环境保护组织绿色和平(Greenpeace)对中国计划修筑一条通往世界最高峰的沥青路面高等级公路一事表示了担忧。这是中国奥运会准备工作引发的又一争议。$ j$ o" a4 N' R
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中国上个月宣布，计划在珠穆朗玛峰山脚和海拔约5,200米的珠峰登山大本营之间铺设一条107.2公里长的公路。这条公路将赶在奥运火炬接力经过珠穆朗玛峰前完成。2 s6 i3 a* h) d' ^; A a8 l
. @' P5 V9 C8 v/ l) v* hGreenpeace Protests Everest Highway Project ! a) x: F! Z. A# L% B& `" ^6 z- h/ }3 N: }# k" K7 x
Greenpeace, the environmental-protection group, expressed concern over a Chinese government plan to put a blacktop highway on the world's highest mountain, adding to controversy over China's practices ahead of next year's Summer Olympics here. 3 d5 w: ]9 {% @* Q5 e: j6 u, O5 b1 S# o! x' } _5 X$ E2 m
China announced last month plans to pave a 107.2-kilometer stretch of a rough gravel road from the foot of Mount Everest to a base camp for climbers at about 5,200 meters, in Tibet. The new highway is to be completed in time for the Olympic torch relay to the top of the world's highest mountain. $ A6 Q! R/ l/ ^! g. l$ v7 F& F( g$ h. ?0 p8 V- v* P
'Greenpeace is concerned about the potential environmental impact of the road project to the base camp,' said Lo Sze-ping, Greenpeace campaign director for China. 'We are monitoring the situation to understand how the local environment may be affected, and whether the road project has followed necessary environmental impact assessment' guidelines, he said.7 e! v, p% ^1 X9 M. U3 e
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Even without a new blacktop road, the Chinese side of Everest is the second-most visited site in Tibet, after Lhasa, the capital. Some are worried that the area could be overrun in the stampede to cash in on development. c( {( U1 K5 P" \ N4 ? 2 f7 K0 ~7 E. V2 b W'I think if they don't pave a highway, it may actually be better for tourism,' said Luo Zhiyong, an attorney and environmental volunteer just back from a trip to Everest. 'You may reduce Everest's value if you make it easier to see.' ) x7 f3 Y* q; U; i C 1 X( l5 B6 a) s5 bThe highway plan is getting caught up in broader concern about China's treatment of Tibet, which China's Communist Party government has controlled since the early 1950s. The 136,000-kilometer, 130-day Olympic relay has already drawn sharp criticism from activists who think Beijing is using the route to underline its sovereignty claims over Tibet, as well as Taiwan, which has been ruled separately since 1949 but which Beijing claims as part of its territory. 8 e+ K# h q' D' I0 P9 d4 R; O' b" e' V4 `
In April, four activists were detained on Everest for protesting the planned route through Tibet. In addition, critics are targeting the 2008 Games to pressure Beijing to do more to stop the fighting in the Darfur region of Sudan, where China has invested heavily in oil. 6 R) ]* p& o w) h! d) ^4 T: |+ ?$ Y/ i$ \9 V- R/ c1 @" Y
Even without the Olympics, China's presence in Tibet has been criticized as causing overdevelopment and pollution in the once isolated region. The recent opening of a railroad to Tibet is expected to bring in an additional 800,000 visitors a year, potentially overwhelming Tibet's strained infrastructure., }8 N# m7 @) s7 E% m; G
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Environmentalists are also concerned about changes taking place in Tibet.' J+ r3 m" G# b9 C
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The region is home to rare animal and plant species as well as to glaciers that feed important rivers in Asia, such as the Yangtze in China and the Mekong, which runs through Southeast Asia. Environmentalists say the Tibetan glaciers are receding from climate change. : f- W+ _( V s# T8 S' J" \; c* h 8 b& D3 G( i" _2 f. ^+ O
