Russian newspapers have inflamed public opinion over the town of Listvyanka, running headlines about a Chinese “invasion”, “conquest” and even China’s “yoke” — a reference to the Mongol invasions of the Middle Ages. 俄罗斯报纸使用中国“入侵”、“征服”以及甚至中国的“枷锁”等新闻标题,在斯特维扬卡(Listvyanka)镇加剧了公众舆论。中国的“枷锁”指的是中世纪的蒙古入侵。
An online petition with 55,000 signatures (Listvyanka has a population of less than 2,000) claims that Beijing is seeking to transform the area into a Chinese province, and asks Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to ban land sales to the Chinese there. 一份征集到5.5万个签名(斯特维扬卡的人口不足2000)的网络请愿书声称北京方面正寻求把该地区变成中国的一个省,并请求俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔•普京(Vladimir Putin)下令禁止把那里的土地卖给中国人。
The petition has received wide coverage in newspapers including Moskovsky Komsomolets, a national tabloid. 这份请愿书得到了包括全国性小报《莫斯科共青团报》(Moskovsky Komsomolets)在内的多份报纸的广泛报道。
“The people are in a panic! The authorities are inactive, but if this situation will not change, we will continue to lose our underbelly! Our property!” reads the petition on the website Change.org published by Yulia Ivanets, who is identified by her page on Russian social media site Vkontakte as being from the neighbouring town of Angarsk. “We have let the goat into the garden,” she wrote. Ms Ivanets did not respond to emails and messages on social media. “大家都慌了!当局行动迟缓,但如果这种情况不改变,我们将继续失去我们的薄弱地带!我们的财产!”这份由尤利娅•伊万涅茨(Yulia Ivanets)发布在网站Change.org上的请愿书声称。她在俄罗斯社交媒体网站Vkontakte上的主页显示,她来自邻近的安加尔斯克(Angarsk)镇。“我们已让山羊进入了花园,”她写道。伊万涅茨没有回复记者给她的邮件和社交媒体留言。
The message fuels familiar Russian fears about its more prosperous and populous neighbour — the sparsely populated and economically undeveloped eastern third of Russia is seen as vulnerable to large scale Chinese immigration. 这些内容加剧了俄罗斯人对于他们更富裕、人口更多的邻国的类似担忧——他们认为,人口分散、经济欠发达的俄罗斯东部三分之一国土可能遭到中国的大规模移民。
These local tensions are at odds with the diplomatic efforts of both countries’ leaders, and threaten to frustrate grand designs of a budding Russian-Chinese pseudo-alliance. 但是,当地的紧张情绪跟俄中两国领导人的外交努力格格不入,并可能令处萌芽阶段的俄中准同盟宏伟蓝图受挫。
The two countries have a “comprehensive strategic partnership of co-ordination [that] has continuously been running at a high level over the past year”, said Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, during a visit to Moscow last month. 两国“全面战略协作伙伴关系在过去一年里始终保持了高水平运行,”中国外长王毅在上月访问莫斯科时表示。
Russia needs investment by China to help its economy, which has been hit by western sanctions in the aftermath of its invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, China has made a priority of investing in Russia and other Eurasian countries as part of its Belt and Road strategy of building infrastructure across the region. 俄罗斯需要中国投资支持其经济。在入侵克里米亚之后,俄罗斯经济受到了西方制裁的冲击。另一方面,中国把投资于俄罗斯等欧亚国家列为重点,作为其旨在欧亚大陆兴建基础设施的“一带一路”战略的组成部分。
But at a local level, mutual mistrust and cultural insensitivity threaten to undo the careful diplomatic work of both countries’ leaders. 但在地方层面,相互不信任和文化不敏感可能会削弱两国领导人小心的外交努力。
Viktor Sin’kov, head of the legal department in Listvyanka’s municipal government, said Chinese property development in the town had angered residents. 斯特维扬卡市政府法律部部长维克托•辛科夫(Viktor Sin’kov)表示,中国企业在该市的地产开发惹恼了居民。
“People really are worried about the Chinese buying everything here. They build huge hotels. They tear down and change the façades,” he said. “Their advertisements are everywhere, hanging from fences.” “人们真的对中国人在这里买走一切感到担忧。他们建设大型宾馆。他们拆毁并改变建筑物外观,”他说,“到处都是他们的广告,挂在栅栏上。”
While Ms Ivanets’ petition claimed that 10 per cent of the town’s prime real estate had been bought by Chinese developers, Mr Sin’kov said: “Ten per cent is an exaggeration. It’s a lot less than that.” 尽管伊万涅茨的请愿书声称该市10%的最高端房产已被中国开发商买走,但辛科夫表示:“10%夸张了,比这个低得多。”
But he said that Chinese tour groups made a point of telling visitors that Lake Baikal — the world’s deepest freshwater lake — was part of China during the Tang and Han dynasties. “People here say this means they want it back,” said Mr Sin’kov. 但他表示,中国旅游团着重告诉游客,世界上最深的淡水湖贝加尔湖在唐朝和汉朝时期曾是中国的领土。“这里的人们说,这意味着中国人想把它拿回去,”辛科夫说。
Indeed, Chinese tourism websites claim that Lake Baikal was once part of China. 确实,中国的一些旅游网站声称,贝加尔湖曾是中国的一部分。
Cassia, a Chinese travel agency, advertised trips to Lake Baikal recalling its Chinese past: “It was called the Northern Sea during the Han Dynasty . . . it had been China’s territory for a long time in history.” 中国旅行社凯撒(Cassia)以回顾中国历史的方式宣传贝加尔湖之旅:“在汉朝,它曾被称为北海……在历史上的很长时间内,它一直是中国的领土。”
Chinese tourists report a largely friendly reception by their Russian hosts, especially in winter — traditionally the low season in Siberian tourism. 中国游客表示,俄罗斯接待方对他们基本很友好,尤其是在西伯利亚处于旅游淡季的冬季。
Shen Zhefan, a video producer from Shanghai, travelled to Lake Baikal last month, anxious to see the famous frozen lake and wide expanses of snow. He said that he had encountered no hostility. “When I was there, almost all the tourists were Chinese,” he said. 译者/何黎