【雅思课外精读】新加坡的言论自由：一张笑脸引发的指控

　　【雅思课外精读】新加坡的言论自由：一张笑脸引发的指控    原文译文   *注：本文摘自11月23日《纽约时报》

　　It Was Just Him and His Smiley Face. He’s Charged With Illegal Assembly.只有他和他的笑脸；他被指控非法集会。

图片来源网络

　　1. Jolovan Wham, a civil rights activist in Singapore, was charged with violating the Public Order Act for holding up a cardboard sign with a smiley face on it near a police station in March. The offense involved one man, one piece of cardboard and one smiley face.

　　新加坡民权活动人士Jolovan Wham被控违反了《公共秩序法》，因为今年3月，他在一家警察局附近举起了一张画有笑脸的纸板。此次案件涉事的是一个男人，一张纸板和一个笑脸。

　　2. On Monday, Jolovan Wham, a civil rights activist, was charged at a court in Singapore with illegal public assembly for holding up a cardboard sign with a smiley face on it near a police station in March. It was a protest of one person. He had, he admitted, drawn the smiley face himself.

　　周一， Jolovan Wham受新加坡一家法院受到指控，罪名是今年3月在一家警察局附近非法集会，举着一张画有笑脸的纸板。这是一次个人抗议。他承认，他画了这张笑脸。

　　3. Averse to potential threats to its stable, orderly state, Singapore is bound by strict rules on civil liberties, such as freedom of speech and assembly. Public protest without a permit is allowed in just one spot in the city-state, and only after completing a registration process. The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act, which was enacted last year, polices activity online.

　　为保证其稳定和秩序，新加坡对其公民言论和集会等有严格的规定。在新加坡，公众抗议只能在一个地点进行，而且必须完成登记程序。去年颁布的《防止网络欺诈和操纵法》对网络活动进行监管。

　　4. Mr. Wham said he had held up the smiley face sign in support of two young activists who had been investigated for holding up signs calling for Singapore to fight climate change by reducing the city-state’s dependence on oil.

　　Wham说，他举这个笑脸纸牌是在对两个年轻活动人士表示支持。他们曾因为举牌呼吁新加坡减少石油依赖以应对气候变化而受到调查。

　　5. “You would think that the Singaporean authorities would be smart enough to not take on such a ridiculous case that will make them a laughingstock around the world, but they are blinded by their command and control mind-set that prefers maximum response to the slightest provocation,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch.

　　人权监察组织亚洲负责人菲尔·罗伯逊说, “你可能会觉得新加坡当局肯定不会接管这样荒谬的案子，毕竟这会让他们成为全世界的笑柄，但是他们被自己的控制欲蒙蔽了心智，总是对一些小小的抗议反应过激。”

　　6. Mr. Wham, who wore a smiley face shirt and face mask as he traveled to his court hearing on Monday, was also charged with contravening the Public Order Act for an incident in 2018 when he held up a typed message on a piece of paper outside the former State Courts building. The message called for defamation charges to be dropped against an online media editor and writer who had accused high-ranking government officials of corruption.

　　Wham穿着一件带有笑脸的衬衫，戴着口罩出现在法庭的听证会上，他还因为2018年在前州法院大楼前举着一张印有字样的牌子而被控违反公共秩序法案。他当时呼吁撤销对一名指控政府高官腐败的网络媒体编辑和作家的诽谤指控。

　　7. In both cases, Mr. Wham said he lingered for barely “more than several seconds,” just enough time for photographs to be taken and posted on social media. If found guilty, he could be fined up to $3,725 for each infraction.

　　Wham说，在这两个案件中，他举牌停留的时间都只有几秒钟，仅仅只够拍照上传到社交媒体上。如果被判有罪，他将被处以最高3725美元的罚款。

　　8. “The Public Order Act was purportedly enacted to preserve public order and the safety of individuals, both of which were not compromised when I took the photos and uploaded them on social media,” Mr. Wham said. “The charges demonstrate that our laws have the potential to be applied in ridiculous and overbearing ways.”

　　Wham 说，“《公共秩序法》据说是为了维护公共秩序和个人安全，但是我拍照并分享到社交媒体这一动作对公共秩序和个人安全都没有造成任何影响。这些指控表明，我们的法律被荒谬地滥用了。”

　　9. Public protest without a permit in Singapore is confined to one location, a spot in a park called the Speakers’ Corner. In a statement released on Friday, the police said “the Speakers’ Corner is the proper avenue for Singaporeans to express their views on issues that concern them, and to allow Singaporeans to conduct assemblies without the need for a permit, subject to certain conditions being met.”

　　在新加坡，未经许可的公众抗议活动只能在一个地方进行，那就是公园里一个叫做“演讲角”的地方。警方周五发布的一份声明中表示，“演讲角是新加坡人就自己关注的问题发表意见的地方，让新加坡人在满足某些条件的情况下能够自由举行集会。”a