Singapore’s prime minister said he would not take legal action over claims by his siblings that he had abused his power in a dispute over their father’s legacy, in a departure for a governing elite that has routinely used the threat of libel action to stifle free speech.
新加坡总理表示，他不会对他的弟妹们的指控提起法律诉讼，这与这位经常动用诽谤诉讼威胁来压制言论自由的统治精英不符。他的弟妹们称，在有关他们父亲的遗产的纠纷中，他滥用权力。
Lee Hsien Loong on Monday said he would have sued under normal circumstances but feared that legal action in this case would “further besmirch my parents’ names”.李显龙(Lee Hsien Loong)周一表示，一般情况下他会起诉的，但他担心就此事起诉将“进一步破坏我父母的名声”。The prime minister, who described the siblings’ claims as “baseless” and added that they had damaged Singapore’s reputation, warned that no other critic would escape court.李显龙称，他弟妹们的指控“毫无根据”，并补充称，他们损害了新加坡的声誉，他警告称，任何其他批评者都无法逃避诉讼。“I believe I have a strong case. In normal circumstances, in fact, in any other imaginable circumstance than this, I would have sued immediately,” Mr Lee said.李显龙表示：“我认为我的理由充分。在一般情况下，实际上在除此之外的任何可以想象的情况下，我肯定会立刻起诉。”Human rights groups say Singapore’s leaders regularly use defamation laws to stifle freedom of expression and muzzle opposition politicians.人权组织表示，新加坡领导人经常利用诽谤法律来压制言论自由，让反对派政治人士噤声。The prime minister spoke in parliament on Monday in an effort to settle a bitter family dispute at the apex of tightly-controlled Singapore.
李显龙周一在国会发表讲话，试图在受到严格管制的新加坡的最高层解决这场充满敌意的家庭纠纷。The public battle between the children of Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew has focused attention on the closely held nature of power in the city-state.新加坡国父李光耀(Lee Kuan Yew)子女之间的这场公开纠纷，使外界关注这个城市国家封闭的权力结构。Members of the Lee family have secured some of the highest positions in political and corporate life in Singapore.李光耀家族的成员在新加坡政界和商界占据着一些最高职位。Mr Lee said in parliament: “As your prime minister, I deeply regret that this has happened and apologise to Singaporeans for this. As a son, I am pained at the anguish this strife would have caused my parents to feel if they were still alive.”李显龙在国会表示：“作为总理，我对此事件的发生深感遗憾，并为此向新加坡人道歉。作为儿子，如果我的父母亲还在世，这起争端对他们可能造成的苦痛，也令我感到心痛。”