中国非法掘金者在加纳引发反弹

Ghana’s push to crack down on illegAl gold mining is winning praise from the public but inflaming tensions with China, its biggest trading partner.

加纳打击非法淘金的努力赢得了公众赞赏，但加剧了与该国最大贸易伙伴中国的紧张关系。

Beijing is accused by advocacy groups — and increasingly by the Ghanaian government — of standing by while its citizens break laws as they drive a boom in small-scale mining that began more than five years ago when gold prices were soaring. More than a third of the country’s 2.7m ounces of production last year came from small mines, up from less than a quarter before the boom.

五年前金价飙升，促使一些中国人在加纳掀起一股小规模采矿的热潮，活动团体指责北京方面对本国公民在加纳的违法行为袖手旁观，加纳政府对此也越来越无法容忍。去年，在加纳270万盎司的黄金产量中，超过三分之一来自小型矿场，而在此轮淘金热之前，这一比例还不到四分之一。

In many cases the mines are officially owned by Ghanaians who have the correct permits but in practice are run by Chinese businessmen who are violating regulations in their attempt to extract gold as quickly as possible, according to government officials and local experts.

加纳政府官员和当地专家表示，在多数情况下，这些金矿的正式所有者是拥有采矿执照的加纳人，但实际上它们由中国商人负责运营，后者急于尽可能快地采掘黄金，在此过程中违反各项规定。

President Nana Akufo-Addo, who took office in January, has pledged that no particular group or nationality will be targeted as the government attempts to reign in a variety of mining practices it says are illegal. But some of his ministers are singling out Chinese miners for using practices that are damaging protected forests and cocoa farms, and polluting rivers.

今年1月就职的加纳总统纳纳?阿库福-阿多(Nana Akufo-Addo)承诺，在政府尝试打击种种非法采矿活动的过程中，不会将任何特定组织或特定国籍人士列为打击目标。但他手下的一些部长级官员点名批评中国采矿者，称中国人的采矿方式正在破坏森林保护区、可可农场，并污染河流。

What had been a minor social and environmental issue for decades, officials say, spiralled out of control after Chinese miners flocked to the west African nation during the boom, bringing with them machinery and heavy equipment.

加纳官员表示，在中国采矿者于淘金热期间带着机械和重型设备涌入这个西非国家后，持续已几十年、但此前不太严重的社会和环境问题开始失控。

“It’s alarming. Before, the locals were not using sophisticated tools but now they have heavy equipment,” Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, the environment minister, told Financial Times. As he spoke he flipped through photos of floating machinery atop muddy brown waters and pointed to Chinese characters printed on one piece of equipment, citing it as evidence of the problem.

加纳环境部长夸贝纳?弗林蓬?博阿滕(Kwabena Frimpong Boateng)对英国《金融时报》表示：“情况令人震惊。以前，当地人没有先进的工具，但现在他们有了重型设备。”他一边说，一边翻阅着浮式机械在浑浊水面上作业的照片，他指着一台设备上印着的汉字，称之是这一问题的证据。

Accra issued an “ultimatum” to illegal miners to stop or face the force of law last month, and began arresting Chinese miners and their Ghanaian counterparts. Some Chinese nationals were charged with violating immigration laws.

上月，加纳政府向非法采矿者发出了“最后通牒”，要求他们停工，否则将面临法律制裁，并开始逮捕中国矿工以及他们的加纳籍合伙人。一些中国公民被控违反了移民法。

Mr Boateng said the problem was exacerbated because the previous government had failed to police the mining sector effectively and curb the expansion of small-scale mining using heavy equipment.

博阿滕表示，这一问题之所以恶化，是因为上届政府未能有效监管采矿业，未能遏制采用重型设备的小规模采矿的扩张。

“Because of neglect in enforcing the rules, people have become [more] emboldened,” he said. “They are doing this on a very, very large scale and with the help of the Chinese.”

“因为上届政府疏于执行规定，人们变得（更加）胆大妄为，”他说，“在中国人的协助下，他们正以非常大的规模进行非法开采。”

The government’s tough talk followed a wave of negative coverage of Chinese mining practices in the Ghanian media. The reporting was at times xenophobic and prompted rare public criticism from the Chinese embassy this month.

加纳政府发表严厉言论之前，加纳媒体上出现了一波对中国人淘金活动的负面报道。这些报道有时流露出排外情绪，并在本月引发中国大使馆罕见的公开批评。

Sun Baohong, China’s ambassador in Accra, urged the Ghanaian government to “guide the media” to cover the issue more “objectively,” or risk damaging the “environment for further development of our bilateral exchanges and co-operation”.

中国驻加纳大使孙保红敦促加纳政府“引导媒体”更加“客观地”报道这一问题，否则将有可能破坏“双边交流与合作进一步发展的环境”。

Mr Akufo-Addo responded by saying in a speech that the law “affects everybody including the Chinese”.

阿库福-阿多在一次演讲中回应称，法律“适用于每一个人，包括中国人”。

“All I am saying is they should respect the laws of the land just as they do theirs,” he said.

“我要说的是，他们应该像尊重本国法律一样尊重所在国法律，”他说。

The public spat highlights a complex relationship between China and African states mirrored in many resource-rich nations across the continent.

这场公开争吵突显出中国与非洲国家之间的复杂关系，非洲大陆许多资源丰富的国家都出现类似局面。

Accra’s ties with Beijing have been richly rewarded: trade between the two countries hit $6bn in 2015, up from just $100m in 2000. As Ghana plunged into economic crisis after commodities prices crashed in 2014, Beijing continued to trumpet Accra as a destination for its investors.

与中国的关系给加纳带来了丰厚回报：双边贸易从2000年的仅1亿美元增长至2015年的60亿美元。虽然加纳在2014年大宗商品价格暴跌后陷入了经济危机，但北京方面继续向本国投资者推介加纳。

“Chinese enterprises still have confidence in Ghana’s market,” the embassy in Accra said in 2015 after the country was forced to agree an bailout from the International Monetary Fund.

“中国企业仍对加纳市场有信心，”中国驻加纳首都阿克拉的大使馆2015年表示。此前加纳被迫同意接受国际货币基金组织(IMF)的纾困。

The public anger over mining now risks overshadowing the economic partnership. It has also cast a negative light on Ghanaian authorities.

如今，公众针对非法淘金的怒火有可能给双边经贸伙伴关系蒙上阴影，也给加纳当局的形象带来负面影响。

Though the practice of Ghanaians fronting for Chinese partners who bring capital and equipment is no secret, successive governments have done little to halt it, says Hannah Owusu-Koranteng, co-founder of Wacam, a Ghanaian environmental rights organisation.

加纳环境维权组织Wacam联合创始人汉娜?奥乌苏-科兰滕(Hannah Owusu-Koranteng)表示，虽然由加纳人出面、让带来资本和设备的中国合伙人开矿的做法不是什么秘密，但历届政府几乎没有采取任何措施阻止这种做法。

“It’s as if anybody coming in to Ghana [for mining] has a field day,” she says. “This is failure of the state to regulate, of state institutions to supervise.”

“就好像任何来加纳（淘金）的人都能为所欲为，”她说，“这是国家监管的失败，国家机构监督的失败。”

Steve Manteaw, director of the Integrated Social Development Centre, another local group, said licensing loopholes exploited in recent years may be difficult to close.

另一个当地团体——社会综合发展中心(Integrated Social Development Centre)的负责人史蒂夫?曼蒂乌(Steve Manteaw)称，近年被滥用的采矿许可漏洞可能很难堵上。

“We may want to resort to law enforcement but at the end of the day we need a land use policy to deal with this unhealthy contestation between mining and agriculture.”

“我们或许希望诉诸执法，但归根结底，我们需要一项土地使用政策，来解决采矿业与农业之间这种不健康的竞争关系。”

But for some Ghanians in impoverished rural areas, illegal mining has become an economic lifeline.

但对加纳贫困农村地区的一些民众而言，非法采矿已变成了一条经济生命线。

In Kibi, Mr Akufo-Addo’s hometown in southern Ghana, dozens of young men hack away at the land, clearing it to prospect for gold. Holding a metal detector he was given by his “boss”, Abdoulaye, 30, has no plans to leave. “This is my work.”

在加纳南部、阿库福-阿多的家乡基比(Kibi)，数十名年轻男子正在砍伐田间作物，为勘探黄金清理场地。手持“老板”给的金属探测器，30岁的阿卜杜拉耶(Abdoulaye)并不打算离开。“这是我的工作。”

He and other miners would not say if the businessmen who supplied their equipment were foreigners. But they were unanimous in saying mining was their only means of earning a living.

他和其他矿工都不愿透露，给他们提供设备的商人是不是外国人。但他们一致表示，采矿是他们唯一的生计。

“Illegal mining is a symptom of an underlying issue: unemployment,” said Baba Adongo, country director of TechnoServe, which works with farmers on sustainability. “Even if the crackdown happens, there is no safety valve for these young people. They will still go in there [and mine].”

“非法采矿是失业这个根本问题的一个症状，”总部位于美国的非营利发展组织TechnoServe的国家总监巴巴?安东古(Baba Adongo)表示，“即使进行打击，社会也没给这些年轻人提供其他出路。他们仍会回去（采矿）。”该组织正与农民合作，致力于可持续发展。