中國非法掘金者在加納引發反彈

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.

加納打擊非法淘金的努力贏得了公衆讚賞，但加劇了與該國最大貿易伙伴中國的緊張關係。

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.

五年前金價飆升，促使一些中國人在加納掀起一股小規模採礦的熱潮，活動團體指責北京方面對本國公民在加納的違法行爲袖手旁觀，加納政府對此也越來越無法容忍。去年，在加納270萬盎司的黃金產量中，超過三分之一來自小型礦場，而在此輪淘金熱之前，這一比例還不到四分之一。

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.

加納政府官員和當地專家表示，在多數情況下，這些金礦的正式所有者是擁有采礦執照的加納人，但實際上它們由中國商人負責運營，後者急於儘可能快地採掘黃金，在此過程中違反各項規定。

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月就職的加納總統納納?阿庫福-阿多(Nana Akufo-Addo)承諾，在政府嘗試打擊種種非法採礦活動的過程中，不會將任何特定組織或特定國籍人士列爲打擊目標。但他手下的一些部長級官員點名批評中國採礦者，稱中國人的採礦方式正在破壞森林保護區、可可農場，並污染河流。

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.

加納官員表示，在中國採礦者於淘金熱期間帶着機械和重型設備涌入這個西非國家後，持續已幾十年、但此前不太嚴重的社會和環境問題開始失控。

“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.

加納環境部長誇貝納?弗林蓬?博阿滕(Kwabena Frimpong Boateng)對英國《金融時報》表示：“情況令人震驚。以前，當地人沒有先進的工具，但現在他們有了重型設備。”他一邊說，一邊翻閱着浮式機械在渾濁水面上作業的照片，他指着一臺設備上印着的漢字，稱之是這一問題的證據。

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，加納政府向非法採礦者發出了“最後通牒”，要求他們停工，否則將面臨法律制裁，並開始逮捕中國礦工以及他們的加納籍合夥人。一些中國公民被控違反了移民法。

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，這一問題之所以惡化，是因爲上屆政府未能有效監管採礦業，未能遏制採用重型設備的小規模採礦的擴張。

“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.”

“因爲上屆政府疏於執行規定，人們變得（更加）膽大妄爲，”他說，“在中國人的協助下，他們正以非常大的規模進行非法開採。”

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.

加納政府發表嚴厲言論之前，加納媒體上出現了一波對中國人淘金活動的負面報道。這些報道有時流露出排外情緒，並在本月引發中國大使館罕見的公開批評。

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”.

中國駐加納大使孫保紅敦促加納政府“引導媒體”更加“客觀地”報道這一問題，否則將有可能破壞“雙邊交流與合作進一步發展的環境”。

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

阿庫福-阿多在一次演講中迴應稱，法律“適用於每一個人，包括中國人”。

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

“我要說的是，他們應該像尊重本國法律一樣尊重所在國法律，”他說。

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

這場公開爭吵突顯出中國與非洲國家之間的複雜關係，非洲大陸許多資源豐富的國家都出現類似局面。

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.

與中國的關係給加納帶來了豐厚回報：雙邊貿易從2000年的僅1億美元增長至2015年的60億美元。雖然加納在2014年大宗商品價格暴跌後陷入了經濟危機，但北京方面繼續向本國投資者推介加納。

“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.

“中國企業仍對加納市場有信心，”中國駐加納首都阿克拉的大使館2015年表示。此前加納被迫同意接受國際貨幣基金組織(IMF)的紓困。

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

如今，公衆針對非法淘金的怒火有可能給雙邊經貿夥伴關係蒙上陰影，也給加納當局的形象帶來負面影響。

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.

加納環境維權組織Wacam聯合創始人漢娜?奧烏蘇-科蘭滕(Hannah Owusu-Koranteng)表示，雖然由加納人出面、讓帶來資本和設備的中國合夥人開礦的做法不是什麼祕密，但歷屆政府幾乎沒有採取任何措施阻止這種做法。

“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.”

“就好像任何來加納（淘金）的人都能爲所欲爲，”她說，“這是國家監管的失敗，國家機構監督的失敗。”

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

另一個當地團體——社會綜合發展中心(Integrated Social Development Centre)的負責人史蒂夫?曼蒂烏(Steve Manteaw)稱，近年被濫用的採礦許可漏洞可能很難堵上。

“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.”

“我們或許希望訴諸執法，但歸根結底，我們需要一項土地使用政策，來解決採礦業與農業之間這種不健康的競爭關係。”

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

但對加納貧困農村地區的一些民衆而言，非法採礦已變成了一條經濟生命線。

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.”

在加納南部、阿庫福-阿多的家鄉基比(Kibi)，數十名年輕男子正在砍伐田間作物，爲勘探黃金清理場地。手持“老闆”給的金屬探測器，30歲的阿卜杜拉耶(Abdoulaye)並不打算離開。“這是我的工作。”

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.

他和其他礦工都不願透露，給他們提供設備的商人是不是外國人。但他們一致表示，採礦是他們唯一的生計。

“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].”

“非法採礦是失業這個根本問題的一個症狀，”總部位於美國的非營利發展組織TechnoServe的國家總監巴巴?安東古(Baba Adongo)表示，“即使進行打擊，社會也沒給這些年輕人提供其他出路。他們仍會回去（採礦）。”該組織正與農民合作，致力於可持續發展。