社評
停止中國對緬甸的資源掠奪
紐約時報 2015年01月25日
中國爆炸式增長的需求量引發了一場對緬甸寶貴的自然資源的大規模搶掠。這常常涉及公然盜竊，但也以權貴資本主義的形式進行。緬甸軍事精英階層與迫切希望盤剝這片土地的中國公司有交易，對環境或人民
幾乎無所顧及。控制緬甸東北部部分地區的反叛組織克欽獨立軍(Kachin Independence Army)也從一些與中國的這種貿易中分了一杯羹，特別是一貧如洗、海洛因上癮的勞工從地里開採出的玉石的貿易。
本周，中國政府官員在緬甸調查涉嫌非法伐木的中國公民被拘一事。往中國的非法木材銷售，特別是緬甸儲量日益減少的紅木，一直是個大問題。非政府組織環境調查署(Environmental Investigation Agency)警告，該樹種或在三年內滅絕。
中國對虎豹身體部位、熊膽和穿山甲的巨大需求已將靠近中國邊境的城鎮勐拉(Mong La)轉變成了一個動物走私、賣淫和賭博的破敗中心。據多數估計，緬甸的老虎少於70隻。
對該國寶貴的銅礦的追求導致了針對敢於反對環境和人員代價的緬甸人的暴力。2012年，緬甸警方似乎使用了通常在戰時才使用的白磷煙霧彈來鎮壓對為了給緬甸中部萊比塘(Letpadaung)銅礦騰出地方而遷離感到憤怒的抗議者。該銅礦是中國萬寶礦產公司與緬甸軍方業務部門的合資項目。上月，警察向該地區抗議搬遷的居民開火，打中了一名女性的頭部，致其死亡。
緬甸的人民——正如那些抗議所表明的——想讓這種掠奪停止。這個國家需要尊重人權和環境的外國投資。遏制榨取資源、製造政治不穩定的腐敗和裙帶交易，這將取決於登盛總統(President Thein Sein)。
EDITORIAL
The Plunder of Myanmar
January 25, 2015
China’s exploding appetites have unleashed a wholesale looting of Myanmar’s valuable natural resources. While this often involves outright theft, it also comes in the form of crony capitalism. Myanmar’s military elite has deals with Chinese companies that are eager to exploit the land, with little concern for the environment or people. The Kachin Independence Army, a rebel group that controls part of northeastern Myanmar, also takes a cut of some of this trade with China, especially jade hacked out of the earth by impoverished, heroin-addicted laborers.
This week, Chinese government officials were in Myanmar to investigate the detention of Chinese citizens suspected of illegal logging. Illegal timber sales to China, especially of Myanmar’s dwindling stocks of rosewood, have been a big problem, with the Environmental Investigation Agency, a nongovernmental group, warning that the trees could be extinct within three years.
The pursuit of the valuable copper deposits in the country, formerly called Burma, has led to violence against Burmese who dare to object to the environmental and human costs. In 2012, the Myanmar police apparently used white phosphorus smoke bombs, usually reserved for warfare, to quell protesters angry over evictions to make room for the Letpadaung copper mine in central Myanmar, a joint venture between China’s Wanbao Mining company and the Myanmar military’s business arm. Last month, police officers opened fire on residents who were protesting evictions in the area, killing one woman with a shot to the head.China’s insatiable demand for tiger and leopard parts, bear bile and pangolins has helped to transform the town of Mong La, near the Chinese border, into a seedy center of animal trafficking, prostitution and gambling. Myanmar’s tiger population is by most estimates less than 70.
The people of Myanmar — as the protests make clear — want this plunder stopped. The country needs foreign investment that is respectful of human rights and the environment. It will be up to President Thein Sein to rein in the corruption and crony deals that are stripping away resources and creating political instability.
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