11-09-06

美兩媒體宣佈民主黨贏得參院多數席位 (Two U.S. Media Organizations：Democratic Party Won A Majority in Senate)

兩家美國媒體宣佈，在星期二的中期選舉後，民主黨贏得了國會參議院的多數席位，從而取得了國會的完全控制權。

美國全國廣播公司和美聯社說，在維吉尼亞州，民主黨挑戰者韋布擊敗了現任的共和黨參議員艾倫。在維吉尼亞州的兩百多萬張選票中，韋布領先艾倫大約七千票。

艾倫還沒有承認敗選。他的競選班子說，他要等地方官員完成對計票的核查。不過，艾倫的一名顧問說，如果結果繼續顯示韋布領先，艾倫不會要求重新計票。

Two U.S. media organizations have declared that the Democratic Party has won a majority in the U.S. Senate, and with it, complete control of the U.S. Congress following Tuesday's midterm elections.

NBC and the Associated Press say Democratic challenger Jim Webb is the winner over Republican Senator George Allen in (the southern U.S. state of) Virginia. Webb holds a lead of about seven-thousand votes, out of more than two-million ballots cast.

Allen has not conceded defeat, and his campaign says he will wait until a re-check of the vote counting is completed by local officials. But one advisor says Allen has no intention of seeking a recount if the votes remain in Webb's favor.

中國法庭把99%的刑事案被告定罪 (Chinese Courts Convict 99% of Defendants in Criminal Cases)

中國最高人民法院院長肖揚說，中國法庭把99%以上的刑事案被告定罪。

中國國家媒體援引肖揚的話說，過去9年裏(1998年1月到2006年9月)，被判定無罪的被告不到百分之一。

肖揚說， 中國法庭在這期間總共審理了500多萬件刑事犯罪案，其中只有4萬1千人被宣判無罪。

肖揚是星期二在北京召開的第五次全國刑事審判工作會議上發表以上講話的。

人權組織批評中國的司法制度在公平和公正方面沒有達到國際標準。

在國家媒體報導了一系列的誤判和誤殺的案件之後，中國公眾要求法律改革的呼聲日益高漲。

肖楊這個星期說，中國法庭在做出死刑判決時應該極為謹慎。

China's chief justice says that Chinese courts convict more than 99 percent of defendants in criminal cases.

Chinese state media quote Xiao Yang as saying that in the past nine years (January 1998 to September 2006), the courts found fewer than one percent of defendants not guilty.

Xiao says China's courts handled more than five million criminal cases over the period, resulting in just 41-thousand acquittals.

The president of the Supreme People's Court was speaking at a national conference on criminal trials, which began Tuesday in Beijing.

Human rights groups have criticized China's court system as failing to meet international standards for fairness and justice.

Chinese public pressure for legal reform is growing, after state media reported a series of cases involving wrongful convictions and executions.

Xiao said this week that Chinese courts should exercise "extreme" caution when handing out death penalties.