칭하이-티벳 철로 개통은 누구를 위한 것인가

 

중국에서 최근 일어난 소수 민족을 위한 역사중 칭하이-티벳간 철로 개통(2006.7.1)을 단연 꼽을 수 있을 것이다. 최근 CHINADAILY중국일보(영자신문)에 게재된 관련 기사가 있어 정리해 보았다. 외국인들의 질문은 당연 왜 이런 공사를 했으냐? 많은 비용을 들이면서 별 효과도 크지 않은 철로를. 그것도 개통하던 날 중국의 리더 후진타오는 다른 일 제쳐두고 이 개통행사에 참가할 만큼 비중을 크게 두었다.  

 

 

티벳의 라싸역에서 간수성의 란저우역향해 출발을 기다리고 있는 첫열차 The first train from Lhasa Railway Station in Tibet waits to leave the platform heading for Lanzhou in Gansu province July 1, 2006. [Reuters]

 

 

President Hu visits railway construction

workers 후진타오 주석의 철로건설 노동자 방문
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-07-03 10:01

후진타오주석이 철로 건설노동자들을 만나고 있다. Chinese President Hu Jintao shakes hands with a Qinghai-Tibet railway construction worker as others look on in a makeshift tent at Golmud railway station July 1, 2006. The Qinghai-Tibet railway, the world's highest, started trial operation on July 1. [Xinhua]

 

티벳사람이 라싸의 철교옆에서 세수를 하고 있다. A Tibetan washes his face beside the Lhasa river near the Lhasa railway bridge, July 1, 2006. China opened the world's highest railway on Saturday. Picture taken July 1, 2006.

 

칭하이티벳철로는 총길이 1,956Km, 그 중 해발 4,000m이상 구간이 960Km나 된다. 철로 구간중 최고 높은 곳이 해발 5,072m이다.  

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway is 1,956 kilometers long, with 960 km of the track located 4,000 meters above sea level and the highest point at 5,072 meters. It stretches from Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province, to Lhasa, in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). The railway is the world's highest and longest plateau railroad and also the first railway connecting the (TAR) with the rest of China.

 

Train speed to accelerate 열차의 속도는 

How fast do the trains run on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway? Presently the maximum hourly speed is 100 km. However, this is not fast enough, according to Zhang Xiqing, Chief Dispatcher of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Company located in Xinning, Qinghai Province.

Zhang Xiqing, chief dispatcher of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Company located in Xinning, Qinghai Province. [chinadaily.com.cn/Xiao Huaiyuan]

In an interview with chinadaily.com.cn on August 2, Zhang said the train's speed will be increased in the future.

Zhang said if the earth was more frozen and the temperature more stable, the train's speed can be pushed beyond 100 km.

If this were to happen, in case of emergency a rescue squad could arrive in around one hour, Zhang said.

Zhang said guaranteeing the trains running on time was an important task. Nowadays if a train is off-schedule by ten minutes or more, there will be an investigation, and if necessary, punishment. In recent weeks, the punctuality rate of passenger trains has been 100 percent.

Before the Qinghai-Tibet Railway opened, goods going to and from Tibet were trucked over mountain highways that were often blocked by landslides or snow, making trade prohibitively expensive. The Qinghai-Tibet Railway is the first railroad linking Tibet with the rest of China and there are six passenger trains and at least two cargo trains per day.

The railway is the world's longest plateau railroad, extending 1,956 kilometers from Qinghai's provincial capital Xining to Lhasa in Tibet. The newly completed Golmud(커얼무)-Lhasa section zigzags 1,142 kilometers across the Kunlun and Tanggula mountain ranges. About 29.46 billion yuan (US$3.68 billion) was spent on the Golmud-Lhasa section.

The basic coach ticket, called a hard seat, sells for 389 yuan (US$48.6) from Beijing to Lhasa, while the price for hard sleeper or bunk costs 813 yuan (US$101.6).

 

Qinghai-Tibet Railway reduces Tibetans medical costs

 

이 철로로 인해 티벳인들의 의료비용절감

Several years ago, if the Tibetans in Tanggula mountainous area got sick, they would spend 300-400 Yuan (approximately $40-50) to go to Tanggula Township from the mountains by hiring a motor vehicle, and then spend over 1,000 Yuan (about $120) to Golmud Hospital from the township. That is to say, before they could see the doctor, they would have spent at least 1,300 Yuan (about $160) on the way, what's worse, the illness would be delayed for days, and even life would be periled.

Tanggula Township is 420 km in the south of Golmud in Qinghai province, the roads are mostly bumpy mountain roads and the local climate is atrocious. Since several decades ago, the Tibetans in Tanggula Township have had extreme difficulty in seeing doctors. They would ride horses at the beginning, and hire motor vehicle later, but neither way is safe and rapid, the illness was often delayed.

As the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is open to traffic, Tibetans in Tanggula Township can go to the hospital in time, and the traffic cost is reduced by over 1,000 Yuan ($120). Since the train ticket from Tanggula Township to Golmud only costs 63 Yuan ($8). And the safety is much more guaranteed, for there are often traffic accidents with buses traveling in the Tanggula area where the weather is atrocious.

It is Mr. Xin Xiangdong, the former head of Tanggula Township who told us this story. He also said, before the Qinghai-Tibet Railway opened to traffic, a bag of flour would sell 80 Yuan ($10) in Tanggula Township, but now it is only half of that price, 40 Yuan ($5). Besides, the vegetables and fruits are also cheaper than before.

Mr. Xin is very gratified, Qinghai-Tibet Railway will bring benefits to the Tibetans in all aspects of life. It is a line of happiness and safety. Mr. Xin Xiangdong had held the position of head of Tanggula Township, Golmud, Qinghai province from 2002 to 2004.

 

Why China built Qinghai-Tibet Railway?

 

왜 칭하이-티벳간 철로를 건설했는가?

Why did China build the Qinghai-Tibet Railway? This is an "ignorant question". Transportation is the most basic prerequisite for any area to seek development. "If people want to be rich, they must first build roads." This is a Chinese proverb. The construction of railway will bring fortune and benefits to Tibetan people, according to Mr. Wu Yingjie, minister of Public Relations Department of Tibet Autonomous Region.

After Qinghai-Tibet Railway went into operation on July 1, some foreign reporters are always curious about the role of this line. Mr. Wu, during an interview on August 7, said that once a German reporter raised a question: why did China build railway in Tibet? What will be the influence on local politics by this line? Wu Yingjie asked a rhetorical question:"I have just finished a business trip in Germany last month. I saw two parallel railways along Rhine, with trains shuttling on them. Why should Germany build railways along Rhine?"

Mr. Wu said, any people with common sense knew that transportation is the basic prerequisite for any area to seek development. "To build railway in Tibet will definitely benefit the local development in every aspect, and the beneficiary will definitely be the local people. Why couldn't some people understand such a simple reasoning?"

In fact, in only one month after Qinghai-Tibet Railway was open to traffic, local people have enjoyed a lot of practical benefits from it. Wu Yingjie cited an example: there is a Tibet High School in Beijing, to which Tibet will send excellent students to study every year. Before the railway was open, due to the high travel cost of around 5,000 yuan, students and parents couldn't afford the money on road, and many students studying there couldn't go home for family reunion for years. Today, the fare for train is only around 1,000 yuan and students can get 50%-off.The opening of Qinghai-Tibet Railway coincides with summer vacation, so many Tibetan students in Beijing choose to take train to go back home.

Wu Yingjie said, after the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was open to traffic, the cost of building materials is greatly reduced. At present, Tibet is in active process of farmer and herdsman settlement upgrading project, through which farmers and herdsmen will live in big and bright house, and realize splitting of human residing and herd raising. The opening of Qinghai-Tibet Railway is of positive significance for the change in lifestyle of farmers and herdsmen.

As for the problem on traditional Tibetan cultural protection and environmental protection that has attracted wide attention so far, Wu Yingjie said that Tibetan cultural is a multi-culture in itself, which has absorbed many external cultures, including the combined architectural style of temples with elements from other ethnic Chinese people and even foreign cultures. The opening of Qinghai-Tibet Railway is a rare opportunity for the exchange and development of Tibetan culture. The railway will make cultural exchange more frequent, introduce it to the outside world, and prosper it.

Wu Yingjie also said, on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, 1.5 billion yuan was invested in environmental protection. The Tibetan antelopes in Kekexili have amounted to 150,000 now, showing an obvious effect of environmental protection. 

The central government has taken a series of measures to protect Tibet's frail environment, including the construction of the National Environmental Safety Defense for the Tibet Altiplano, which will cost 38.7 billion yuan.

 

중국이 고난도의 기술과 막대한 자금이 소요되는 칭장철도를 건설한것은,  티벳의 경제를 살리는 핵심사업이기 때문이다. 관광객을 실어 나르고 새로운 공장에 물자를 운반하고, 티벳의  수많은 상품을 내륙에 내다 파는 동백이 될 것이라고 공산당은 선전했다. 공사에는 수감자들과 많은 군인이 투입되었고, 마침내 공사가 마무리 되었다.  그러나 기본적으로  수송할 관광객이 그렇게 만은 것도 아니고, 지금은 다들 비행기로 티벳을 간다. 그런데 왜 중국은 이곳에 굳이 철로를 만들었겠는가?

이유는 ICBM(대륙간탄도미사일)기지이기 때문이다. 터널에 핵탄두를 숨기고 레일로 발사대를 이동시키면 미국의 스파이 위성도 위치 파악이 어렵다. 소련도 완성하지 못한 거대 ICBM기지를 중국은 티벳에 만들고 있다. 신장 웨이우얼 자치구가 핵실험장이듯, 이 거대 프로젝트는 절대 소수민족을 위한 정책이 아님을 알아야 한다.(중국의 현재,그리고 3년5년10년,미야자기마사히로 저서, 예문)

 

중국인들이 이야기하는 이 철로 건설의 주된 목적이 단순히 티벳의 경제 활성화에 있지 않다는 점을 일본인은 지적하고 있는 것이다.

 

Railway helps developing Tibetan culture

티벳문화의 발전을 가져온다

After the Qinghai-Tibet Railway opened in July, some American reporters oppugned that the railway would destroy the traditional ethnic culture in Tibet. With this question in mind, chinadaily.com.cn reporter interviewed Mr. Wang Daiyuan, vice director of the Economic and Strategic Research Institute of Tibetan Academy of Social Science last week. Director Wang said the Tibetan culture is well preserved and the accusations are groundless.

Tibet is the place where ethnic culture was preserved to the most complete extent, and where people can enjoy traditional culture with original taste. Chinese government's protection of Tibetan culture is better than US government's protection of Indian culture, Wang said.

For this point, tourists shall experience and compare in person, and experience the great efforts that Chinese government has exerted on the protection of Tibetan culture.

Wang has paid a visit to the Indian tribe in the state of New Mexico this April. He said: "During my trip, I selected some representative spots to visit. There is a place called Santa Fe in the state of New Mexico, a so-called place where Indian culture is preserved to the best, the origin of Indian culture, and a holy place longed for by American people. I even had contact with an Indian sheikh, chief of the tribe, who called himself 'president.' But I feel their life style, behaviors and values are totally American, without a slight trace of Indian culture."

"My feeling about US' protection of Indian culture is that there are sufficient efforts in oral and written materials, but I cannot find living Indian culture. Wherever I visit, I could only find 'dead' traces such as museums and relics, but nothing living related to Indian culture. But in Tibet, you can feel everywhere the life style according to traditional Tibetan culture," Wang said. 

With the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, more and more chinese and foreign tourists will come to Tibet, the most important influence on the traditional Tibetan culture shall be that more people will learn and understand Tibetan culture, and bring forward the excellent traditional Tibetan culture, Wang added.

He also said: "It is taken for granted that along with the increase in incoming population, there will be some changes in conception, which is objective. Any nation in the world and any society shall admit that culture is constantly evolving, and cultural development is an objective law. US' protection of Indian culture cannot resist the rule of self-development with Indian culture. Cultural evolution is an irresistible trend, we shall deal with it by adopting measures with a view to effective guidance."

"For instance, we can tell the local residents that such culture is extremely rare and excellent, and we shall protect it together. In addition, we shall take some specific measures to protect culture by making use of the fortune created by tourism economy. We shall carry out cultural protection from such a point of view, instead of sealing it and prohibiting it from developing, which is neither possible nor human. People from every corner of the world have the right to seek development, and live a better life, no matter Americans, Europeans and people in other parts of the world, this is an option that meets the prevailing values of the world," he added.

On the protection of traditional cultures, Wang said, at the time of coexistence of traditional ethnic and national cultures around the world, people did not realize the importance of protection. Nowadays, when traditional cultures are less and less, the human has a strong consciousness of traditional cultural protection. As long as having seen with their own eyes in Tibet, friends from home and abroad will be able experience the strength of Chinese government's protection of traditional Tibetan culture.

 일부의 티벳인들은 이 철로를 중국 정부가 선물해 준 크나큰 선물이라고 생각할 수도 있을 것이다. 지금 당장은 그럴 수도 있다. 그러나 시간이 지나고 나면 그들도 느끼기 시작할 것이다 . 이 철로가 티벳을 옭아 매고 있다는 것을, 그리고 독립의지를 서서히 없애가고 있다는 것을, 그리하여 중국화 시켜가고 있다는 것을 느낄 것이다. 그러나 그 반대로 티벳인들이 더 강하게 '이건 아니잖아' 하고 일어설지도 모른다.    

중국은 모든 정책의 일 순위가 군사적 목적이다. 그 다음이 민족간의 분쟁을 막을 수 있는 정책들일 것이다. 이 철로는 이 두가지를 잘 만족시켜 주고 있어 중국 정부에서도 이처럼 커다란 관심을 비용을 쏟아 넣고 있었던 것이다.