美国国家公共电台 NPR China Reshapes The Vital Mekong River To Power Its Expansion

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

China is aggressively looking outward. It's investing heavily in Africa, South America, Australia and in its own hemispheric backyard, Southeast Asia. China's Belt and Road Initiative looks to link China to the world through high-speed rail and roads and South Asia's major river, the Mekong. Here's Michael Sullivan as part of our continuing coverage¹ on China's growing role around the world.

(SOUNDBITE OF TOURISTS SPEAKING)

MICHAEL SULLIVAN, BYLINE²: The Chinese tourists are here already in Sob³ Ruak, the tiny tourist town on the Mekong River where Laos, Myanmar and Thailand meet.

(SOUNDBITE OF COIN FALLING)

VOICE RECORDING⁴: Happy Buddha⁵ (laughter).

SULLIVAN: And it's not just tourists. Pretty much every month for the past few years, a trio of Chinese gunboats arrives here from the Chinese port of Guanlei, 160 miles upriver.

(SOUNDBITE OF BOAT HORN SOUNDING)

SULLIVAN: The gunboats are careful to turn around just short of Thai waters, where Thai patrol boats bob gently. But the Chinese border patrol force boats don't leave quietly.

(SOUNDBITE OF BOAT HORN SOUNDING)

SULLIVAN: China's Xinhua news agency says the joint⁶ patrols - sometimes there's a Lao boat, too - are aimed at making the river safe.

ELLIOT BRENNAN: This kind of pressure will be increasing over the coming years, quite simply - those sort of tactics by China just to remind neighbors that influence that they can wield⁷ and the hard power, the sharp power that they do hold is increasing. And I don't see that ebbing⁸ anytime soon.

SULLIVAN: Elliot Brennan's recent analysis in the Lowy Interpreter is titled "China Eyes Its Next Prize - The Mekong."

BRENNAN: The control of both the South China Sea and the Mekong will strategically sandwich mainland Southeast Asia. Ultimately, Beijing's control of Southeast Asian rivers is the other half of the so-called salami slicing strategy in the region.

SULLIVAN: China has a natural advantage on the Mekong. The river starts on the Tibetan Plateau in China before continuing its nearly 3,000-mile-long journey through five Southeast Asian countries before emptying into the South China Sea, all of them with a history of Chinese political or economic influence.

THITINAN PONGSUDHIRAK: Unlike the South China Sea, the Mekong space does not have really other major powers involved. So China does not have to contend with the United States like in the South China Sea. But in the Mekong space, China is on its own really.

SULLIVAN: And that concerns Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, who worries about the effects of China's dams on downstream countries in the lower Mekong, where some 60 million people depend on the river for their livelihoods⁹.

PONGSUDHIRAK: This is a situation, I think it can degenerate¹⁰. If more dams are built and water is more scarce, then it becomes a zero sum. And China can use its upstream position as a strategic leverage¹¹ and also maybe even as a coercive instrument.

PHONGSEE SRIATTANA: (Speaking Thai).

SULLIVAN: Fifty-two-year-old Phongsee Sriattana (ph) runs a tackle shop on the Mekong in Sob Ruak on the Thai side of the river.

SRIATTANA: (Speaking Thai).

SULLIVAN: "When I was younger," she says, "I would go to the river with my mother to catch fish. And there were so many, they'd just jump into our drip net. And I'd scooped¹² them into my bucket," she says. "Not anymore."

SRIATTANA: (Speaking Thai).

SULLIVAN: "When the Chinese want to send goods downstream, they release the water from their dams," she says. "We used to have giant catfish¹³ here before that could reach several hundred pounds in weight." "But after the dam," she says, "the water level fluctuates too much, and the fish can't lay their eggs here anymore."

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCKERS WORKING)

SULLIVAN: And China's not done. Ten miles downriver, at the Thai port of Chiang Saen, laborers¹⁴ load boxes of mushrooms and secondhand luxury cars onto a Chinese boat. China wants even bigger boats to carry bigger loads. And to make that possible, it wants to blow up rocks in the river south of here to make it wider and deeper and allow boats to go from China's Yunnan province all the way down to Luang Prabang in Laos.

I meet activist¹⁵ Niwat Roikaew on the Thai side of the river south of Chiang Saen. He's a retired¹⁶ teacher with an encyclopedic knowledge of the river.

NIWAT ROIKAEW: (Through interpreter) If they blast the rocks and rapids, it means they will destroy the ecosystem¹⁷. And that means they destroy food security for humans, for plants, for animals and for everything.

SULLIVAN: When China sent surveying vessels¹⁸ here last year, Niwat and others protested. They've already done enough damage, he says. After months of protests, the Thai government put the project on hold. Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University thinks that's only temporary.

PONGSUDHIRAK: For Thailand, it's something that China will demand, has been demanding. And China has a pretty heavy price to exact if you don't go along. So I think it's a matter of time.

SULLIVAN: China exerts its influence downstream in many ways. Money works, too, as China funds dams on the Mekong and its tributaries¹⁹ in Cambodia and Laos.

(SOUNDBITE OF MOTOR RUNNING)

SULLIVAN: I'm sitting in a fishing boat on the Mekong in the Cambodian district of Sambor, about five hours north of the capital Phnom Penh. And this is where the government is planning a new mega-dam, despite a study the government commissioned but hasn't released that calls the site the worst possible place for one and warns it could literally²⁰ kill the river. But Cambodia needs electricity badly and may not heed²¹ the report's warnings.

Residents on Koh Pdao island, in the middle of the river, are worried about the fish and the endangered Irrawaddy dolphins that bring tourists here - and their cash. Forty-seven-year-old Seng Chanti is one of the fishermen.

SENG CHANTI: (Through interpreter) If the dam happens, for sure no more dolphins, no more fish in this area.

SULLIVAN: But you'll have electricity, I say.

SENG: (Through interpreter) I cannot eat electricity. If there's no fish, no dolphin, how will we survive?

SULLIVAN: The Cambodian government seems intent on pursuing construction of the dam, and the Chinese government seems happy to throw money at Cambodia in exchange for political fealty²². Virak Ou heads the Phnom Penh think tank Future Forum²³.

VIRAK OU: At this stage, the fact that Cambodia has been shifting away from the West makes Cambodia almost completely relying on China for backing. That means that we are beholden to China.

SULLIVAN: The tighter China pulls the downstream countries into its orbit, critics say, the greater the danger to the river. And some analysts²⁴ say it could get even worse - two words, water scarcity²⁵.

BRIAN EYLER: Long term, China, being one of the countries with the least amount of water allocation per capita in the world, is going to need water.

SULLIVAN: And then, says Brian Eyler, who heads the Stimson Center's Southeast Asia program, China could decide to repurpose its dams.

EYLER: As long as those dams are purpose for hydropower, the water will flow down into Southeast Asia. But if political directives change, if resource allocation needs change, then perhaps engineers are going to look at ways to get that water from Mekong dams into China proper.

SULLIVAN: And that would be a problem for the countries downriver, who depend on that water for the fish they eat and the sediment²⁶ that helps produce the fertile soil downstream, especially in Vietnam's Mekong Delta²⁷, some 60 million people who could have to find other ways to feed themselves.

For NPR News, I'm Michael Sullivan on the Mekong.

1 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 sob   

n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣

参考例句：

• The child started to sob when he couldn't find his mother.孩子因找不到他妈妈哭了起来。
• The girl didn't answer,but continued to sob with her head on the table.那个女孩不回答，也不抬起头来。她只顾低声哭着。

4 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

5 Buddha   

n.佛；佛像；佛陀

参考例句：

• Several women knelt down before the statue of Buddha and prayed.几个妇女跪在佛像前祈祷。
• He has kept the figure of Buddha for luck.为了图吉利他一直保存着这尊佛像。

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

7 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

8 ebbing   

（指潮水）退( ebb的现在分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落

参考例句：

• The pain was ebbing. 疼痛逐渐减轻了。
• There are indications that his esoteric popularity may be ebbing. 有迹象表明，他神秘的声望可能正在下降。

9 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

10 degenerate   

v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者

参考例句：

• He didn't let riches and luxury make him degenerate.他不因财富和奢华而自甘堕落。
• Will too much freedom make them degenerate?太多的自由会令他们堕落吗？

11 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

12 scooped   

v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• They scooped the other newspapers by revealing the matter. 他们抢先报道了这件事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 车轮搅起的石块，在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 catfish   

n.鲶鱼

参考例句：

• Huge catfish are skinned and dressed by hand.用手剥去巨鲇的皮并剖洗干净。
• We gigged for catfish off the pier.我们在码头以鱼叉叉鲶鱼。

14 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

15 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

16 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

17 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

18 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

19 tributaries   

n. 支流

参考例句：

• In such areas small tributaries or gullies will not show. 在这些地区，小的支流和冲沟显示不出来。
• These tributaries are subsequent streams which erode strike valley. 这些支流系即为蚀出走向谷的次生河。

20 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

21 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

22 fealty   

n.忠贞，忠节

参考例句：

• He swore fealty to the king.他宣誓效忠国王。
• If you are fealty and virtuous,then I would like to meet you.如果你孝顺善良，我很愿意认识你。

23 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

24 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

25 scarcity   

n.缺乏，不足，萧条

参考例句：

• The scarcity of skilled workers is worrying the government.熟练工人的缺乏困扰着政府。
• The scarcity of fruit was caused by the drought.水果供不应求是由于干旱造成的。

26 sediment   

n.沉淀，沉渣，沉积(物)

参考例句：

• The sediment settled and the water was clear.杂质沉淀后，水变清了。
• Sediment begins to choke the channel's opening.沉积物开始淤塞河道口。

27 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。