中國礦企在緬遇阻折射緬甸之變

Chen Defang, president of a Chinese firm at the center of a politically charged dispute over a copper mine in newly democratic Myanmar, has been treading in unfamiliar territory for the past few months.

新近實行了民主制度的緬甸圍繞一座銅礦展開了一場以政治爲目的的爭端，位於爭端中心的是一家中國企業，這家企業的總裁陳德芳過去幾個月一直在一個陌生的領域中謹慎而行。

He used to keep the kind of low public profile you might expect from the head of a company owned by a Chinese arms manufacturer and whose partner in Myanmar is owned by the military there. Wanbao Mining Ltd. relied on Myanmar's generals rather than community relations to get the land and permits needed for the Letpadaung copper mine near Monywa in northwestern Myanmar.

他過去在公開場合一直保持低調，這或許是意料之中的，因爲他所在的公司隸屬於一家中國武器製造商，而且公司在緬甸的合作伙伴是由緬甸軍方所有。萬寶礦產有限公司(Wanbao Mining Ltd.)依靠緬甸高層將領而不是社會關係取得了Letpadaung銅礦所需的土地和許可。這座銅礦位於緬甸西北部地區的蒙育瓦附近。

But since protests from local villagers halted construction at the mine in November, Mr. Chen has had to launch a public-relations and lobbying offensive to deal with Myanmar's dramatically altered political climate.

但自去年11月當地村民的抗議令銅礦的建設陷入停頓之後，陳德芳不得不發動一場公關和遊說攻勢，以便應對緬甸急劇變化的政治環境。

In an interview last week with The Wall Street Journal─his first with Western media─Mr. Chen was enthusiastic about his meeting this month for the first time with Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's opposition leader and spending several days touring villages near the mine to discuss local people's demands.

陳德芳上週接受了《華爾街日報》的採訪，這是他首次接受西方媒體的採訪。他熱情洋溢地談到了本月與緬甸反對黨領袖昂山素季(Aung San Suu Kyi)的首次會面，談到對銅礦附近幾個村子進行的數日考察，探討當地村民的要求。

'The mistake we made is we didn't consult the people enough; local people weren't involved in our development plan,' he said.

他說，我們犯的錯誤是沒有充分徵求當地居民的意見，當地居民沒有參與到我們的開發計劃中。

'She's an amazing lady,' said Mr. Chen, who hadn't met Ms. Suu Kyi before.

陳德芳說，昂山素季是一位令人驚奇的女性。他以前從未見過昂山素季。

He went on to give details of how Wanbao─based on Ms. Suu Kyi's suggestions─had increased compensation to local residents for land around the mine and was drawing up plans to build libraries and other local infrastructure, as well as to boost local employment by helping small and medium-size enterprises.

他接着詳細介紹了萬寶礦產的一些措施，比如該公司增加了銅礦周邊當地居民的土地補償款，並正在制定在當地修建圖書館和其他基礎設施的方案，以及通過幫助中小企業來促進當地的就業。這些措施都是根據昂山素季的建議做出的。

'My strategy is to kill the 'resource curse,'' he said, adding that he hoped to resume construction within three months. 'Sooner or later they will say: 'Thank you, Mr. Chen.''

他說，我的戰略是要消除“資源詛咒”。他還說，他希望在三個月內恢復施工，早晚他們會說：“謝謝你，陳先生”。

Whether Wanbao will deliver on such promises, and whether its opponents will be grateful, remains to be seen. Critics say Chinese companies have little experience in democratic consultation because of their own country's authoritarian political system.

萬寶礦產是否會兌現這些承諾，它的反對者是否會心存感激，這仍有待觀察。批評人士說，由於中國的威權政治制度，中國企業幾乎沒有什麼民主協商的經驗。

'They are still acting like a bossy partner: These suggestions are just cosmetic,' said Win Myo Thu, managing director at Ecodev, a nongovernmental group that studies the environmental impact of large industrial projects in Myanmar, including the mine. He said it was 'ridiculous' to aim to complete the consultation in just three months.

非政府組織Ecodev董事總經理Win Myo Thu說，他們的行爲舉止仍像個跋扈的合作伙伴：這些意見只是爲了粉飾太平。該組織研究緬甸大型工業項目對環境的影響，包括上述銅礦項目。他說，力爭在短短三個月內徵求完意見太“荒唐”了。

Still, that Wanbao is even talking in such terms─Mr. Chen spoke of 'empowering' locals by providing education and employment─reflects the impact of Myanmar's democratic transition on its once cozy, but highly opaque, relations with China.

儘管如此，單憑萬寶礦產談論此事時的措辭就可以看出，緬甸向民主制度的轉型對中緬之間曾經愜意但不透明的關係帶來了影響。陳德芳談到通過向當地居民提供教育和就業機會給予當地居民權利。

It also hints at the broader pressures facing Chinese companies in the developing world, where they have often been accused of fostering corruption, damaging the environment and neglecting local people's interests in a scramble to secure supplies of industrial raw materials.

它還暗示出中國企業在發展中世界中所面臨的更廣泛的壓力。在發展中世界，中國企業常常被指在急於保障工業原材料供應的過程中助長腐敗風氣、破壞環境、忽視當地居民的利益。

Wanbao is at the forefront of that quest. A unit of China North Industries Corp., Wanbao says it controls more than $10 billion worth of mineral resources., including the Myanmar mine and a cobalt deposit in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

萬寶礦產處於風口浪尖上。該公司是中國兵器工業集團公司(China North Industries Corp.)的子公司，自稱控制着價值100多億美元的礦產資源，包括上述緬甸的銅礦和剛果民主共和國的一座鈷礦。

When Wanbao sealed the Myanmar mine deal in 2010, after three years of talks, the country was ruled by a military junta close to China. there was no public scrutiny of the agreement with the military-owned Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings, or UMEHL.

2010年萬寶礦產在經過了三年的談判後達成了緬甸銅礦協議，當時緬甸是在一個與中國關係密切的軍政府的統治下。那個時候，萬寶礦產與隸屬於緬甸軍方的緬甸聯邦經濟控股有限公司(Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings)之間的協議，並沒有讓公衆進行審查。

Mr. Chen said Wanbao agreed to invest $1 billion in the new mine at Letpadaung, plus $500 million in two existing mines nearby. UMEHL would provide a 25-year license and take 51% of profits, with the rest going to the Chinese.

陳德芳說，萬寶礦產同意對Letpadaung的這座新銅礦投資10億美元，另外對附近兩座現有的礦投資5億美元。緬甸聯邦經濟控股有限公司將提供爲期25年的許可證，收取51%的利潤，剩餘的利潤則歸中方所有。

n order to obtain the 7,800 acres (3,160 hectares) needed for the new mine, Wanbao offered locals $600 an acre, he in Wanbao's plans were thrown into turmoil in November construction was halted by local protests over low land compensation and the project's environment impact.

他說，爲拿到新礦所需的7,800英畝（合3,160公頃）土地，萬寶礦產向當地居民提供了一英畝600美元的補償款。但去年11月，當地居民抗議土地補償款過低以及項目對環境造成影響後，銅礦的施工暫停，萬寶礦產的計劃被打亂。

A government panel led by Ms. Suu Kyi said this month the project should go ahead as it benefitted the economy. It said the owners should correct mistakes and urged measures, such as periodic environmental monitoring, better land compensation and more involvement of small and medium-size enterprises.

昂山素季領導的一個政府委員會本月說，該項目應該繼續，因爲項目對緬甸的經濟有利。委員會說，銅礦所有人應該改正錯誤，採取抗議者要求其採取的措施，比如定期進行環境監測，提高土地補償金額，讓中小企業更多地參與其中。

Mr. Chen said Wanbao would comply with those recommendations, but he gave details of only some measures, saying others were still being worked d whether he agreed with the report's findings, he said: 'My concern is not whether I agree with everything or not.…I didn't really research or study the details of everything. I focused on their instructions for what we do in the future.'He declined, however, to blame UMEHL or local authorities for their handling of opposition to the mine. The commission's report concluded that police had used incendiary devices containing phosphorus to break up protests over the mineMr. Chen said he thought that part of UMEHL was owned by Myanmar's ministry of defense, but he didn't know its exact ownership structure. 'Why should we be concerned who owns their shares?' he asked. 'We didn't focus on that.'

陳德芳說，萬寶礦產將聽取這些建議，但他僅詳細介紹了部分措施，說其他措施仍在研究之中。當記者問他是否贊同報告的研究結果時，他說，我關心的並不是我是否贊同所有的東西……我並沒有真正研究或調查所有事情的細節。我看重的是他們對我們未來應該做的事情的建議。不過，他不願指責緬甸聯邦經濟控股有限公司或當地政府應對銅礦項目反對意見的方式。委員會的報告得出結論說，警方在驅散抗議者時使用了含磷易燃設備。陳德芳說，他認爲緬甸聯邦經濟控股有限公司有一部分是隸屬於緬甸國防部的，但他不知道它的確切所有權結構。他反問，我們爲什麼要在乎誰持有他們的股份呢？我們的重點不在這上。

He said his company had already started paying higher compensation of $700-$1,200 an acre, depending on what the owners had been using the land for, and it had drawn up new plans to build local infrastructure, including a library in each of the 30 affected villages.

他說，萬寶礦產已經開始提高補償款，根據土地此前的用途，每英畝支付700至1,200美元不等的補償款，該公司還制定了在當地修建基礎設施的新方案，包括在30個受影響的村子各建一個圖書館。

He said the company hadn't increased the number of local people it planned to employ at the project, which currently has 2,400 staff, including 200 foreigners. But he said Wanbao had committed to invest $1 million annually in small and medium-size enterprises, such as brick factories, to boost local employment.

他說，萬寶礦產一直沒有增加計劃爲該項目在當地僱傭的人員數量，目前人數爲2,400人，包括200名外國人。但他說，萬寶礦產已經承諾每年向磚廠等中小企業投資100萬美元來促進當地的就業。

He also said the company had established a new 'community and social development' department and was in talks about setting up local joint ventures to manufacture machinery for the mine, most of which currently has to be imported.

他還說，萬寶礦產成立了一個新的“社區及社會發展”部門，並正在就在當地組建幾家生產銅礦機械設備的合資企業進行談判。目前大部分機械設備都必須從國外進口。

'Our company has nothing to do with what happened. I was really upset with what happened,' Mr. Chen said when asked about the use of phosphorus. But asked whether Wanbao had expressed its dissatisfaction to UMEHL or Myanmar authorities, he said: 'I can't tell them what they should do and not do.'

當記者問他對緬甸警方用含磷設備驅散抗議者的看法時，陳德芳說，我們公司與發生的事無關，我對發生的事深感不安。但當記者問他萬寶礦產是否曾向緬甸聯邦經濟控股有限公司或緬甸政府表達過不滿，他說，我不能告訴他們他們應該做什麼，不應該做什麼。

He also brushed off concerns raised by many of the project's opponents that it channels revenues to current and retired military officers with interests in UMEHL.

他也沒有理會銅礦項目的很多反對者提出的擔憂。反對者說，銅礦項目的收入會流入在緬甸聯邦經濟控股有限公司存在利益的現任及退休軍官手中。