英國財相在嚴密安保下訪問新疆

George Osborne has tentatively raised concerns on China’s human rights record in the restive region of Xinjiang, as news emerged that at least 40 people had been killed or injured in a new outbreak of violence.

喬治攠斯本(George Osborne)在不安定的新疆地區試探性地提出了對中國人權記錄的關切。有消息稱，該地區最新爆發的暴力行爲導致至少40人死傷。

The chancellor’s trade mission to Urumqi, the Xinjiang capital, was always politically risky but the latest violence in the region involving alleged Muslim Uighur “separatists” cast a shadow over his visit.

英國財政大臣對新疆首府烏魯木齊的經貿訪問在政治上始終是有風險的，但是，涉及所謂維吾爾族穆斯林“分裂分子”的最新暴力事件仍給他的到訪蒙上一層陰影。

Mr Osborne’s visit is a first by a serving British minister and one of few by any leading western politician to the autonomous region in the far north-west of China. Asked if his visit would be used as a propaganda tool by Beijing, Mr Osborne insisted he had raised human rights issues as part of a “broader conversation with China”.

奧斯本是首位訪問新疆的英國在職部長級官員，也是迄今訪問中國西北這個偏遠地區的少數西方高層政界人士之一。在被問及他的訪問會不會被北京方面用作宣傳工具時，奧斯本堅稱，他提出了人權問題，作爲“同中國全面對話”的一部分。

Mr Osborne said he had also publicly criticised the life sentence given to Uighur academic Ilham Tohti exactly a year ago. “Our concerns about the Tohti case are well known and we have made them very public,” he said.

奧斯本表示，他還公開批評了恰好一年前維吾爾族學者伊力哈木土赫提(Ilham Tohti)被判無期徒刑一事。“我方對土赫提案的擔憂是衆所周知的，我們已經非常公開地表達了這些擔憂，”他說。

Dilxat Raxit, Munich-based spokesman for the World Uighur Congress, one of the two main Uighur exile groups, said: “George Osborne’s inability to publicly denounce China’s suppression of Uighurs is disappointing.

兩個主要的維吾爾族流亡團體之一世界維吾爾代表大會(World Uyghur Congress)駐慕尼黑的發言人迪裏夏提(Dilxat Raxit)說：“喬治攠斯本不能公開譴責中國對維族人的鎮壓是令人失望的。”

“Britain can’t give the silent nod to China’s particular suppression of the Uighurs due to economic benefits, sending the wrong signal to China and leading to China increasing monitoring and suppression in the region. China is using economic interest to divide the west.”

“英國不能因爲經濟利益就對中國鎮壓維吾爾人作出無聲的點頭，從而向中國發出錯誤信號，導致中國加大對該地區的監控和鎮壓。中國正利用經濟利益來分裂西方。”

The chancellor has refused during his five-day tour of China to let concerns about human rights get in the way of his principal goal of building political and trade ties between Beijing and London.

在爲期五天的訪華行程中，英國財相拒絕讓人權關切妨礙他的主要目標——在北京和倫敦之間構建政治和經貿關係。

He declined to say whether he would raise the Tohti case personally during meetings in Urumqi, adding: “It would be very strange if Britain’s relations with a country that has one-fifth of the world’s population was solely about human rights.”

他拒絕透露他會不會在烏魯木齊的會晤中當面提到土赫提案，並補充說：“如果英國與擁有世界上五分之一人口的國家之間的關係純粹關乎人權，那將是很奇怪的。”

Mr Osborne personally requested to visit Urumqi and spent the morning at a company that was investing in property in the north of England and at an English Premier League football training camp, whose players hail mainly from the Uighur minority.

奧斯本親自提出訪問烏魯木齊。週三上午，他訪問了一家曾在英格蘭北部投資房地產的公司，還去看了一個英超足球訓練營，那裏的多數球員是維吾爾少數民族。

The visit has taken place under tight security; Mr Osborne has travelled in a 17-vehicle convoy with roads sealed off. Beijing-based British journalists were advised by the authorities not to travel to the region. Beijing’s sensitivity was reinforced by news that a knife attack orchestrated by alleged separatists at a coal mine at Sogan in Xinjiang had resulted in at least 40 casualties, including the deaths of five police officers.

這次訪問的安保工作十分嚴密；奧斯本一行的車隊有17輛車，沿途實行封路。中國官方建議常駐北京的英國記者不要前往新疆。加劇北京方面敏感的是，有消息稱，據稱的分裂分子在新疆拜城縣鐵熱克鎮附近的一座煤礦發起持刀襲擊，造成至少40人傷亡，其中五名警員死亡。

The attack, reported by Radio Free Asia, cited local security officials as saying that several suspects were believed to be on the run, resulting in a massive security crackdown in the area. Although the attack happened on September 18, news has only just emerged.

這次攻擊導致當地實行大規模戒嚴。自由亞洲電臺(Radio Free Asia)援引當地安全官員的話稱，數名嫌疑人據信在逃。雖然攻擊發生在9月18日，但相關消息剛剛傳出。