One Belt, One Road, Total Corruption

This is Scott Savitt’s translation of an essay by Chang Ping on Xi Jingping’s “one belt, one road” initiative. The original Chinese version appeared on the Deutsche Welle website here and the translation will appear on the China Change site. We thank Scott for sharing this with the MCLC community. — Kirk

一带一路一腐败
One Belt, One Road, Total Corruption
by Chang Ping 长平

缺乏民主监督的”一带一路”就是一个腐败机制。

“…the lack of democratic supervision of ‘One Belt, One Road’ is a mechanism for corruption.”

上帝说,要有光,于是就有了光。习近平说,要搞个”世纪工程”,于是就有了”一带一路”。刚刚在北京举行的一个盛会上,习近平宣布,中国将投资数千亿美元,在60个国家里主导桥梁、铁路、港口和能源建设。这一被称为”一带一路”的计划涉及全球60%以上的人口,号称将改变全球政治经济秩序,可谓史上由单个国家发起的最大规模的海外投资行动。

God said: “Let there be light,” and then there was light. Xi Jinping said: “A ‘Project of the Century’ must be undertaken,” and then there was “One Belt, One Road.” At the just-completed summit in Beijing, Xi Jinping announced that China will invest hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars in 60 countries to lead in the construction of bridges, railways, ports and energy projects. This venture is known as “One Belt, One Road,” and involves more than 60 percent of the world’s population. It’s projected to transform the global political and economic order, and can be said to be the largest overseas investment project undertaken by a single country in history.

这么空前绝后、宏伟壮观的计划,是从哪里冒出来的?事先有多少中国人了解?经过了怎样的论证?论证的结论是什么?除了习近平本人,大概没有人能回答这些问题。他本人是否真的仔细想过,其实也没有人知道。人们至少可以通过《圣经》了解万能的上帝,可是新造世界的”一带一路”计划,只有几页言辞空洞的讲话稿和会议文件。在中国媒体的描述中,全世界都在欢呼一位新的救世主的诞生。

Where does such an unprecedented, magnificent, and spectacular plan come from? How many Chinese were aware of it in advance? Was it critically evaluated? And what was the outcome of the evaluation? Other than Xi Jinping, there is probably no one who can answer these questions. And no one knows if he himself has carefully thought about it. People can at least learn about almighty God by reading the Bible. But the “One Belt, One Road” plan of renewing the world only consists of a few pages of empty speeches and some conference documents. According to Chinese media descriptions, the whole world is heralding the birth of a new savior.

“一带一路”:不要问我从哪里来
‘One Belt, One Road’: Don’t Ask Me Where I Came From

马丁·路德发起的宗教改革已经五百年了,可是在中国,一个腐败的”教会”仍然可以垄断一切。理性的欧洲人投出了怀疑的目光。默克尔总理没有亲临论坛”共襄盛举”,与会的德国经济部长齐普里斯(Brigitte Zypries)对中国收购德企部分资金的来路不明提出了批评。齐普里斯部长还应该看到,来路不明的不只是部分资金,而是整个”一带一路”工程。

It’s been 500 years since Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation, but in China a corrupt “church” still monopolizes everything. Rational Europeans cast a suspicious eye. German Chancellor Angela Merkel did not attend the forum and “join in the festivities,” and the German Minister for Economics and Energy, Brigitte Zypries, who attended the event, criticized the unclear source of capital in China’s acquisition of German companies. Minister Zypries should also see that the lack of clarity does not just apply to the origin of part of the capital, but the whole “One Belt, One Road” project.

中国欧盟商会主席伍德克(Joerg Wuttke)近日在接受媒体采访时表示:”我希望中国不仅仅是想接触世界,而是真的要拥抱世界,开放对外贸易。”风险分析专家吉尔霍姆(Andrew Gilholm)分析说:”我认为,很多人都不相信这一切真的都是为了自由贸易和全球繁荣。” 布鲁塞尔南亚民主论坛主任沃尔夫(Siegfried O Wolf)则说得更清楚:目前在欧盟同中国之间就”一带一路”问题仍然缺乏一个有效的平台。只要中国不愿构建这一桥梁,不愿走向多边机制以及不顾建立在良政、法治、人权、民主基础上的欧盟价值观,欧洲方面对”一带一路”的怀疑态度就会继续下去。

Joerg Wuttke, President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said in a recent interview: “I hope China is actually embracing the world and opening up to foreign trade instead of just reaching out.” Risk analyst Andrew Gilholm said: “I don’t think many people are buying the spin that this is all in the name of free trade and global prosperity.” Siegfried O. Wolf, Director of Research at South Asia Democratic Forum in Brussels, was even more candid: “At present there is a lack of an effective platform for ‘One Belt, One Road’ cooperation between Europe and China. If China is reluctant to build this bridge, and is unwilling to move toward multilateral mechanisms and disregards the values of the European Union based on good governance, rule of law, human rights, and democracy, then European skepticism of ‘One Belt, One Road’ will continue.”

欧洲之外的国家并非就不理性。生意人出身的美国总统特朗普对中国的创世工程保持了观望态度,仅派出国家安全委员会亚洲高级主任马修·波丁格(Matthew Pottinger)出席会议。澳大利亚则拒绝了中国的邀请。印度抵制了这一峰会,表示”一带一路”计划忽视了”有关主权与领土完整的核心关切”。出席峰会的领导人中很多是独裁者,他们不会在乎中国资金的来路不明,也知道中国政府也不会在乎他们拿到投资之后去路不清。

Countries outside Europe aren’t irrational either. U.S. President Donald Trump, a businessman, has adopted a wait-and-see attitude toward China’s Creation Project, and only sent National Security Council Asia Director Matthew Pottinger to attend the meeting. Australia rejected China’s invitation. India boycotted the summit, saying that the “One Belt, One Road” project ignored “core concerns about sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Many of the leaders attending the summit are autocrats who don’t care about the questionable origin of China’s funding, and know the Chinese government doesn’t care how the investment is actually used once it’s given.

买一送二:腐败与人权倒退
Buy One, Give Two Away: Corruption and the Deterioration of Human Rights

很多中国人相信习近平正在领导一场反腐败的斗争。什么是腐败?腐败不只是金钱被滥用之后的结果,更重要的是缺乏公平透明的机制本身。从这个意义上说,缺乏民主监督的”一带一路”就是一个腐败机制。跟中国国内的所有大型项目一样,没有制约的权力在其中必然产生贪污、占用、行贿受贿及洗钱等犯罪行为。

Many Chinese believe that Xi Jinping is leading a fight against corruption. What is corruption? Corruption is not just the result of money being misused, but the lack of a fair and transparent mechanism itself. In this sense, the lack of democratic supervision of “One Belt, One Road” is a mechanism for corruption. As with all large projects in China, there is no restriction on power, and this inevitably results in the criminal activities of corruption, rent-seeking, giving and taking bribes and money laundering.

在中国媒体受命放声歌颂”一带一路”造福人类的同时,中国网民中流传的一个段子说:有人感慨道,一夜之间咱们又回到了大宋(”大送”)时代。旁人问,南宋还是北宋呢?答曰:什么南宋北宋,这是东宋(”送”)西宋(”送”)!一个未经民选的领导人,未经任何公开的论证,就把数以千亿计美元的纳税人的钱,拿去投资给独裁国家,纳税人能做的事,就是编个段子嘲讽一下。头脑正常的人能相信这是天大的好事吗?

While the Chinese media was obediently singing the praises of “One Belt, One Road” and its benefit to all mankind, a Chinese netizen posted the comment: “Some people lamented that overnight we’ve returned to the Song Dynasty [translator’s note: Song is a homonym for “give away” in Mandarin]. Others asked: the Southern Song Dynasty or the Northern Song Dynasty? Answer: No, it’s not ‘Southern Song Dynasty or Northern Song Dynasty,’ it’s the ‘Eastern Song [Give-Away] Dynasty’ and ‘Western Song [Give-Away] Dynasty!” Without public oversight, an unelected leader can take hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars in taxpayers’ money and give it to authoritarian states. The only thing that taxpayers can do is sneer at and mock it. Can a sane person believe that this is a good thing?

在炮制”一带一路”的过程中,中国人权状况极度恶化,而且危及全球。香港书商被绑架,瑞典NGO工作者被逼”电视认罪”,台湾人权工作者被失踪,中国大批人权律师遭受惨无人道的酷刑。你能相信这样一个政府,正在通过”一带一路”计划扩展经济及政治权势,将给人类带来新福音吗?

In the process of cooking up “One Belt, One Road,” China’s human rights situation has significantly deteriorated and threatens the whole world. Can all these—the kidnapping of Hong Kong booksellers, the coerced confessions of journalists, NGO workers, dissidents, and activists on China Central Television (CCTV), the disappearance of a Taiwanese human rights worker, and the cruel torture suffered by a large number of Chinese human rights lawyers—make you believe that such a government, which is expanding its economic and political clout through the “One Belt, One Road” program, will bring a New Gospel to mankind?

长平是中国资深媒体人、时事评论作家,现居德国。
Chang Ping is a Chinese media veteran and current events commentator now living in political exile in Germany.

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