脱欧公投(tuōōu gōngtóu):Referendum on Brexit

Britons will vote in a referendum on Thursday to determine whether the United Kingdom will remain in or leave the 28-member European Union. The referendum has raised the concerns of the international community because the outcome will have a huge impact on the world economy and international relations.

The latest polls show the "Leave" (or Brexit) camp was tied with the "Remain" camp. According to an ORB poll for the Daily Telegraph two days before the referendum, the number of voters in the "Remain" camp had increased, with support for the UK remaining in the EU being 53 percent while that for leaving the bloc was 46 percent. The newspaper said that last week the "Leave" camp (49 percent) held a one-point lead over the "Remain" camp (48 percent) among the decided voters.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has said that Thursday's referendum was likely to be very close. On Tuesday afternoon, Cameron delivered a speech outside 10 Downing Street, appealing to people to vote to remain in the EU while emphasizing that the UK economy would be stronger if it stayed in the bloc and weaken if it left. He also said that leaving the EU would make it more difficult to keep the country safe.