中國捐贈600萬美元助西非應對埃博拉

The Chinese government, eager to show it is committed to the fight against the Ebola epidemic, announced on Monday that it was donating $6 million to the United Nations World Food Program. The assistance is to be divided equally among the three West African countries hardest hit by the epidemic: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

中國政府爲了顯示其爲抗擊埃博拉疫情作貢獻的決心，在週一宣佈已向聯合國世界糧食計劃署捐贈了600萬美元。這筆捐款將平均分配給疫情最嚴重的三個西非國家：幾內亞、利比里亞，以及塞拉利昂。

The donation comes as the outbreak has contributed to serious food shortages. Borders and markets have been closed, flights have been canceled and livestock and crops have been abandoned as people try to flee to areas perceived to be safer.

此次捐贈是在疫情爆發導致嚴重的糧食短缺之際作出的。邊境和市場被關閉，航班被取消，以及由於人們試圖逃往他們認爲是較安全的地區，遺棄了作物和家畜。

The World Health Organization has said the epidemic, which since March has infected more than 9,200 people and killed nearly 5,000, is on the verge of widening into a food crisis. At a meeting at the United Nations compound in Beijing on Monday, a spokesman for the World Food Program said that China’s donation would help the agency purchase vital food staples such as rice, lentils and fortified cereals to feed 300,000 people for one month.

世界衛生組織曾表示，疫情正處在擴大爲糧食危機的邊緣，自三月份以來，埃博拉病毒已導致9,200多人被感染，有近5000人因病死亡。在聯合國駐北京辦事處週一召開的記者會上，世界糧食計劃署的一位代表說，中國的捐贈爲該機構購買重要的糧食補給，比如大米、扁豆，以及強化穀類食品提供了幫助，將能爲30萬人提供一個月的糧食供應。

The World Food Program is seeking to raise $179 million by February for emergency food aid to help patients in Ebola treatment centers, increase supplies in affected areas and feed Ebola survivors, many of whom have suffered severe weight loss because of the disease and need enhanced nutrition during recovery.

世界糧食計劃署希望在明年二月前籌集到1.79億美元的緊急糧食援助，以幫助在埃博拉病毒治療中心的患者，也爲受疾病影響的地區增加供給，以及爲埃博拉病毒的倖存者提供食物，他們中有許多人因爲患病導致體重嚴重下降，需要加強營養以更好地康復。

China is one of 10 countries that have contributed to the World Food Program’s effort, joining the United States, which donated $12.6 million, and Japan, which gave $6 million. The donation announced on Monday brings the Chinese government’s contribution in the fight against Ebola to $38 million, portions of which have gone to the World Food Program, the World Health Organization, the African Union and directly to individual African countries.

中國是已爲世界糧食計劃署的努力做出貢獻的10個國家之一，美國爲此項目捐贈了1260萬美元，日本也已捐贈了600萬美元。週一宣佈的這筆捐贈把中國政府爲抗擊埃博拉病毒提供的援助總價值增加到3800萬美元，這些捐贈分別是向世界糧食計劃署、世界衛生組織、以及非洲聯盟提供的，也有直接給非洲國家的。

The latest donation comes after China, which is a leading trading partner to many African countries and whose companies are heavily invested in the continent, has been urged to take a more active role in the Ebola fight. With about one million Chinese citizens living in Africa, including 20,000 in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, China has also faced criticism for not sending as many personnel as the United States, which has committed 4,000 troops to West Africa this month and donated $175 million.

中國是許多非洲國家的主要貿易伙伴，中國公司在非洲大陸有鉅額投資，最近這筆捐是在人們敦促中國在抗擊埃博拉病毒的戰鬥中起更積極的作用之後做出的。中國還有約100萬公民在非洲生活，其中有2萬在幾內亞、利比里亞和塞拉利昂，因此也有人批評中國在派出救援人員上做得不如美國，美國已經承諾派4000名部隊人員本月前往西非，並已捐贈了1.75億美元。

Chinese officials have portrayed China as being at the forefront of the Ebola fight, emphasizing the importance of humanitarian aid in Chinese foreign policy. At the meeting on Monday, Liu Junfeng, deputy director general of the Department of Aid to Foreign Countries, reiterated that China was one of the first countries to respond to the Ebola crisis, sending medical teams and equipment, and helping distribute rations on the ground in Liberia and Guinea. In September, two Chinese aircraft also arrived in Africa carrying mobile laboratories for Ebola disease control and prevention.

中國官員一直把中國描繪爲處在與埃博拉病毒戰鬥的最前沿，強調人道主義援助是中國外交政策中的重要部分。在週一的新聞發佈會上，中國商務部援外司副司長劉俊峯再次指出，中國是首批對埃博拉危機做出響應的國家之一，向非洲派遣了醫療人員和物資，還在利比里亞和幾內亞的發病區幫助向當地居民發放口糧。九月份，兩架載有移動實驗室的中國飛機抵達非洲，以開展埃博拉病毒的控制和預防工作。

“Humanitarian aid plays a vital role in Chinese foreign policy; it shows that China reacts to international appeals, providing aid and cash to minimize the impact of disasters,” Mr. Liu said. “With regard to the food shortages, China considers this of great importance, and has pledged $2 million to each of three countries to provide food aid to the local population.”

“人道主義援助是中國外交政策的重要組成部分；體現在中國響應國際呼籲，爲儘量減少疾病的影響提供了救援物資和現匯援助，”劉俊峯說。“中國對糧食短缺的問題非常重視，已經承諾爲這三個國家分別提供200萬美元的捐款，用於爲當地居民提供糧食援助。”

The World Food Program’s director for China, Brett Rierson, praised the Chinese government’s efforts to address the crisis. But he suggested on Monday that Chinese companies could be doing more, given their considerable commercial interests in Africa.

世界糧食計劃署駐中國代表黃安生(Brett Rierson)稱讚了中國政府爲應對危機做出的努力。但他在週一建議，鑑於中國企業在非洲的巨大商業利益，它們在應對危機上可以更有作爲。

“What I see here is the Chinese government stepping up, the health workers putting their lives on the line, and the general public stepping in, for instance with an online donation platform that will be launched in a few weeks by Tencent,” Mr. Rierson said, referring to a popular Internet portal in China. “But what I am asking is, where are the Chinese billionaires and their potential impact?”

黃安生說，“我看到中國政府在加緊行動，衛生工作人員將自己的安危置之度外，公衆也加入進來，比如騰訊將在幾周內推出一個網上捐款平臺，”騰訊是在中國擁有大量用戶的一個互聯網門戶網站。“不過，我想問一下，中國的億萬富翁們做了什麼？他們潛在的影響在哪裏？”

Citing the recent $50 million donation from the foundation of Microsoft founder Bill Gates and $25 million from Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, to fight Ebola, Mr. Rierson expressed hopes that wealthy Chinese individuals and corporations would do more.

黃安生以微軟創始人比爾·蓋茨的基金會最近爲抗擊埃博拉病毒提供的5000萬美元捐款、以及Facebook創始人馬克·扎克伯格提供的2500萬美元捐款爲例子，對中國的富人和公司會做出更多貢獻表示了期望。