China's $10 Billion Strategic Project In Myanmar Sparks Local Ire

Days before the first supertanker carrying 140,000 tonnes of Chinese-bound crude oil arrived in Myanmar's Kyauk Pyu port, local officials confiscated Nyein Aye's fishing nets.

2017年5月17日，缅甸皎漂马德岛附近皎漂河上的运油船。

就在首艘来自中国的超级巨轮运载着14万吨原油抵达缅甸的皎漂港前数日，当地官员没收了迎埃（音）的渔网。

The 36-year-old fisherman was among hundreds banned from fishing a stretch of water near the entry point for a pipeline that pumps oil 770 km (480 miles) across Myanmar to southwest China and forms a crucial part of Beijing's "Belt and Road" project to deepen its economic links with Asia and beyond.

北京为加深与亚洲等地区经济关系而启动的“一带一路”项目的关键组成部分，是一条从缅甸直通中国西南部、全长770公里（480英里）的油气管道。在管道入口附近的一带水域已有数百人被禁止打渔，而这位36岁的渔民也是其中一个。

"How can we make a living if we're not allowed to catch fish?" said Nyein Aye, who bought a bigger boat just four months ago but now says his income has dropped by two-thirds due to a decreased catch resulting from restrictions on when and where he can fish. Last month he joined more than 100 people in a protest demanding compensation from pipeline operator Petrochina.

迎埃说：“不准我们打渔，叫我们怎么过活？”他4个月前才买了一艘更大的船，如今却表示由于限制打渔时间地点造成打捞量的减少，他的收入已经降低了三分之二。上个月，他和其他一百多人一起发起抗议活动，要求管道运营方中国石油做出经济补偿。

The pipeline is part of the nearly $10 billion Kyauk Pyu Special Economic Zone, a scheme at the heart of fast-warming Myanmar-China relations and whose success is crucial for the Southeast Asian nation's leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

这条管道是总规模将近100亿美元的皎漂经济特区的一部分，该项方案是中缅关系不断升温的核心要素，而对于缅甸这个东南亚国家的领袖昂山季素而言，项目成败也是至关重要的。

Embattled Suu Kyi needs a big economic win to stem criticism that her first year in office has seen little progress on reform. China's support is also key to stabilising their shared border, where a spike in fighting with ethnic armed groups threatens the peace process Suu Kyi says is her top priority.

面对上任首年改革进度甚微的攻讦之声，形势危急的素季需要用经济成果来证明自己。而且，要维持中缅边界稳定，中方的支持也十分关键——在那里，民族武装组织频繁交火，对素季称为最重要目标的和平进程造成了威胁。

China's state-run CITIC Group [CITIC.UL], the main developer of the Kyauk Pyu Special Economic Zone, says it will create 100,000 jobs in the northwestern state of Rakhine, one of Myanmar's poorest regions.

中国的国营企业中信集团是皎漂经济特区的主要开发商，它表示将在缅甸最贫穷的地区之一，西北部的若开邦创造10万个就业岗位。

2017年5月17日，缅甸皎漂外马德岛上的一名村民在编筐。

But many local people say the project is being rushed through without consultation or regard for their way of life.

但很多当地人表示，该项目开展匆忙，既没有征询意见，也没有考虑到他们的生活方式。

Suspicion of China runs deep in Myanmar, and public hostility due to environmental and other concerns has delayed or derailed Chinese mega-projects in the country in the past.

缅甸人对中国疑虑重重。此前，公众出于对环境等问题的担忧而表达的反对意见，也导致了中国在缅甸的大型项目被延后或取消。

China says the Kyauk Pyu development is based on "win-win" co-operation between the two countries.

中方表示，皎漂的开发项目是基于两国间的“双赢”合作。

"AVOIDING PANIC"

“避免恐慌”

Since Beijing signalled it may abandon the huge Myitsone Dam hydroelectric project in Myanmar earlier this year, it has pushed for concessions on other strategic undertakings - including the Bay of Bengal port at Kyauk Pyu, which gives it an alternative route for energy imports from the Middle East.

自从今年早些时候示意或许会放弃缅甸密松水电站的大规模项目后，北京就施压要求放行其他几个战略工程，其中就包括皎漂的孟加拉湾港口，后者为其提供了一条从中东进口能源的替代路线。

Internal planning documents reviewed by Reuters and more than two dozen interviews with officials show work on contracts and land acquisition has already begun before the completion of studies on the impact on local people and the environment, which legal experts said could breach development laws.

路透社获取的内部计划文件以及对官员的二十余次采访显示，早在对当地居民和环境的影响的研究调查完成前，工程合同和土地收购的相关工作就已经开始进行了，而法律专家表示，此举可能违反了发展法。

The Kyauk Pyu Special Economic Zone will cover more than 4,200 acres (17 sq km). It includes the $7.3 billion deep sea port and a $2.3 billion industrial park, with plans to attract industries such as textiles and oil refining.

皎漂经济特区将囊括4200多英亩的土地（17平方公里），其中包括总值73亿美元的深海港，以及23亿美元的工业园区，后者按计划将吸引纺织和炼油等产业的入驻。

A Reuters' tally based on internal planning documents and census data suggests 20,000 villagers, most of whom now depend on agriculture and fishing, are at risk of being relocated to make way for the project.

路透社基于内部计划文件和普查数据进行的统计显示，为了给项目开道，有2万村民恐将面临搬迁，其中多数目前都以务农和打渔为生。

2017年5月18日，缅甸皎漂外马德岛上中国管道工程附近的本地渔民民居。

"There will be a huge project in the zone and many buildings will be built, so people who live in the area will be relocated," said Than Htut Oo, administrator of Kyauk Pyu, who also sits on the management committee of the economic zone.

丹图乌（音）是皎漂县长，同时也是经济特区的管理委员会成员之一，他说：“地区要搞一个大项目，要造很多建筑，所以我们会安排这里的居民搬迁。”

He said the government has not publicly announced the plan, because it didn't want to "create panic" while it was still negotiating with the Chinese developer.

他表示，政府还没有公开宣布该计划，因为它还在和中方开发商谈判，不想“制造恐慌”。

AMBITIOUS DEADLINE

雄心勃勃的日程

In April, Myanmar's President Htin Kyaw signed two agreements on the pipeline and the Kyauk Pyu port with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, as Beijing pushed to revive a project that had stalled since its inception in 2009.

随着北京开始重新推动自2009年创立以来已经停滞的项目，缅甸总统廷觉在今年4月和他在中国的对应人物习近平签署了油气管道和皎漂港的协议。

The agreements call for environmental and social assessments to be carried out as soon as possible.

协议要求尽快进行环境和社会评估。

2017年5月17日，缅甸皎漂河上的渔船。

While the studies are expected to take up to 15 months and have not yet started, CITIC has asked Myanmar to finalise contract terms by the end of this year so that the construction can start in 2018, said Soe Win, who leads the Myanmar management committee of the zone.

领导特区缅甸方管理委员会的索温（音）表示，尽管这些研究调查按预期最多可能耗时长达15个月，而且目前尚未开始进行，但中信已经要求缅甸在今年年底前敲定合同条款，这样就可以在2018年开工了。

Such a schedule has alarmed experts who fear the project is being rushed.

有专家对这样的日程感到忧虑，担心项目太赶了。

"The environmental and social preparations for a project of these dimensions take years to complete and not months," said Vicky Bowman, head of the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business and a former British ambassador to the country.

薇姬·鲍曼是缅甸企业责任中心的主管，也是一位前英国驻缅甸大使，她表示：“这种规模的项目需要花费数年时间来做环境和社会方面的准备工作，而不是几个月就完事。”

CITIC said in an email to Reuters it would engage "a world-renowned consulting firm" to carry out assessments.

中信在给路透社的邮件中表示，它将雇佣“一家世界闻名的咨询公司”来从事评估工作。

Although large-scale land demarcation for the project has not yet started, 26 families have been displaced from farmland due to acquisitions that took place in 2014 for the construction of two dams, according to land documents and the land owners.

尽管项目本身所需的大规模土地划界还没有开始，但由于2014年为建设两座大坝而进行的土地征购，已经有26户人家被迫离开了耕地。

Experts say this violates Myanmar's environmental laws.

专家称，此举违反了缅甸的环保法律。

"Carrying out land acquisition before completing environmental impact assessments and resettlement plans is incompatible with national law," said Sean Bain, Myanmar-based legal consultant for human rights watchdog International Commission of Jurists.

人权组织“国际法律家委员会”驻缅甸的一位法律顾问西恩·贝恩表示：“还没有完成环境影响评估和居民安置计划就实行土地征购，这违背了缅甸的国家法律。”

JOB OPPORTUNITIES?

就业机会？

CITIC says it will build a vocational school to provide training for skills needed by companies in the economic zone. It has given $1.5 million to local villages to develop businesses.

中信表示，它将开办一所职业学校，提供符合经济特区的企业需求的职业技能培训，并为本地村庄的产业发展提供了150万美元资金。

Reuters spoke to several villagers who had borrowed small sums from the village funds set up with this money.

路透社采访了数名从用这笔资金建立的村基金借了小额贷款的村民。

"The CITIC money was very useful for us because most people in the village need money," said fisherman Thar Sai Aung, who borrowed $66 to buy new nets.

渔民达赛昂借了66美元以购置新渔网，他说：“中信的钱对我们来说很有帮助，因为村里大部分人都需要用钱。”

2017年5月17日，缅甸皎漂外马德岛上村庄里的一家人正在制作鱼干。

Chinese investors say they also plan to spend $1 million during the first five years of the development, and $500,000 per year thereafter to improve local living standards.

中方的投资者们表示，他们还计划在开发头五年里花费100万美元改善当地生活水平，此后每年再投入50万美元。

But villagers in Kyauk Pyu say they fear the project would not contribute to the development of the area because the operating companies employ mostly Chinese workers.

但皎漂的村民表示，他们担心项目并不会帮助地区发展，因为相关运作企业招聘的大多是中国工人。

From more than 3,000 people living on the Maday island, the entry point for the oil pipeline, only 47 have landed a job with the Petrochina, while the number of Chinese workers stood at more than double that number, data from labour authorities showed.

劳工部门的数据显示，在运油管道入口所在的马德岛上居住的3000多人里，只有47个人在中国石油找到了工作，而中国工人的数量则超过该数字的两倍。

Petrochina did not respond to requests for comment. In a recent report it said Myanmar citizens made up 72 percent of its workforce in the country overall and it would continue to hire locally.

中国石油没有对质询做出回应。它在近期的报告中表示，它在缅甸国内的劳工中有72%是缅甸公民，并将继续在本地招工。

"I don't think there's hope for me to get a job at the zone," said fisherman Nyein Aye. He had been turned down 12 times for job applications with the pipeline operator.

渔民迎埃说：“我觉得我根本没希望在特区找到工作。”他申请管道操作员的工作已经被拒绝12次了。

"Chinese companies said they would develop our village and improve our livelihoods, but it turned out we are suffering every day."

“中国公司说他们会帮我们的村庄发展，改善我们的生计，结果我们天天都在受罪。”

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