[代朋友发帖]新的水上治安官——英国《经济学人》杂志评湄公河护航

镭射

（译者按：最后一段完全颠倒黑白，金三角的赌场是华人黑社会在当地政权的庇护下，残害中国人（当然这些人里有混蛋也有受骗者）的地方。）

Mekong mayhem

湄公河杀戮（这是双关谐音）

New water sheriff

新的水上治安官

An unprecedented Chinese response to a river’s lawlessness

中国对一条河流无法无天状态的史无前例回应

http://www.economist.com/node/21538789

Nov 19th 2011 | CHIANG SAEN | from the print edition

2011年11月19日  清盛  来自印刷实体书版

MIST-DRAPED mountains and the serene ambience of the Thai city of Chiang Saen beguile visitors to the Mekong river in an area dubbed the Golden Triangle. This is where the borders of three countries, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, converge.

云雾缭绕的山岭和泰国清盛市的宁静环境，吸引着游客们来到被称为金三角地区的湄公河边。三个国家——缅甸、老挝和泰国——的边界汇聚于此。

But the serenity was shattered on October 5th by the sight of corpses floating downriver. Thirteen Chinese from two commercial vessels had been shot dead near Chiang Saen port and their bodies tossed overboard. Thailand’s police found over 920,000 amphetamine tablets on board the boats, plying between China’s Yunnan province and the Thai port. An angry Chinese government suspended its shipping on the Mekong until better security could be put in place. The ministers of China’s three Mekong neighbours were summoned to Beijing for urgent talks.

但是在10月5日，这宁静被发现漂向下游浮尸的目光打破了。两条商船的十三名中国船员在清盛港附近被枪杀，尸体被扔下船。泰国警方在航行于中国云南省和泰国港口的这两船上发现超过920000粒的安非他明药片。愤怒的中国政府暂停了自己的湄公河航运，直到安全措施能够更好地落实到位。湄公河流域的中国三大邻国的部长们被召集到北京，进行紧急会谈。

At first the Thai army unit with responsibility for anti-narcotics and border security blamed the killings on an armed group of drug-trafficking bandits led by the notorious Naw Kham. But then a huge investigation led by the head of the Thai police, General Priewpan Damapong, sprang a surprise. It uncovered evidence that the shots were fired not from the guns of drug gangs or river pirates, but from the weapons of Thai soldiers. Nine Thai officers from the anti-narcotics unit have since been charged with murder. Embarrassed, Thai authorities insist this is a rogue group, on the payroll of a drug warlord.

起初，负责禁毒和边防的泰军部队指责凶手是臭名昭著的毒贩武装——瑙坎强盗团伙。然而，根据泰国皇家警察总长别乌班将军所主持的规模巨大的调查，得出了一个惊异的结论。赤裸裸的证据表明，枪击不是来自贩毒团伙或水贼，而是来自于泰国士兵的武器。泰国缉毒部队的九名人员已被指控犯有谋杀罪。令人尴尬的是，泰国当局坚称这是一个流氓集团，拿的是毒枭发的薪水。

The killings have triggered a flurry of measures to beef up security along the waters of the Mekong. Hurriedly, a regional-security agreement was signed on October 31st. All four countries pledged to share intelligence and engage in joint patrols along the stretch of the Mekong between China and the Golden Triangle. The agreement also allows for “special campaigns to eradicate criminal organisations”. Reports from China suggest up to 1,000 of the country’s armed police will fan out along the river: an unprecedented projection of armed force beyond China’s borders. Waterborne traffic between Yunnan and Thailand is expected to resume soon, with armed Chinese guards.

杀戮事件已经引发了沿湄公河水域增强保安措施的骚动。10月3​​1日，一个区域安全协议匆匆签署了。四个国家均承诺分享情报，并在中国与金三角之间的湄公河上联合巡逻。该协议还允许“专项行动，以消灭犯罪组织。”来自中国的报告表明，该国将出动1000名武警沿江摆开：一个中国前所未有的国境外武力投放。在中国的武装护卫之下，云南与泰国之间的水上交通有望很快恢复。

To some neighbours, armed Chinese patrols taking on river pirates and insurgents (much of the drug business is linked to border insurgencies in Myanmar) conjures up images of gunboat diplomacy. They worry about a loss of sovereignty as China polices beyond its borders. One Thai businessman thinks that the new agreement will let China send its own security forces to protect local Chinese interests, such as a casino across the river in Laos and Myanmar. Reports of extortion, kidnapping and drugs at a casino on the Lao border with China forced its closure this year. Much anti-Chinese feeling attends casinos in Laos. China’s gunboats, meant to still tensions, may stoke them instead.

对一些邻国来说，对付水贼和叛乱分子（毒品生意大部分与缅甸边境的叛乱有关）的中国武装巡逻队，令人脑海里浮现出炮舰外交的场景。他们担心自己的国界被中国警察越过，导致主权的丧失。一位泰国商人认为，新协议将让中国派遣自己的安全部队来保护本地中国人的利益，比如河流两岸老挝和缅甸境内的赌场。今年，若干关于敲诈勒索、绑架和毒品的报告，迫使一家位于中老边境上的赌场关闭。许多反华情绪伴随着老挝的赌场。中国的炮舰，仍然意味着紧张气氛，也许比赌场更加火上浇油。

镭射

本帖系本人好友、超大论坛贵宾che原创翻译，原帖见http://lt.cjdby.net/thread-1272407-1-1.html，特此声明。