British Voters Choose to Exit EU, PM Cameron to Step Down

英國選民決定脫離歐盟，首相卡麥隆將下台

Britain has made a historic decision to leave the European Union in a referendum that stoked passions on issues of immigration and sovereignty, and prompted the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron.

       英國在近日（6月23日）的公投中做出了離開歐盟的歷史性決定，此次公投燃起了民眾對於移民和主權議題的激情，亦促使首相大衛‧卡麥隆辭職。

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British Voters Choose to Exit EU, PM Cameron to Step Down
VOA News
Last updated on: June 24, 2016 6:50 AM (source) 

British Voters Choose to Exit EU, PM Cameron to Step Down

英國選民決定脫離歐盟，首相卡麥隆將下台

VOA News
June 24, 2016 6:50 AM

LONDON—Britain has made a historic decision to leave the European Union in a referendum that stoked passions on issues of immigration and sovereignty, and prompted the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron.

"The British people have made a very clear decision to take a different path and as such I think the country requires fresh leadership to take it in this direction," Cameron told reporters outside 10 Downing Street Friday.

Cameron said that transition should happen in October.

Analysts say voters' stunning decision to quit the EU meant Cameron lost his mandate. The man who led the 'Leave' campaign, former London Mayor Boris Johnson – also of Cameron’s Conservative Party – is widely expected to replace Cameron as prime minister.

With all counties reporting results Friday morning, the "Leave" cause won 51.9 percent of the vote. The news prompted a negative reaction in Asian markets and the British pound tumbled to a three-decade low.

Turnout was high, at 72 percent – the highest in a national poll in more than two decades – despite torrential rainstorms on referendum day, reflecting the strong feelings that the debate evoked in a nation whose immigration rate has doubled in the past 16 years.

The vote appeared to be driven by anti-establishment sentiments and the feeling the EU governing structure has taken too much control away from the common British citizen.

"Let June 23 go down in our history as our independence day," anti-EU campaigner Nigel Farage told supporters in Westminster early Friday. Farage heads Britain's UK Independence Party, which favors implementing tough immigration restrictions. He said the election predictions would be "a victory for real people, a victory for ordinary people, a victory for decent people."

New chapter of uncertainty

The decision to quit the EU opens a new chapter of uncertainty for Britain, which must now forge new trade relationships with continental Europe and begin the process of disentangling from the 28-member bloc, reversing a process that began more than four decades ago when Britain joined what was then the European Economic Community.

Revelers celebrated outside 10 Downing Street early Friday as passing cars honked in support of the decision.

Analysts say that disengagement may take two or more years to complete.

Voters appeared to have defied calls by government and business, which forecast dire economic consequences for Britain. The British treasury predicted that leaving the EU would cost the average family nearly ,000 a year.

On Friday, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the bank is prepared for the shock, and said it is making available nearly 5 billion in financial support.

Business leaders' warning

Business leaders warned that new immigration restrictions that could result from a Brexit would cause them to transfer thousands of British jobs to countries still in the EU.

In the end, British voters appeared to choose the risk of independence over what many "Leave" supporters view as overreach by an undemocratic EU governing apparatus that is only getting bigger and more intrusive.

"The EU has just gone into every nook and cranny. It started off as a trade agreement. It moved towards a community. It now is a union and it wants its own currency and now wants its own defense forces. Well, it's only a matter of time before it becomes a country," Lord David Owen, a former foreign secretary, told VOA.

倫敦—英國在近日（6月23日）的公投(referendum)中做出了離開歐盟的歷史性(historic)決定，此次公投燃起了民眾對於移民和主權(sovereignty)議題的激情，亦促使首相大衛‧卡麥隆(David Cameron)辭職。

卡麥隆週五時於首相官邸外向記者表示：「英國人民做出了非常明確的決定，要走向一條不同的路。因此，我認為英國需要嶄新的領導來帶領整個國家朝此新方向發展。」（編譯："10 Downing Street"「唐寧街10號」為英國首相官邸的地址，新聞中慣用此地址指稱之。）

卡麥隆並表示（英國脫歐的）過渡期將會在十月開始。

分析人士認為，英國選民做出了退出歐盟的驚人決定，意味著卡麥隆已喪失了選民的支持(mandate)。各界普遍預期，領導這次「脫歐」運動並與卡麥隆同屬保守黨的前倫敦市市長鮑里斯‧強森(Boris Johnson)將取代卡麥隆出任首相。

在週五早上各郡全數回報結果後，「脫歐」派贏得了51.9%的選票。此消息導致亞洲股市（下跌）的負面反應，英鎊亦下跌(tumble)至三十年來的最低點。

儘管公投當日降下暴雨(torrential rainstorm)，但投票率(turnout)仍高達72%，是近二十幾年以來全國性選舉(national poll)中最高的一次。這反映出過去十六年間，在移民率成長了兩倍的英國社會中，不同意見之爭論所激發出的選民高漲的情緒。

反體制的情緒(sentiment)，以及一種歐盟治理體系剝奪一般英國人民自主控制支配之權利的感受造就了這次的投票結果。

反歐盟大將奈傑‧法拉吉(Nigel Farage)週五稍早時於國會告訴支持者：「讓6月23日（公投日期）成為我們（英國）歷史上的獨立日。」由法拉吉所領導的「英國獨立黨」(UK Independence Party)支持實施(implement)嚴格的移民限制規定。對於此次選舉的預測，他表示其結果將會是「真正人民的勝利，一般人民的勝利，正直(decent)人民的勝利。」（編按：西敏區 "Westminster" 位於倫敦中央，有許多著名的英國觀光景點，亦是英國國會的所在地，新聞中常以 "Westminster" 來代表英國國會。）

充滿不確定性的新頁

英國決定退出歐盟後將開啟充滿不確定性的新頁，除了必須開創(forge)與歐洲大陸的新貿易關係，開始進行從28個成員國的（歐盟）集團(bloc)中脫離出來的程序，還要逆轉一個四十多年前因加入當時歐洲經濟共同體(European Economic Community)所開啟的過程。

歡欣的群眾(reveler)週五一早就在首相官邸外慶祝，路過的車輛也按喇叭(honk)來表示支持脫歐的決定。

分析人士認為脫離的過程可能需要至少兩年以上的時間才能完成。

英國政府和企業界曾預測脫歐會對英國造成嚴重的(dire)經濟後果，然而選民似乎已不願聽從其喊話。英國財政部預測，平均每個家庭會因脫歐而承擔一年近六千美元的代價。

英格蘭銀行總裁馬克‧卡尼(Mark Carney)於週五時表示，英格蘭銀行對此衝擊已做好準備，現備有近三千四百五十億元作為財政支撐。

商業領袖提出警告

商業領袖曾警告，因英國脫歐(Brexit)而可能帶來產生的新移民限制規定或許將使他們把成千上萬個英國的工作機會轉往其他仍在歐盟裡的國家。（編按："Brexit" 是由 "Britain" 和 "exit" 組合而成的新字。）

但最後英國選民仍選擇了有風險的獨立（即脫離歐盟）選項，而非選擇許多「脫歐」支持者視為是過度干預(overreach)的歐盟與其日漸龐大而有干涉性的非民主的治理機構(apparatus)。

曾任英國外交大臣的大衛‧歐文勳爵(Lord David Owen)告訴美國之音(VOA)：「歐盟已經伸入了每一個角落(every nook and cranny)。它最早是以一個貿易協定開始(start off as . . .)，後來發展成了一個社群，而目前則成為一個聯盟；它想要有自己的貨幣，現在還希望有自己的防衛武力。嗯，我想，歐盟變成一個國家只是遲早的問題。」