( Z3 k7 a5 i: f/ r2 M8 q. m这一筑路计划使国际上关注西藏问题的人心中又添一刺,中国政府于上世纪50年代初期开始控制西藏。为期130天的北京奥运会136,000公里火炬接力计划此前已经遭到了一些人士的尖锐批评,他们称中国通过火炬接力线路的设计来强调自己对西藏和台湾的主权。 9 d) R) G& B* e: Z* o 1 e1 ^4 F, c5 ~& x' \7 h$ s今年4月,四名人士因为在珠穆朗玛峰地区抗议中国计划让奥运火炬接力线路经过西藏而被拘留。还有人想借2008年北京奥运会之机迫使中国为停止苏丹达尔富尔地区的冲突做更多工作,中国一直在那里斥巨资进行石油勘探。 1 W c) Y4 y! r: L4 x- r2 ]7 l& z
即使没有北京奥运会,中国对西藏的治理在一些人眼里也是导致这一曾经与世隔绝地区遭受过度开发和环境污染的根源。不久前开通的青藏铁路每年将使赴藏人数增加80万,这有可能使西藏的旅游接待设施更加不堪重负。 1 T9 A$ `' b! Y! @. J. ] 5 g3 X) c# ^- z+ k# q5 ?. v# Q- e环保主义者还对西藏正在发生的变化感到担忧。西藏是许多珍稀动植物的家园,这里的冰川是长江和湄公河等亚洲重要河流的发源地。环保主义者称,西藏的冰川正因气候变化而逐渐萎缩。+ ]$ ]$ h' h5 {1 Z) v
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Greenpeace Protests Everest Highway Project $ X% d3 N l. t6 g6 f4 e / z* Q" e e& o5 w' ]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. - H4 A% G1 n2 A( v" i( U: a& ^ ; b" c; N, g0 U% iChina 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. $ ]3 b) ?7 v2 a6 w * `1 F+ ~9 \* K( o& S3 q4 \8 s'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.* p9 o: R$ |2 i u) u+ |+ i
# i7 T: w2 z4 ]/ F% a3 tEven 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.+ d( O, I- C3 q) w }
. Q: c7 D0 C2 D) K1 s! ]$ H( O) H3 b+ z'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.'' x$ A5 M% i: q' [
4 Y% X; o# |0 E6 w; x! p6 G5 {+ _The 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.0 C: z* }4 I s
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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.9 ~+ ]/ V5 r2 Q, L0 w5 v5 `
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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.; M+ e9 c4 u. r& l/ w
" Y- `# O$ x8 ]0 `7 L6 G1 b9 qEnvironmentalists are also concerned about changes taking place in Tibet.6 I- d" a6 P" H% r/ U9 p3 K+ ~8 }
+ ~; B1 |& O+ TThe 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. - t. y+ Z, s3 N9 n. T$ H# q4 A: Q+ z