【丁刚·东南亚纪行1】马尼拉的中国印记(中英双语)

【丁刚·东南亚纪行1】马尼拉的中国印记(中英双语)
2019年08月17日 17:00 人大重阳

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作者丁刚系中国人民大学重阳金融研究院高级研究员,本文刊于8月13日环球网,英文版刊于7月31日Global Times 。

马尼拉的西班牙王城是当地最古老的城区,其标志性建筑之一是圣地亚哥古堡。这座建于16世纪的古堡有四个历史性的印记,构成了整部菲律宾群岛历史中最关键的四个时期(事件)。 它的第一个印记是西班牙殖民者留下的。1589年,西班牙人侵占吕宋岛后,将这里原来的一座城寨改造成石堡。早期的西班牙占领者正是从这里开始殖民统治的。

圣地亚哥古堡第二个印记是菲律宾民族英雄、国父扶西•黎刹留下的。他因领导反抗殖民者的斗争被关押在此。1896年12月30日,黎刹被西班牙当局以“非法结社和文字煽动叛乱”的罪名处决。现在的古堡里就有他的纪念馆。 这座古堡也是二战时日本侵略军暴行的见证。1945年日军在这里屠杀了数千菲律宾人。而这只是马尼拉惨案的一部分。据不完全统计,在那场惨案中有10万菲律宾人被杀害。 古堡中最后的印记是美国人留下的。美国大兵从日本人手里夺回马尼拉时,他们在这座古堡中发现了400多具菲律宾人的遗骨和尸体,现在古堡中有一座为悼念死亡者竖立的白色十字架。 马尼拉战役还是太平洋战争的重要转折。至今美国人谈起这段历史,仍会引用当年麦克阿瑟重登菲律宾岛屿时留下的名言,“我们回来了!”2009年7月,时任美国国务卿希拉里赴泰国出席东盟地区论坛。她抵达曼谷当天就引用了麦克阿瑟的这句话。 当我站在这座城堡的城墙上,背对这四个印记,沿帕西洛河眺望时,看到了不远处河面上有一座正在修建的桥。那就是我们此行访问的中国援建项目——比诺多-因特拉穆罗斯大桥(Binondo-Intramuros)桥。这座桥的名称现在还没有确定,不过有一点可以肯定,在马尼拉的这一核心地带,中国的印记将会因此而留下。

中国援建的跨越帕西格河的大桥工地

菲律宾朋友告诉我,帕西格河穿城而过,河流流经的区域多为闹市区,车辆与行人众多。原来的旧桥过窄,常会造成堵塞。司机潘克思告诉记者:“旧桥桥面狭窄,无法承担上下班晚高峰的车流量。虽然限高限重,大型车辆不允许通过,但拥堵时还是能明显感觉到桥面颤动。”再过两年,随着这座全长560米、双向四车道的新桥通车,每日车流量预计可达到1万辆左右。联通老城与主要商业区的交通堵塞将会得到有效缓解。

西班牙人来菲律宾群岛之前,曾有不少中国人漂洋过海来到这里。最为著名的就是先于麦哲伦一百年的郑和船队,但那时的中国人没有留下什么印记。人们只能从一些中国的古书中找到片言只语的记述。

二战之后,随着冷战的发生,中国与大多数南海周边国家的联系被割断。菲律宾等东南亚国家作为美国的同盟,成为美国在战略上包围中国的一个环节。

今非昔比。四十多年来,随着改革开放的不断深化,中国与东盟国家越走越近。这一方面是因为中国的发展产生了强大的外溢效应。另一方面,菲律宾等东南亚国家也进入了新的发展周期,它们增加了对区域内部经贸互动的需求,也减少了对外力的依附性。发展成为大趋势。这使得原有的一些热点问题有了通过谈判解决或缓和的可能。这是中国对菲律宾援助的重要原因。

此次开工建设的还有一座跨越帕西格河的大桥,两座桥梁援助金额是5.8亿人民币,均由中国路桥工程有限责任公司承建,工期为30个月。我们在抵达菲律宾后得知,由中国援建菲律宾的两处戒毒中心也在今年早些时候完工。这些项目虽然不大,却是菲律宾民众急需的。菲律宾公共工程与公路部联合项目管理办公室项目主管卡斯蒂略说,建造这两座大桥“是菲律宾人民多年的梦想”,它们是中菲的“友谊之桥”。

目前,中国的建桥技术已在全球领先,建这样两座桥不算什么大工程。但是,中国路桥还是坚持精益求精的精神,采用了先进的技术与工艺,以确保项目的质量。在拆桥时,中国公司采取在世界上首屈一指的整体挪移技术,将旧桥一次性完整“搬迁”。

在比诺多—因特拉穆罗斯桥边,有一幢刚刚开始修复的古建筑——西班牙殖民时期的监狱。二战中,这幢建筑被日本侵略军炸的只剩下残垣断壁。中国公司在施工中按照当地政府的要求,给予其特殊的关照。为避免影响这座仅剩下外壳的旧建筑,技术人员每天都要对其进行严格的检测。

中国援建大桥工地旁的西班牙殖民时期监狱

西班牙殖民者的监狱,加上日本侵略者的大轰炸,再加上中国人建的“友谊桥”,这是一个完美的组合。尽管在菲律宾这个岛国成千上万的桥梁中,中国援建的这两座桥并不特别显眼,但是中国人建的桥梁一定会在马尼拉留下印记。

这只是一个开始。

以下为英文版:

China leaves its mark in Philippines

Intramuros is the historic center and oldest district of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Fort Santiago, an iconic building located in Intramuros, was built between 1589 and 1592. History has left four deep imprints on the fort, symbolizing the four most important periods in the history of the Philippine archipelago.The first imprint was left by Spanish colonists. They began their colonial rule from here. The second imprint was left by José Rizal, national hero and founding father of the Philippines, who was imprisoned at Fort Santiago for leading a rebellion against Spanish colonists. His lifework is exhibited at the Rizal Shrine, a museum inside the fort.Fort Santiago is also a witness to the massacre of Japanese invaders during World War II. Thousands of Filipinos detained there were slaughtered by Japanese troops in 1945. The atrocity is a part of the Manila massacre, during which approximately 100,000 civilians were indiscriminately killed, according to incomplete statistics.Americans left Fort Santiago with a fourth imprint. When US soldiers took over Manila from Japanese aggressors, they found over 400 bodies of Filipinos in the castle. The Battle of Manila is a turning point in the Pacific War. Till now, when Americans talk about the period, they quote what MacArthur said after he landed in the Philippines: "People of the Philippines, I have returned!"While standing on the ramparts of the fortress and looking along the river, I saw a bridge under construction not far away. That's the Binondo-Intramuros bridge, a China-aided project. The bridge is yet to be officially named. But it is certain that China will leave its imprint on this core area of Manila. Two years later, when the new bridge opens, traffic between the old city and main business districts will become smoother.Before the Spanish arrived in the Philippines, many Chinese had crossed the ocean and reached the archipelago. A famous example is the fleet of Zheng He, a Chinese explorer from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). But at that time, the Chinese didn't leave too many footprints. After the WWII, there came the Cold War, in which China's connection with most countries surrounding the South China Sea was cut off. As allies of the US, Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines became part of US strategy to lay siege to China.The old days are gone. During the 40 years of China's reform and opening-up, China and ASEAN members have been getting closer. One reason is that China's rapid development has had a strong spillover effect. The other is that Southeast Asian countries have entered a new development cycle, which sees the increase in the demand for regional trade and economic exchanges as well as less dependence on outside forces.This has made it possible for some heated regional issues to be resolved or eased through negotiations. And this is a key reason why China assists the Philippines.The Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge is another project rebuilt by China Road and Bridge Corporation. The total amount of assistance for the two bridges, dubbed bridges of friendship, is 580 million yuan ($84.2 million). Besides, the project of China-aided drug rehab center has started its operations in April. All these projects aim at improving living standards in the country. Project director Virgilio C. Castillo, from the Department of Public Works and Highways, said the two bridges are the bridges of friendship.China leads the world in bridge construction technology. Although the two bridges mentioned above are just a cakewalk for Chinese companies, they have adopted the most advanced disassembly technique to quickly and integrally move away the old bridge structure.Not far from the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge there is an ancient building under renovation - a prison dated back to the Spanish colonial period destroyed by Japanese bombings in the WWII. The Chinese company is taking special care of the building while constructing the bridge. Technicians regularly examine the old building to make sure its outer walls are not affected by the construction.Combined, all these elements - the prison built by Spanish colonists, bombings of Japanese force, and bridges of friendship constructed by Chinese - will tell a story. The two China-financed bridges are not very outstanding among the tens of thousands of bridges in the Philippines, but they will certainly leave an impression on the country's modern history of bridge construction.This is just where Chinese footprints start.

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