Thailand's red-shirt protesters converge on TV station

The red-shirt protesters have been camped out in Bangkok for nearly a month and have vowed¹ to defy the emergency laws with more rallies.

Arrests warrants have been issued for several of the protest（抗议） leaders.

Tens of thousands of protesters, who had been based in Bangkok's commercial district, had planned to march to 10 undisclosed locations in the city on Friday.

But following Thursday's closure of the People Channel - a key tool for coordinating（协调的） their efforts - they said they would all converge（集中,聚合） on the Thaicom satellite station north of the capital.

"We're all moving in one direction. We're going to bring back our People Channel," said protest leader Nattawut Saikua.

"We are marching now to ask them why they closed down People Channel and what rights they have to shut out our eyes and ears.

"We march to ask for the rights of our people. We will march to free ourselves from the military-rule state, bring our rights and freedom back."

'Decisive'

The red-shirts want Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to resign and call elections, saying his government is illegitimate.

 COLOUR-CODED PROTESTS
Many rural dwellers² and urban poor support red-shirts, while yellow-shirts comprise mainly middle classes and urban elite³
In September 2008 yellows rally against government, reds counter-rally, clashes in Bangkok
Yellows blockade airport in November 2008, government collapses⁴, yellow-friendly government installed
In April 2009 red protests halt Asean summit, two people die in Bangkok clashes, rallies called off
Reds relaunch protests in March 2010, splash blood on government buildings, march on parliament

Reds and yellows
Q&A: Thailand protests 
Several anti-government websites were also shut down on Thursday, but the red-shirt leaders still appear able to spread their message, says the BBC's Rachel Harvey in Bangkok.

Thousands of reinforcements are reported to have joined the rallies on Friday - they were stopped and searched at checkpoints but not prevented from entering the capital, says our correspondent.

The state of emergency gives sweeping⁵ powers to the security forces and in theory bans public gatherings⁶ of more than five people.

The government has not shown any sign that it intends to use force against the protesters.

But at a new conference(会议,协商) on Friday, an army spokesman said security forces would "decisively enforce the law".

"It's crucial for the military and police to bring the situation under control," said Sunsern Kaewkumnerd.

Mr Abhisit has said the government wants to restore "peace and happiness" and that it is "the manipulation of information that is creating hate".

"We have to some extent stopped the spread of this kind of information," he said of the media closures.

The authorities issued arrests warrants on Thursday for seven protest leaders thought to have been involved in the storming of parliament the day before, causing MPs to flee.

The escalating⁷ unrest has caused Mr Abhisit to cancel plans to attend a summit of regional leaders in Vietnam. （本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

2 dwellers   

n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes. 城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They have transformed themselves into permanent city dwellers. 他们已成为永久的城市居民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

4 collapses   

折叠( collapse的第三人称单数 )； 倒塌； 崩溃； （尤指工作劳累后）坐下

参考例句：

• This bridge table collapses. 这张桥牌桌子能折叠。
• Once Russia collapses, the last chance to stop Hitler will be gone. 一旦俄国垮台，抑止希特勒的最后机会就没有了。

5 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

6 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

7 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句