Northern Ireland's voters trudged back to the polls Mar. 7 for what is billed as a make-or-break chance at building a lasting power-sharing executive between Protestants and Catholics.
The elections to the legislature are a key step towards restoring devolved government in the long-troubled British province.
The Democratic Unionists (DUP), a hardline conservative Protestant party which strongly favors Northern Ireland remaining a part of the United Kingdom, topped the polls.
PHOTO: EPA
Their foes Sinn Fein — a Catholic socialist group favoring integration into the Republic of Ireland, and the ex political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which has renounced violence — came in second.
The script agreed by London and Belfast says the pair are meant to form a semi-autonomous executive by March 26.
But the wrangling and thrashing will probably go down to the wire.
PHOTO: AFP
"Until we are satisfied that Sinn Fein is a democratic political party, we will not be sitting down in government with them," said DUP MP Gregory Campbell during a BBC television debate.
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams accused the DUP of "posturing," "bombast" and blocking the path to a settlement.
"Sinn Fein's resolve is that we will never, ever see this (the Troubles) happening again," he said.
The DUP won 30 percent of the vote and Sinn Fein 26 percent.
Smaller, more moderate parties saw a decline in their percentage of the vote.(AFP)
為了這次號稱「成敗繫於一役」、考驗清教徒和天主教徒之間能否持久建立權力共享政府的選舉,北愛爾蘭選民三月七日拖著沉重的步伐重新回到投票所。
對於這長期紛擾不斷的英國省份,此次議會選舉關係著是否能重新恢復地方分權政府。
態度強硬保守的清教徒民主聯盟黨,強力主張北愛爾蘭仍是英國的一部分,在此次選舉中得票數居各黨之冠。
其對手新芬黨的得票數位居第二。已宣布放棄武力的天主教新芬黨,走的是社會主義路線,系出愛爾蘭共和軍的政治分支,主張北愛爾蘭併入愛爾蘭共和國。
倫敦和貝爾法斯特同意的腳本中,兩黨預定在三月二十六日前組成半自治政府。不過你來我往的言語交鋒可能愈演愈烈。
民主聯盟黨國會議員葛列格里.坎貝爾在英國國家廣播電台的一場電視辯論中指出︰「在我們能確信新芬黨是民主政黨之前,我們不會跟他們共組政府。」
新芬黨黨魁蓋瑞亞當斯指控民主聯盟黨「裝模作樣」、「高談闊論」,而且阻礙協議的達成。他表示︰「新芬黨的解決方案是我們絕
對不會再讓此事發生(北愛爾蘭動亂)重演。」
民主聯盟黨贏得30%的席次,新芬黨則是26%。立場較溫和的較小型政黨席次有下降的情況。
(法新社╱翻譯︰鄭湘儀)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
A: As well as Eid al-Fitr, Southeast Asia is celebrating the Water Festival this week. B: And this year, Thailand is expanding the celebration between April 12 and 16 for the event, officially known as the Songkran Festival, expecting to make 24.3 billion Thai baht in tourism revenue. A: Does Taiwan celebrate the Water Festival? B: Some local cities and counties do have similar activities. A: Let’s go experience the festival then. A: 除了「開齋節」外,東南亞「潑水節」本週也盛大登場! B: 泰國今年從4月12日到16日擴大「宋干節」連假,預估觀光收入可高達243億泰銖。 A: 台灣會慶祝「潑水節」嗎? B: 有些縣市會舉辦類似活動。 A: 那我們也去體驗一下吧。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)