英国政府否决了苏格兰首席大臣举行苏格兰独立举行公投的呼吁。
The refusal came as a note written on the government's legislative agenda. It said that a new vote would be "damaging."
这次拒绝写在了英国政府立法议程的正式文件上。文件称举行新一轮公投将是“破坏性的。”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Parliament Thursday that the Scottish government should not be concerned with "breaking up our United Kingdom."
英国首相约翰逊周四对国会表示，苏格兰政府不应该参与“分裂我们大不列颠联合王国。”
The disagreement came as Queen Elizabeth II arrived at the Parliament in London to set out the policies of Johnson's new government.
在伊丽莎白二世女王抵达英国议会制定约翰逊新政府的政策之际，这项分歧出现了。
Earlier in the day, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon demanded the British government give Scotland the power to hold a new vote for independence.
当天早些时候，苏格兰首席大臣尼古拉·斯特金要求英国政府授权苏格兰举行新一轮独立公投。
In general elections last week, Sturgeon's Scottish National Party won 80 percent of the seats representing Scotland. She says that majority gives her the right to make the demand.
在上周的大选中，斯特金的苏格兰民族党赢得了代表苏格兰的80%的席位。她说这种多数优势让她有权提出这项要求。
Speaking in Edinburgh, Sturgeon said the message from the election was that Scotland "does not want a Tory government led by Boris Johnson, taking us out of the European Union (EU)."
斯特金在爱丁堡表示，大选传达出来的信息就是苏格兰“不希望约翰逊领导的保守党政府带我们脱离欧盟。”
Johnson has said the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 settled the question. More than half of those voting wanted to stay part of Britain.
约翰逊表示，2014年的苏格兰独立公投已经解决了这个问题。苏格兰半数以上投票希望留在英国。
The British will remove Scotland from the EU "against its will," Sturgeon said.
斯特金表示，英国人将会“违背苏格兰的意愿”带其脱离欧盟。
Scotland had the country's highest percentage of voters opposed to a British withdrawal from the EU, a move politicians are calling Brexit. Sixty-two percent of the voters want to remain part of the EU.
苏格兰反对退出欧盟的选民比例在英国国内是最高的，此举被政界人士称为脱欧。苏格兰62%的选民希望留在欧盟。
The Scottish parliament is devolved and needs British permission to hold a new independence referendum. However, Sturgeon said there are still paths to independence.
苏格兰议会是被英国议会权力下放，需要获得英国许可才能举行新一轮独立公投。但是斯特金表示仍然有通往独立的道路。
Legal action
法律诉讼
The Scottish parliament was established under British legislation known as the Scotland Act 1998. It says "the Union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England" is an issue to be decided by Britain's parliament.
苏格兰议会是建立在被称为1998年苏格兰法的英国法律之下。这项法律称，“苏格兰和英格兰联合王国”这个问题要由英国议会来决定。
This is understood to mean that any referendum on Scottish independence can only be approved with the permission of lawmakers in London.
这是指关于苏格兰独立的任何公投都必须获得英国议会议员的许可才能得到承认。
However, the issue has never been tested in court. Some lawyers and experts have argued that the Scottish parliament could have the power to call a referendum.
然而，这个问题从未经过法庭辩论。一些律师和专家认为，苏格兰议会有权举行全民公投。
Scotland's Constitutional Secretary Mike Russell did not rule out such a legal effort, saying "everything is on the table." But he added that such a move was "not an argument for this week."
苏格兰宪法大臣迈克·罗素并未排除发起法律诉讼的可能，称“一切都可以考虑。”但是他还说，这样的举动“不在本周的争论之中。”
Illegal action
非法举动
Sturgeon has said she would only seek to separate from the United Kingdom through legal referendum. She is, however, under pressure from some nationalists to call for a vote without the British parliament's permission.
斯特金表示，她只会通过合法公投谋求从英国独立。然而她受到了一些民族主义者的压力，他们要求不经英国议会许可举行公投。
An unapproved referendum in Scotland could cause a lot of problems, as recent history suggests.
正如近代历史表明，苏格兰举行未经批准举行公投可能会引发很多问题。
Two years ago, the Spanish state of Catalonia held an independence referendum that led to anger in the country. Spain's government considered the vote illegal.
两年前，西班牙加泰罗尼亚地区举行了一场独立公投，点燃了西班牙国内的怒火。西班牙政府认为这次公投是非法的。
Sturgeon's former adviser, Kevin Pringle, recently wrote that Scotland might hold an illegal referendum.
斯特金的前顾问凯文·普林格最近写道，苏格兰可能会举行一场非法公投。
"The legality...of such a move has never been tested," he noted in a report in The Sunday Times newspaper.
他在《星期日泰晤士报》的报道中指出：“这类行动的合法性从未经过法庭辩论。”
However, an illegal vote might hurt Scotland's chances of joining the EU, which most Scots support.
然而，非法公投可能会损害苏格兰加入欧盟的机会，而这是大多数苏格兰人所支持的。
Spain might veto admission by Scotland if its uses an illegal independence process -- fearful that Catalonia might do the same.
如果苏格兰采用非法独立公投程序，西班牙可能会否决苏格兰加入欧盟，因为它担心加泰罗尼亚地区也会学样。
I'm Susan Shand.
我是苏珊·尚德。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，禁止转载，违者必究！)