
A | 人力部长陈诗龙宣布,技能创前程求职援助计划将在明年四月启动。 CARACAS, Venezuela -- Early returns in the Venezuelan opposition's presidential primary gave a big lead to former legislator Maria Corina Machado early Monday, and she quickly claimed victory as the voters' choice to lead the campaign to end the decade-long, crisis-ridden presidency of Nicolás Maduro. The independent National Primary Commission, which organized the primary, did not release any results until long after polling stations closed Sunday, blaming internet censorship. The organizers said that in the first 601,110 ballots counted, about 93% picked Machado, who had entered the vote as a strong front-runner. The rest of the votes were scattered among the other nine candidates. There was no indication of how many people cast ballots in all, and organizers were expected to release additional results throughout Monday.“Today, very powerful forces have been unleashed," Machado told supporters gathered outside her campaign headquarters in the capital, Caracas. “Today, we have shown ourselves what we are capable of doing in the face of all the obstacles, in the face of all the abuses.”Holding Venezuela’s first presidential primary since 2012 required the deeply fractured opposition to work together. Venezuelans, in turn, showed up at voting centers in and outside of their homeland to make it count, enthusiastically lining up for hours despite scorching sun and torrential rain.Still, what they saw as a monumental exercise in democracy could still prove futile, if Maduro’s government wishes.While the administration agreed in principle to let the opposition choose its candidate for the 2024 presidential election, it also has already barred Machado from running for office. Maduro’s government has in the past bent the law, retaliated against opponents and breached agreements as it sees fit.Hundreds of people gathered at voting centers in neighborhoods across Caracas even before polls opened. They stayed in line despite a rainstorm that left them soaking wet. They carried umbrellas, folding stools and coffee to ease the expected waits, and leaned against buildings or stood under marquees to try to avoid the rain. Caracas resident Stephanie Aguilar, 34, cried while she waited to vote. She described the primary as the only “salvation” for her country, her daughter and son, and the millions of Venezuelans who decided they had to emigrate due to the nation’s economic and political turmoil. “We want a better country, a free country, for my children ... who have grown up in this government,” Aguilar, a housewife, said as she wiped tears from her face. “They ask, ‘Mom, can we go out to eat?’ No, there is no money. ‘Mom, can we do this thing?’ No, there is no money. It is unfortunate that a society grows up under those conditions.”Venezuelans typically vote at public schools, but the independent commission that oversaw the primary opted to use homes, churches, private schools and other facilities after electoral authorities did not respond to requests for help in a timely manner.Jesús María Casal, head of the National Primary Commission, blamed the hours-long delay in issuing election results on internet restrictions. “Once we began the process of counting the results ... we detected that our server that functioned as a transmission channel was blocked, which prevents us from completing this process as scheduled,” he said.The London-based internet monitoring firm NetBlocks tweeted metrics showing “a disruption to internet connectivity in #Venezuela with high impact to Caracas." It added that a state-owned internet service provider claimed “an issue with its energy backup system.”David Smilde, an expert on Venezuelan politics at Tulane University, said the primary was a “significant achievement” for several reasons, including forcing political leaders and parties within the opposition “to reach out and speak to the people.”“And it has generated considerable enthusiasm and mobilization in a population that has been skeptical of the opposition leadership of late,” he said.Machado, a proponent of free-market economic policies, is a longtime critic of the governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela. She maintained a somewhat low profile for years but dominated the primary campaign by connecting with the same voters she consistently urged to boycott previous elections.The presidential election is expected to be scheduled for the second half of 2024. Maduro is looking to extend his presidency until 2030, which would surpass the time that Hugo Chávez, his mentor, governed and established his self-described socialist policies.Maduro’s allies ridiculed and dismissed the primary all year. Still, both the government and its opponents used the contest as a bargaining chip to extract concessions from each other as part of a negotiation process meant to end the country’s complex social, economic and political crisis. Maduro and an opposition faction backed by the U.S. government last week agreed to work together on basic conditions for the presidential contest. That prompted the government to release six political prisoners and the Biden administration to lift key economic sanctions. As part of the agreement, Maduro’s administration and the opposition are supposed to “recognize and respect the right of each political actor to select” a presidential candidate freely.If organizers declare Machado the primary's winner, the focus will shift to Maduro to see if the government reverses its ban on her seeking public office. In June, the government issued an administrative decision prohibiting Machado from running, alleging fraud and tax violations and accusing her of seeking the economic sanctions the U.S. imposed on Venezuela in the last decade. The U.S., holding up the threat of renewed sanctions, has given Venezuela until the end of November to establish a process for reinstating all candidates expeditiously.A U.N.-backed panel investigating human rights abuses in Venezuela said last month that Maduro’s government has intensified efforts to curtail democratic freedoms ahead of the 2024 election. That includes subjecting some politicians and other opponents to detention, surveillance, threats, defamatory campaigns and arbitrary criminal proceedings.All registered voters in Venezuela were allowed to participate in the primary, as well as tens of thousands living in several other countries.“This is unprecedented,” said a smiling María de los Ángeles León, 31, the coordinator of Mexico City’s voting site. “People know that we have no guarantees that the winner of this election will be able to advance to the presidential election, but we keep trying.”___Associated Press writer María Verza in Mexico City contributed to this report.。

B | (图:魏凤琴)明年4月起,月薪不超过5000元的非自愿失业者将可在6个月内,总共获得多达6000元的援助金。预计每年将有6万人获得援助,占非自愿失业总人数的六成以上。黄循财总理在国庆群众大会上宣布,政府将推出技能创前程求职援助计划(SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support Scheme),为被裁退或公司倒闭而失业的中低收入员工提供短期资助。人力部和劳动力发展局公布计划细节时说,这项计划主要针对月薪不超过5000元、所居住的房产年值不超过2万5千元的失业者。

C | 他们在失业前的一年内须至少就业六个月。援助金将分六个月发放。

D | 第一个月的援助金额最多1500元,之后逐月减少。

E | 一旦他们在6个月内找到工作,政府将停止发放援助金。

F | 其他申请条件包括:申请者须积极寻找新工作,例如参加职业辅导和培训课程。符合条件者如果参加技能创前程进阶计划、中途转业人士见习计划等,还能获得培训津贴。成功申请者在三年内不得再申请这项援助。计划在明年4月启动时,将只针对21岁及以上的本地公民。当局在初期也放款申请条件,让失业超过6个月的人也能提交申请。年满21岁的永久居民则可从后年第一季起提出申请。当局强调,技能创前程求职援助计划不是一项社会福利计划,需要更多财务援助的家庭可申请其他援助计划。

G | 人力部长陈诗龙和全国职工总会秘书长黄志明参观职总就业与职能培训中心。(图:魏凤琴)。

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