04-18-08

中国呼吁民众降低民族主义热情 (China Calls on Citizens to Tone Down Nationalist Fervor)

中国当局敦促民众降低对国际社会抗议中国政府在西藏镇压反政府抗议活动的愤怒情绪。在亲西藏的抗议人士上星期干扰了巴黎奥运火炬接力活动之后，一些网站在中国创建，呼吁抵制法国货。

官方新华社星期四发表官方评论，呼吁中国人将他们的“爱国热情”用在发展经济上。这篇评论看来是在延续过去的一种模式，就是北京允许民众表达对境外机构的愤怒，然后在民众情绪失控之前又争取收紧对他们的控制。

1999年北约军机误炸中国驻贝尔格莱德大使馆之后，愤怒的中国学生和民众发动了反美暴力抗议活动。

China is urging its citizens to cool their anger over international protests of the government's crackdown of anti-Chinese protests in Tibet. A number of Web sites have been created in China calling for boycotts of French goods after pro-Tibet protesters disrupted last week's Beijing Olympic torch relay in Paris. 

The state-run Xinhua news agency issued an official commentary Thursday calling on Chinese to channel their "patriotic zeal" towards economic development.
The commentary appears to follow a previous pattern in which Beijing allows its citizens to express angry sentiments towards outside entities, then tries to rein them in before they spiral out of control.

Angry students and citizens staged violent anti-U.S. protests in 1999 after the Chinese embassy in Belgrade was mistakenly bombed by NATO warplanes.

南非工会拒绝为津巴布韦武器卸货 (South African Union Refuses To Unload Zimbabwe Weapons)

南非主要交通运输工会说，工会工人将不为一艘装有为津巴布韦军队提供武器的中国船只卸货。南非交通联合工人工会发言人霍华德星期五说，在津巴布韦政治局势动荡之际，南非不能被视为助长武器流入津巴布韦。

工会的立场与南非政府立场相左。南非政府星期四说，政府不能干涉船只或者武器。

这艘船只目前正在德班港外停泊，等待进港。当地媒体报导说，船上货物包括为津巴布韦军方提供的弹药、迫击炮和火箭助推榴弹(火箭筒)。

津巴布韦军方支持穆加贝总统。在津巴布韦3月29号有争议的总统选举之后，穆加贝正设法维持权利。

South Africa's main transport union says its workers will not unload a Chinese ship carrying weapons meant for the Zimbabwean army. Randall Howard, a spokesman for the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union, said today (Friday) that South
Africa can not be seen as facilitating the flow of weapons into Zimbabwe at a time when the country's political situation is volatile.

The union position is at odds with the South African government, which said on Thursday that it could not interfere with the vessel or the arms.

The ship (the An Yue Jiang) is currently anchored outside the port of Durban waiting to dock. Local media reports say the cargo includes ammunition, mortars, and rocket-propelled grenades for the Zimbabwean military.

The military backs Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who is fighting to retain power after the country's disputed March 29th presidential election.