Fiji and Tonga
斐济与汤加
A tale of two island states
双岛记 （陈继龙 译）
Mar 15th 2007 | SUVA
From The Economist print edition
And of their contrasting attitudes to democratic reform
以及它们对民主改革截然不同的态度
（1）THE Pacific archipelagos of Fiji and Tonga have for centuries been connected by trade and kinship: Tongan princes sailed westwards in outrigger canoes to seek fortune in Fiji, while Fijians provided spouses for the Tongan nobility. These days, the two island states are in the throes[1] of domestic crises, but they are tackling them in strikingly different ways.
数百年来，太平洋岛国斐济和汤加贸易往来密切，而且血脉相连——当年汤加的王子们乘坐小木船一路向西，前往斐济淘金，而斐济女人也嫁给了这些汤加贵族。近日，两个岛国都挣扎于国内危机之中，但应对办法却大相径庭。
In Fiji, the new prime minister, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, the military commander who seized power in a coup in December, is resisting international pressure to return to democracy speedily. He says he needs time to clean up the corruption left by the previous, elected, government. By contrast in neighbouring Tonga, last November's riots in the capital, Nuku'alofa, have not been allowed to derail[2] plans for democratisation.
在斐济，新任总理、海军准将弗兰克?拜尼马拉马（Frank Bainimarama）正经受着国际上要求其尽快恢复民主的压力。这位在去年12月政变中掌权的武装部队司令称，他需要时间来整治前民选政府遗留的腐败问题。邻国汤加则恰恰相反，首都努库阿诺法虽于去年11月发生暴乱，但其民主化进程并未因此搁浅。
Commodore Bainimarama has sacked all the previous parliamentarians and has purged[3] top civil servants. （2）Dismissals and suspensions have often taken place on the flimsiest[4] of evidence. Soldiers, installed in a new complaints centre, listen to public grievances and send out vigilante[5] missions to tackle everything from village quarrels to landlord-tenant difficulties and domestic disputes.
拜尼马拉马准将已解散前任议会，并对政府高层官员进行了整肃，很多人都因为一些莫须有的原因遭解雇或停职。士兵在新设立的投诉中心任职，负责听取民众投诉，并派出治安人员去处理一切事务，如乡间争吵、房东与房客纠纷等等不一而足。
Scores of alleged bootleggers, drug pushers and prostitutes have been rounded up, while opponents of the new order have been beaten up at the army's Queen Elizabeth Barracks in Suva. Yet the emphasis on rounding up the small fry looks increasingly like a deliberate distraction from the army's failure to prove its coup-justifying claim of widespread corruption in the ousted[6] government.
很多所谓的走私贩、毒贩和妓女被捕，而反对新体制的人则在位于首都苏瓦的伊丽莎白女王兵营中遭到毒打。不过，军方重点抓捕这些“小鱼小虾”，越来越像是故意分散人们的注意力，以掩盖其企图证明政变合法性的失败。军方曾辩称，之所以发动政变，是因为被罢黜的政府内部腐败问题日益猖獗。
Tonga is moving in the opposite direction. （3）After a century of royal rule, in which the monarchy defended its power with claims that government by the masses would prove “corrupt”, political leaders are coming around to the view that more democracy is the best way to check mismanagement and improve Tongans' living standards.
汤加则截然相反。经历了一百年的君主统治，政治领导人开始认识到，要解决治国无方的问题和改善汤加人民生活水平，加强民主是最好的办法。在君主统治时期，君主政体常以多数人执政会导致腐败为由来维护自己的权力。
Until recently, the cabinet was composed entirely of the king's nominees, and only nine popularly elected representatives sat in the 30-member legislative assembly, alongside nine noble representatives and 12 members appointed by the king. （4）The royal government squandered money on misguided aviation and shipping ventures, and the bulk of the $56m it secured from selling passports was frittered[7] away in poor investments by a visiting American rogue rather quaintly appointed by the king as his “court jester[8]”. That the royal family also benefited from big private-sector investments—including ownership of the mobile-phone industry, cable television, a brewery and the electricity utility—increased public disquiet.
一直到不久前，汤加内阁都完全由国王钦命的人所组成，而30人的立法机构也仅有9人是民选代表，其他人中有9名是贵族代表，12名为国王钦定。君主政府投入在受到错误引导的航空和船运上的钱都打了水漂，而它依靠贩卖护照赚取的5600万美元，也因为一名来自美国的骗子投资不善而挥霍大半——离奇地是，国王竟曾任命此人为他的“宫廷弄臣”。不过，皇族却从私营部门的投资（包括移动电话产业、有线电视、一家酒厂以及公用电力事业）中获益了，这引起了公众的不满。
The monarchy responded with a pragmatic reform programme that began before the accession of King George Tupou V to the throne in September 2006. Elected members of parliament were allowed to enter the cabinet, and for the first time in a century a “commoner”, Fred Sevele, became prime minister.
为此，2006年9月国王乔治?图普五世（George Tupou V）登基前，君主政府实施了一项注重实效的改革计划。民选产生的国会成员可以进入内阁，弗雷德?塞维莱（Fred Sevele）也成为一百年来汤加首位“平民”首相。
Still, reformists are impatient and have taken to the streets. A rally outside parliament in November exploded into riots that devastated Nuku'alofa. Some 80% of the capital's business district was destroyed and six rioters died. Yet the king promised to press ahead with reforms.
尽管如此，主张改革的人还是坐不住，纷纷走上街头游行示威。去年11月国会外举行的一次集会最终演变为暴乱，对首都努库阿诺法造成严重破坏。大约80％的商业街道被毁，6名肇事者死亡。不过国王仍表示要坚持推行改革。
Although both Fiji and Tonga have experienced severe instability in recent months, the latter seems to have a better idea of how to weather it. In the view of Peter Larmour, a specialist on the Pacific islands at the Australian National University in Canberra, （5）corruption is better tackled by reducing institutional opportunities for it, rather than by dictatorial moral crusades from a strong-arm regime that sets itself up as detective, judge and juror.
近几个月虽然斐济和汤加都十分动荡不安，但后者似乎更能找到渡过难关的好办法。堪培拉澳洲国立大学太平洋群岛研究专家彼得?拉莫尔（Peter Larmour）认为，对于腐败问题，最好是从制度上减少腐败机会来加以解决，通过暴力政权（集侦探、法官和陪审员等角色一身）来施以专横的清洗行动是不可取的。
[QUIZ]
英译汉（请将划线部分英文翻译成中文）：
[NOTES](OXFORD)
1. throes n. [pl] 1 severe pains 剧痛: the throes of childbirth 分娩时的阵痛 * death throes 临终的痛苦. 2 (idm 习语) in the throes of sth/of doing sth (infml 口) struggling with the task of sth/of doing sth 为完成某事而拚搏; 苦干: in the throes of moving house 为搬家而辛劳.
2. derail v. [Tn] cause (a train, etc) to go off the rails 使（火车等）脱轨: The engine was derailed by a tree lying across the line. 有一棵树横在铁轨上, 造成机车出轨.
3. purge v. 1 [Tn, Tn.pr, Tn.p] ~ sb (of/from sth); ~ sth (away) make sb clean or pure by removing (evil, sin, etc) 为某人（免罪、 赦罪等）: Catholics go to confession to be purged of sin/purge (away) their sin/purge their souls of sin. 天主教徒透过告解以获得赦罪[净化灵魂]. 2 [Tn] (dated or joc 旧或谑) empty the bowels (of a person) 给（某人）通便: A dose of this stuff will purge you! 这种药只须一剂就能让你通便! 3 [Tn, Tn.pr] ~ sth (of sb)/~ sb (from sth) rid (esp a political party) of (people thought to be undesirable); remove (such people) from (a party) 清除（尤指政党的）（异己分子）; 清洗（党员）: So-called traitors were purged (from their ranks). 所谓的叛徒均已（从队伍中）清洗出去. * They promised that the party would be purged of racists/that racists would be purged from the party. 他们保证该党一定把种族主义分子清除掉[把种族主义分子从党内清洗出去]. 4 [Tn] (law 律) atone for (an offence, esp contempt of court) 弥补（罪过, 尤指藐视法庭罪）: purge one's contempt 於藐视法庭後认错以求得免罪.
4. filmsy adj. (-ier, -iest) 1 (a) (of cloth or material) light and thin （指布或材料）轻而薄的: a flimsy dress 薄的连衣裙. (b) not strong or solid enough for the purpose for which it is used 不结实的; 易损坏的: a flimsy cardboard box 不结实的纸箱. 2 (fig 比喻) weak or feeble; unconvincing 软弱无力的; 不足信的: a flimsy excuse 站不住脚的藉口 * The evidence against him is rather flimsy. 对他不利的证据不足凭信.
5. vigilante n. (esp derog 尤作贬义) member of a self-appointed group of people who try to prevent crime and disorder in a community （自发组织的）治安团体的成员.
6. oust v. [Tn, Tn.pr] ~ sb (from sth) (fml 文) remove sb (from a position, job, etc) sometimes in order to take his place 免某人（职）; 罢黜; 剥夺; 取代: oust a rival from office 把竞争者从其职位上挤走 * He was ousted from his position as chairman. 他的主席职位被罢免了.
7. fritter v. (phr v) fritter sth away (on sth) waste (esp one's time or money) foolishly (on small useless things) （在无意义的小事上）愚蠢地浪费（尤指个人的时间或金钱）: fritter away time/energy 浪费时间[精力] * fritter away one's money on gambling 在赌博上挥霍公钱.
8. jester n. (formerly) man whose job was to make jokes to amuse a court or noble household （旧时）（宫廷或贵族豢养的）弄臣, 小丑: the court/king's/queen's jester 宫廷的[国王的/王后的]弄臣.
