that erupted in Hong Kong on February 8th has been dressed up as a righteous political protest: “#FishballRevolution” is the hashtag used to discuss the violence that racked a working-class district of the city for ten hours, resulting in injuries to 124 people, including 90 police officers (see article). The mayhem was triggered by reports that officials were trying to clear away illegal food stalls selling fishballs[卖鱼丸的非法小摊], a local delicacy[精美;美味佳肴].
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▷ riot [ˈraɪət]
【注释】
a) a noisy, violent, and uncontrolled public meeting
暴乱;骚乱;聚众闹事
Inner-city riots erupted when a local man was shot by police.
在市中心的贫民区，由于一名当地男子被警察开枪打死而突然引发了暴乱。
b) a very funny or entertaining occasion or person
非常有趣的人(或事物);令人愉快的场合(或人)
"How was the party?" "It was great - we had a riot."
“聚会怎么样？”“好极了——我们都很开心。”
▷ rack [ræk]
【注释】
a) to cause physical or mental pain, or trouble, to someone or something
使肉体或精神上受巨大痛苦；折磨
Even at the end, when cancer racked his body, he was calm and cheerful.
即使在最后，当他的身体备受癌症病魔摧残的时候，他仍然镇定自若、乐观开朗。
The dog was already racked by/with the pains of old age.
那条狗已经又老又病，痛苦不堪。
He was racked by/with doubts/guilt.
他被疑虑／内疚所折磨。
▷ mayhem [ˈmeɪhem]
【注释】
a) a situation in which there is little or no order or control
混乱状态
With twenty kids running round and only two adults to supervise, it was complete mayhem.
20个孩子到处乱跑却只有两个大人看管，局面完全是一片混乱。
b) Mayhem is a violent and rowdy disturbance, like what you might experience at an overcrowded rock concert or a day-after-Thanksgiving sale.
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In no sense[决不;并不] was the violence righteous. Most Hong Kong residents were appalled[震惊的;惊恐的;感到厌恶的]. Their city is renowned for[因…而著名,以…著称] the peacefulness of its many protests. In an unusually prolonged[持续很久的;延长的;拖延的] outbreak of unrest[动乱;骚乱;动荡] late in 2014, known as the Umbrella Movement, pro-democracy protesters[民主抗议者] mostly remained on good terms[和睦;平安无事;无冤无仇] with police. Not since the 1960s, during the madness of Mao’s Cultural Revolution in mainland China, have the territory’s streets seen such bloodshed[流血;屠杀,杀戮;流血事件].
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▷ Umbrella Movement
雨伞革命(Umbrella Revolution)，又称雨伞运动(Umbrella Movement)或占领行动(Occupation Movement)，是指于2014年9月26日至12月15日在香港发生的一系列争取真普选的公民抗命运动。
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Nonetheless, #FishballRevolution was undeniably[不可否认的;无可争议的;确凿无疑的] political. Activists from a group called Hong Kong Indigenous, which stresses Hong Kong’s separateness from mainland China, were involved in the mêlée[混乱;混战]. Their pretext[借口,托辞] was the protection of a cherished tradition—eating from food stalls during the Chinese new-year holiday—from zealous officialdom.
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▷ zealous [ˈzeləs]
【注释】
a) enthusiastic and eager
热情的;狂热的
a zealous supporter of the government's policies
政府政策的积极支持者
b) Use the adjective zealous as a way to describe eagerness or enthusiastic activity. If you are too zealous in your efforts to decorate the house with Christmas lights, you might cause a power outage for the whole neighborhood.
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Hong Kong Indigenous is a fringe group. Officials will be tempted to dismiss its resort to violence[用暴力;动武] as an aberration over a triviality[琐事;小事]. In fact the central government in Beijing, and that of Hong Kong, should see what happened as evidence of social and political discontent. They have a role in putting it right[纠正错误].
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▷ fringe [frɪndʒ]
【注释】
a) the outer or less important part of an area, group or activity
（地区或群体的）边缘，外围；（活动的）次要部分;
the southern fringe of the city
城市的南部边缘
the radical fringes of the party
该党的外围激进派别
▷ aberration [ˌæbəˈreɪʃn]
【注释】
a) a temporary change from the typical or usual way of behaving
（暂时的）脱离常规，反常现象，异常行为
偶发事件;非典型行为;心理失常，精神迷乱
In a moment of aberration, she agreed to go with him.
她一时反常，竟然答应跟他一起去了。
I'm sorry I'm late - I had a mental aberration and forgot we had a meeting today.
对不起，我迟到了。我一时糊涂，竟忘了今天有会。
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When the Umbrella Movement eventually sputtered to an end in December 2014, both governments hoped that the public’s misgivings[疑虑;担心] would abate. China had refrained from[忍住; 制止; 控制; 克制不要] leaning on[靠在…上; 依赖…; 威胁; 逼迫] Hong Kong’s government to follow up its tear-gas assaults[催泪瓦斯袭击] on the Umbrella protesters with even tougher measures and the tactic[战术;策略;招数] was quickly abandoned. But China also turned a deaf ear to the demonstrators’ demands for fully democratic elections for the territory’s leadership. Leung Chun-ying, the unpopular chief executive, showed no willingness to explain the protesters’ anxieties to his overlords[最高领主,霸主] in Beijing.
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▷ sputter [ˈspʌtə(r)]
【注释】
a) If a process, action, or state of affairs sputters, it progresses slowly and unevenly or starts to end.
(过程、行动或事态)缓慢不稳地进行，慢慢结束
The economy is already sputtering, with low or no growth...
经济发展速度已经放慢，增长率很低，或者根本没有增长。
▷ abate [əˈbeɪt]
to become less strong
减少；减弱；减轻；减退
The storm/wind/rain has started to abate.
暴风雨／风／雨开始减弱了。
The fighting in the area shows no sign of abating.
这个地区的战事没有任何缓和的迹象。
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As a result, resentment[愤恨，不满] towards officials has grown. The emergence of radical groups such as Hong Kong Indigenous is an extreme manifestation[表示，显示; 示威] of the simmering[(冲突、争吵等)酝酿，即将爆发] discontent. Fears of China’s influence are evident even in debates about building transport links with the mainland. Anxieties have been fuelled by the apparent abduction[诱拐；劫持；绑架] in recent months of five Hong Kong booksellers by Chinese agents—three while visiting mainland China, one from a resort[度假胜地] in Thailand and another from Hong Kong itself. Many suspect that the men were “disappeared” because of plans to publish a tell-tale book about China’s president, Xi Jinping.
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A fine kettle of fishballs
The months ahead in Hong Kong will not be calm. Elections will be held this year for the Legislative Council[立法委员会]; and there will be a (rigged[(以不正当的手段)操纵，控制(选举、工作任命或比赛等)]) election in 2017 for the chief executive. Mr Leung could help reduce tensions by launching a thorough investigation of the recent violence, including its social causes. Young people are concerned not just about high politics, but also about everyday issues such as unemployment and house prices. But it is China’s government that most urgently needs to act: by releasing the booksellers, apologising for their treatment and heeding[注意;留心;听从] calls for political reform. Above all, it needs to recognise that its “one country, two systems” formula depends on preserving Hong Kong’s freewheeling[随心所欲的;自由放纵的] way of life. It should seek to persuade the people of Hong Kong to see themselves as Chinese through attraction, not intimidation[恫吓，恐吓，胁迫].
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