什邡事件：中国环保人士罕见获胜

来源：大耳朵英语

Chinese riot police clashed with thousands of environmental protesters in Sichuan province on Tuesday, using tear gas to disperse demonstrators, in the latest example of escalating grassroots protests over pollution in China.

中国防暴警察周二在四川省与数以千计的环保抗议者发生冲突，警方施放催泪瓦斯驱散示威者，这是中国基层民众抗议环境污染的最新事例。

Residents of Shifang, a south-western city, have been protesting since Sunday over the construction of a metals refinery that they say will endanger their health. On Tuesday evening, eyewitnesses said riot police and military Swat teams had filled the city centre after tear gas battles earlier in the day.

自上周日以来，地处中国西南部的四川省什邡市的市民们就一直在举行抗议，反对在当地兴建一座金属冶炼厂，称该厂将危及他们的健康。周二警方施放催泪瓦斯后，目击者称，当晚有大批防暴警察和特警在市中心执行警戒。

In a rare victory for environmentalists, the Shifang city government and Sichuan Hongda, a Shanghai-listed metals producer behind the planned $1.6bn copper refinery, issued statements saying they would cancel the plant and never build such a facility in the city.

环保人士这次取得了罕见的胜利。什邡市政府和在上海上市的金属生产企业四川宏达发表声明，宣布取消这家价值达16亿美元的钼铜冶炼厂的建设计划，并将永不在该市兴建此类设施。

However, protesters still thronged the city centre demanding the release of some students who were arrested during earlier protests, according to posts on Weibo, the microblogging site.

不过，据微博网站新浪微博(Weibo)上的一些帖子称，抗议者仍在市中心聚集，要求释放在稍早前的抗议中被捕的一些学生。

The clashes underscore the rising discontent facing the Communist party, which is struggling to balance economic growth – seen as key to social stability – against rising environmental problems. They also come at a particularly sensitive time for China’s leaders, who are preparing to hand over power to a new generation this year.

这些冲突凸显出中共所面对的与日俱增的民怨，该党正竭力在经济增长（被视为社会稳定的关键）与不断加剧的环境问题之间找到平衡。另一方面，这些冲突发生在中国领导层格外敏感的时期，中国领导层正准备在今年晚些时候进行换届。

Chinese people are growing tired of mounting pollution problems, which officials call a “threat to growth”. The World Bank estimates that at least 750,000 Chinese die prematurely each year from pollution-related causes.

中国人对一个接一个的污染问题越来越不耐烦，官员们形容这些问题是“对增长构成的威胁”。世界银行(World Bank)估计，每年有至少75万中国人因污染相关原因早逝。

Demonstrators told the Financial Times of their concerns about the planned Hongda refinery.

示威者们向英国《金融时报》表明了他们对宏达原本拟建的冶炼厂的担忧。

“The copper factory will be bad for our health,” said a restaurant owner who joined the protests. “We only found out about it on June 29 when [the company] held the groundbreaking ceremony, otherwise we would have been protesting earlier.”

“铜厂将不利于我们的健康，”一名加入抗议行列的餐厅业主表示，“我们只是在6月29日（该公司）举行破土动工仪式时才知道这件事，否则我们早就抗议了。”

She added that residents of neighbouring cities had shown their support by coming to Shifang, a city of about 400,000 people, to join the protests. “Shifang” was the most searched term on Tuesday on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter.

她补充说，邻近城市的市民们也来到什邡来加入抗议队伍，以展现他们的支持。什邡市有大约40万居民。周二，“什邡”是新浪微博上搜索频率最高的词条。

The Shifang demonstrations are the latest in a number of environmental protests in China. Hundreds of residents of the southern town of Daan in Guangdong province protested on Monday against chronic water pollution, which they say is caused by illegal rare earths mines.

什邡爆发的示威，是中国多起环保抗议活动中的最新一例。在广东省汕尾陆丰市大安镇，周一有数百居民抗议长期存在的水污染，他们表示，污染是由一些违法的稀土矿造成的。

Last week, thousands of residents in Guangzhou petitioned for an incinerator project to be moved elsewhere. And last year, more than 10,000 people in Dalian demonstrated against a chemical plant; the government promised to close the facility, but it remains in operation today.

上周，数以千计的广州市民要求将一个焚烧炉项目迁至别的地方。去年，大连市逾万人举行示威，反对一家化工厂；大连市政府当时承诺关闭该厂，但该厂至今仍在运行。

On Monday, the Shifang government tried to quell the protests by promising to suspend construction, but demonstrators said they were not convinced the suspension would be permanent. The government said no protesters had been killed, but two residents said they believed one or two had been beaten to death by riot police.

周一，什邡市政府承诺停止建设，以求平息抗议。但示威者们表示，他们不能确信这种停止是永久性的。官方称没有抗议者身亡，但有两名市民表示，他们相信有一两个人被防暴警察活活打死。