Although Spain was united in the 16th century, there was little assimilation or homogenization of the nation, and it remained a collection of diverse regions each with their own defined historical, political, linguistic and cultural traditions. Modern Spain remains a highly decentralized state, composed of 17 autonomous communities and two autonomous cities, each with their own devolved powers.
Article 2 of the Spanish constitution, written in 1978, mentions “historical nationalities,” which are not explicitly identified but were widely understood to refer to the autonomous communities of Galicia in the far north-west, the Basque Country in the middle of the north coast and Catalonia in the far north-east. The term historical nationality implies a recognition of a region’s strong sense of historical and cultural identity.
Many in the Basque region have been calling for independence, as have those from Catalonia and Andalusia in the south. On Sunday, the Catalonian government held a plebiscite with the question, “Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?”, despite a constitutional court ruling against the legality of the referendum.
Photo: AFP
圖：法新社
According to Catalan officials, there was a 42.3 percent turnout for the vote, in spite of police attempts to stop the process, with almost 90 percent of the votes supporting independence. Article 155 of the constitution allows the central government to suspend Catalan autonomy and intervene in the autonomous region’s running.
The Catalan government is understood to be discussing its response to Thursday’s constitutional court ruling suspending Monday’s regional parliament session, in which the referendum results were due to be discussed. The suspension was ordered to prevent the Catalan government from making a unilateral declaration of independence.
The EU’s budget commissioner Gunther Oettinger, commenting on the possibility of an independence declaration, said “The situation is very, very disturbing. A civil war is planned in the middle of Europe.”
Photo: AFP
圖：法新社
(Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)
雖然西班牙在十六世紀統一成一個國家，但其內部幾乎沒有同化，仍像是一個不同地區的集合體，各地區擁有自己定義的歷史、政治、語言和文化傳統。現代西班牙仍然是一個高度分權的國家，由十七個自治區和兩個自治城市組成，各自擁有中央賦予的權力。
一九七八年制訂的西班牙憲法第二條提到了「歷史國籍」，雖無明確指出，但一般認為是指西班牙西北部的加利西亞自治區、北部中央濱海的巴斯克地區，以及東北角的加泰隆尼亞。歷史國籍一詞意味著對地方強烈的歷史及文化認同感加以承認。
Photo: EPA
圖：歐新社
巴斯克地區有許多人一直呼籲獨立，加泰隆尼亞和南部的安達盧西亞亦是如此。加泰隆尼亞政府在上週日舉行的公民投票所要決定的問題是：「你是否同意加泰隆尼亞以共和國的形式成為獨立國家？」儘管憲法法院裁定該公投不具合法性。
據加泰隆尼亞官員表示，儘管警方企圖阻止投票之進行，該公投仍有百分之四十二點三的投票率，且幾乎有百分之九十的票數支持獨立。西班牙憲法第一百五十五條允許中央政府中止加泰隆尼亞的自治，且可介入自治區的運作。
西班牙憲法法院週四裁定，中止加泰隆尼亞自治區議會將於下週一舉行的會議，該會議原定將討論公投結果。憲法法院此舉為防止加泰羅尼亞政府片面宣布獨立。據了解，加泰隆尼亞政府將討論如何因應此裁決。
Photo: EPA
圖：歐新社
歐盟預算專員鈞特‧厄廷格在談到加泰隆尼亞可能宣布獨立時說：「情況非常令人不安，有人想在歐洲引發內戰。」
（台北時報編譯林俐凱譯）
Photographer Franziska Stuenkel likes to take spontaneous urban shots, so she needs a nimble camera that is ready to go when inspiration strikes: her German-made Leica M11. “I have to be very quick and discreet,” said the Berlin-based artist who captures reflections of people walking past windows, their contours merging with the shapes behind the glass. Stuenkel’s compact Leica is the perfect camera for the job, the 51-year-old told AFP. Famous for its pocket-sized and retro-style devices, the Leica brand is celebrating a milestone as it marks 100 years since its first commercial camera was presented to the public. The
Picture a 45-foot-long animal with a 5-foot-long skull and 3-foot-long arms. It may not seem strange until you realize that a human with those proportions would be 6 feet tall with 5-inch arms. Although the Tyrannosaurus rex went extinct 65 million years ago, the mystery of its unusual body __1__ has fascinated scientists for over a century. Barnum Brown, the paleontologist who first discovered T. rex fossils, initially found it hard to believe that the tiny arms belonged to such a __2__ creature. One of his colleagues speculated that the short forelimbs might have been used to hold the
As global travel rebounds following the COVID-19 pa ndemic, the longstanding issue of overtourism has returned stronger than ever. Throughout 2024, numerous popular destinations worldwide struggled with tourist numbers that far exceeded their infrastructural and environmental capacities. Not only does this surge congest streets and pollute landscapes, but it also endangers cultural sites and disrupts the daily lives of residents. In response to the growing problem of “overtourism,” various nations have adopted diverse strategies, some of which have sparked controversy. Venice, Italy, has not hesitated to take bold action; since 2024, the city has implemented one of the
Dogs’ noses are incredibly keen. They can even detect changes in cortisol levels in human sweat and breath. Known as the “stress hormone,” cortisol increases when humans are under pressure. Recent research indicates that the smell of human stress can influence a dog’s behavior and emotions. In the study, human volunteers were exposed to the stressful tasks of preparing and delivering a speech on the spot and then solving math problems. __1__ Researchers collected sweat and breath samples from the volunteers on pieces of cloth during both their stressful and restful states. Meanwhile, other researchers worked with 18
RSS