11-09-06

美两媒体宣布民主党赢得参院多数席位 (Two U.S. Media Organizations：Democratic Party Won A Majority in Senate)

两家美国媒体宣布，在星期二的中期选举后，民主党赢得了国会参议院的多数席位，从而取得了国会的完全控制权。

美国全国广播公司和美联社说，在维吉尼亚州，民主党挑战者韦布击败了现任的共和党参议员艾伦。在维吉尼亚州的两百多万张选票中，韦布领先艾伦大约七千票。

艾伦还没有承认败选。他的竞选班子说，他要等地方官员完成对计票的核查。不过，艾伦的一名顾问说，如果结果继续显示韦布领先，艾伦不会要求重新计票。

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.

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

中国最高人民法院院长肖扬说，中国法庭把99%以上的刑事案被告定罪。

中国国家媒体援引肖扬的话说，过去9年里(1998年1月到2006年9月)，被判定无罪的被告不到百分之一。

肖扬说， 中国法庭在这期间总共审理了500多万件刑事犯罪案，其中只有4万1千人被宣判无罪。

肖扬是星期二在北京召开的第五次全国刑事审判工作会议上发表以上讲话的。

人权组织批评中国的司法制度在公平和公正方面没有达到国际标准。

在国家媒体报导了一系列的误判和误杀的案件之后，中国公众要求法律改革的呼声日益高涨。

肖杨这个星期说，中国法庭在做出死刑判决时应该极为谨慎。

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.