投资是“海上丝绸之路”的一部分

BBC News – Several people have been injured in southern Sri Lanka during a protest against allowing China to build a port and industrial zone. The plan envisages the eviction of thousands of villagers around Hambantota port, 240km south-east of the capital Colombo.

BBC新闻 – 斯里兰卡南部抗议允许中国建设港口和工业区的活动中有数人受伤。这项投资计划将导致首都科伦坡东南240公里处的汗班托特港周围数千名村民被动迁。

Police used tear gas as the protest delayed a ceremony being attended by Prime Minister Ranil Wickeremesinghe.

由于抗议活动耽误了维克拉马辛哈总理出席的仪式，警方使用了催泪弹。

Opponents say the area is being turned into what they call a Chinese colony.

反对者说，这个地区正在变成他们所谓的中国殖民地。

The government is finalising a 99-year lease of the port area to a company that is 80% Chinese-owned. A nearby area will be used for an industrial zone where Chinese companies will be invited to set up factories. The government says local people will be given new land.

政府正在敲定一份为期99年的租约，把该港口区租借给一家中方持股80%的公司。附近一个地区将被用于工业区，中国公司受邀在工业区设厂。政府表示，当地人将分到新的土地。

The port development is the latest in a series of major investments by China in Sri Lanka's infrastructure. China has pumped millions of dollars into Sri Lanka's infrastructure since the end of a 26-year civil war in 2009.

该港口开发是中国对斯里兰卡基础设施一系列重大投资的最新一次。中国自2009年斯里兰卡持续26年的内战结束后对其基础设施注入了数百万美元。

China's so-called string of pearls strategy - an attempt to expand its influence in South Asia - is controversial - and watched with particular suspicion by its regional rival, India.

中国试图在南亚扩大其影响力的所谓珍珠链战略备受争议，更是受到其地区对手印度疑虑重重的关注。

The investment is part of its bold ambition to engineer a "Maritime Silk Route" to oil-rich parts of the Middle East, and onwards to Europe.

这项投资是中国大胆野心的一部分 – 打造一条通往盛产石油的中东地区、进而通往欧洲的“海上丝绸之路”。