踩过界

西湖区益乐新村十几位村民为300位工人腾出20多间浴室_我的网站

薛平贵与王宝钏

一 |

Aerial view of Lingyang Jiao Photo: XinhuaSome foreign media have recently renewed hypes over China's construction at Lingyang Jiao in the Xisha Qundao (Xisha Islands), claiming that the completed first phase could become part of China's "largest military base" in the region.
China has firmly rejected such hypes. "Xisha Qundao is China's inherent territory, over which there is no dispute. Necessary construction on our own territory is aimed at improving living and working conditions on the islands and growing the local economy," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian at a regular press conference on March 23.
Despite that clear explanation, some foreign media outlets continued to point their finger at the Chinese reef. Why is China carrying out construction at Lingyang Jiao, and why do external parties have no grounds to reproach? Chinese experts recently spoke with the Global Times about the history, purpose and legal basis of the construction on the reef.
Indisputable sovereignty
Lingyang Jiao, whose name comes from its resemblance to an antelope horn, lies on the western side of Yongle Atoll in the Xisha Qundao, about 89 kilometers from Yongxing Island and 6.5 kilometers from Jinyin Island. The reef stretches six kilometers from north to south, measures about 3.5 kilometers at its widest point and covers roughly 15 square kilometers.
The reef, also traditionally known among Chinese fishermen as Kuangzai or Quanzai, is administered by the city of Sansha in South China's Hainan Province.
"Lingyang Jiao is an inherent part of China's territory. Fishermen from Hainan sailed there to fish as early as the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties," Xu Xiaodong, a vice chairman of the Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance, told the Global Times on March 23.
In 1935, the then-Chinese government included the reef in its bilingual list of South China Sea island names. Its name was reviewed again in a corresponding list issued by the then ministry of the interior in 1947 and has remained in use ever since, Xu said.
During the 1974 Xisha self-defense counterattack, the South Vietnamese warship Nhat Tao was sunk in waters near Lingyang Jiao. Xu said these facts demonstrate the Chinese government's determination and actions to safeguard its sovereignty over the Xisha Qundao, including Lingyang Jiao.
Lei Xiaolu, a professor at Wuhan University China Institute of Boundary and Ocean Studies, said that China was the first country to discover, develop and administer the Xisha Qundao. Successive Chinese governments have continuously exercised jurisdiction over the islands, including Lingyang Jiao, forming a clear historical record.
France recognized China's sovereignty over the Xisha Qundao in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Lei said. When France attempted to occupy the Xisha Qundao in 1931 and nine islands and reefs in the Nansha Qundao in 1933, the Chinese government immediately protested and reaffirmed its sovereignty.
Numerous official documents from that period clearly placed the Dongsha, Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha Qundao within Chinese territory, such as a 1935 map of the South China Sea islands, a brief chorography of the South China Sea islands in 1947, a comparison table of their old and new names, and a location map bearing the South China Sea dash line. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Chinese government continued to exercise sovereignty over the Xisha Qundao.
"Lingyang Jiao is part of China's Xisha Qundao. The Chinese government has repeatedly made clear that China has indisputable sovereignty over the Xisha Qundao," Lei said.
Construction to improve living
Previously published aerial images have shown Lingyang Jiao's distinctive ring-shaped lagoon, but its natural beauty long contrasted with the rudimentary living conditions faced by local fishermen.
According to the official website of the Sansha city government, the reef was once almost entirely barren, with little vegetation. Fishermen lived two or three to a coral-stone hut measuring only three or four square meters.
For a long period, a single diesel generator was used to supply electricity on the reef, providing power only between 7 pm and 11 pm. Fresh water had to be carried from vessels arriving from Hainan Island, while typhoons posed a constant threat to residents and their homes.
Construction of a fishermen's settlement was put on the agenda in 2012. However, the complex topography and hydrological conditions around the reef prevented large vessels from approaching, forcing workers to carry construction materials ashore by hand.
After years of development, Lingyang Jiao now has basic infrastructure including a desalination facility and a power station. Its navigation channel has been dredged and opened, and a fishermen's settlement has been completed.
Xu said the current construction serves at least two purposes: The first is to provide more and better public services.
Lingyang Jiao lies on the outer edge of the Yongle Islands, surrounded by some of the most difficult navigational waters in the Xisha Qundao. In 2015, the Chinese government built and activated a lighthouse there to provide navigation services for passing vessels.
"Further construction can provide stronger infrastructure support for maritime search and rescue, disaster prevention and mitigation, and help ensure navigational safety in the South China Sea," Xu said.
The construction will also further improve local residents' living conditions. Transport difficulties have long left the reef short of essential supplies, while typhoons have repeatedly caused serious damage to housing. The construction can better meet fishermen's needs for water, electricity, secure housing and employment, Xu noted.
"Fishermen working in the South China Sea have long faced extremely harsh conditions. Far from shore, they spent weeks exposed to intense sunlight, strong winds, heavy rain and sudden typhoons, often without a safe place to rest or repair their boats," Ding Duo, director of the Research Center for International and Regional Issues at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Ding said the construction is intended to improve the living standards of Chinese fishermen and represents a direct result of China's people-centered development philosophy.
"China now has the capacity and resources to develop infrastructure at Lingyang Jiao. Doing so is both feasible and responsible, and responds to the long-standing needs of fishermen who have depended on these waters for their livelihoods for centuries," Ding said.
Besides, ecological protection has remained a prerequisite for production and construction on the reef. In 2019, a research team led by Professor Xie Qiang from Sun Yat-sen University School of Life Sciences discovered a new marine insect species at Lingyang Jiao and named it after the reef.
It was China's first discovery of a strictly marine insect group at the family level within its territory and territorial waters, filling a gap in the country's scientific records.
"China's land reclamation and construction activities are conducted in strict accordance with laws, regulations and ecological standards," Xu said. "Through technological innovation and systematic governance, China has balanced ecological protection with resource utilization. The results of environmental protection at Lingyang Jiao and in its surrounding waters are clearly visible," Xu said.
No room for external interference
China's construction at Lingyang Jiao has drawn persistent attention from some foreign media. Since January, outlets including Newsweek have used satellite images to hype the project.
The US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies recently claimed that the reclaimed area at Lingyang Jiao had surpassed that of Yongxing Island and was approaching the size of Meiji Jiao, China's largest island reef in the South China Sea.
A Reuters report published on Wednesday went further, claiming that Lingyang Jiao could be one of the Chinese military's most important features in the South China Sea. It speculated that the reef could host surveillance facilities or support nuclear-powered submarines to strengthen "China's military presence around key waterways."
Ding rejected this accusation, saying that as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China conducts construction on islands and reefs in the South China Sea strictly within the framework of international law.
"The construction at Lingyang Jiao is peaceful in nature and serves the public. It is intended to better safeguard national territory while providing practical assistance to people and vessels operating in the South China Sea," Ding said.
Ding said improved infrastructure at Lingyang Jiao would bring broader benefits to the region by strengthening China's capacity to provide public services. These include more accurate weather forecasting, faster and more efficient emergency rescue, broader marine scientific research and stronger safety support for the South China Sea's busy international shipping routes.
"China's construction can provide more international public goods and help reduce risks for merchant ships, fishing vessels and other maritime activities," Ding said. "It is not militarization, but an effort aimed at safeguarding peace and stability. The tendency to view everything China does as military in purpose reflects the dark geopolitical mentality of the West."
Xu said China's land reclamation and construction activities also have a solid basis in international law. China ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1996 and, under the convention, has the right to conduct construction on islands and reefs within its own territorial waters without seeking the consent or approval of any other country.
"The Xisha Qundao have been Chinese territory since ancient times. Lingyang Jiao has long been a place where Chinese fishermen live and work, and it also carries the history of the Maritime Silk Road," Xu said.
Both history and present-day reality demonstrate China's indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands, including the Xisha Qundao, Xu noted. The waters surrounding the Xisha Qundao are under China's effective administration, making land reclamation and construction at Lingyang Jiao normal activities within China's sovereign jurisdiction.
Objections from external parties are inconsistent with China's long-standing administration of the South China Sea islands and have no basis in international law or international rules, Xu said. No country has the right to interfere in China's construction activities at Lingyang Jiao.
。

二 | 工人去沈凡盛家（右）洗澡记者江玥摄沈凡盛和妈妈从工地直接赶来，一身的汗，落脚就能洗上热水澡。在西湖区古荡街道益乐新村的台风安置点，这样的“待遇”，让工人凌贺前直呼“跟在家里一样舒坦”。

三 | 8月8日下午，益乐新村接到紧急通知：华商工地300多名工人，需在当晚6点前全部转移至新村安置点。一场与台风赛跑的安置行动，在两个小时内完成。安置点里，最让工友们意外的，是村民敞开家门、借出浴室给他们洗澡。紧急转移8月8日下午4点，益乐新村和华商工地同时收到了紧急转移通知。工地负责人苗连庆马上在工作群里发了消息，叮嘱各班班长转告工友：晚上6点前必须完成吃饭洗漱，统一前往安置点避险。为了不耽误转移进度，工地食堂提前备餐，不到4点半，300多名工人已经收拾好了行李。益乐新村这边，村党委副书记沈国良立刻部署，社区工作人员迅速到岗。“应对‘巴威’台风时积累了经验，这次人数虽多，但各环节都有条不紊。”沈国良说。工地离益乐新村南区的安置点不到一公里，大家排着队，十分钟就到了。临时安置点设在靠近益乐河的社区礼堂里，从接到通知到完成全部清空布置，只用了半个小时。

四 | 安置点内，防水布从头铺到尾，方便工人们铺开自带的垫被和毯子。空调与电风扇同时运转，矿泉水、方便面、面包和防暑药品整齐码放一旁。

五 | 工人们头戴安全帽、手拎行李，在引导下分片入驻，不到一小时，300多名工人全部就位。

六 | 村民腾出20多间浴室人都安顿下来了，但沈国良留意到了一个细节：工人们刚从工地上赶来，身上都是汗。益乐新村安置点分为南北两区，北区厕所装了热水器，南区却没有，两地相距1.5公里。应对台风“巴威”时，在南区安置的工友一身汗，只能自己想办法对付。“大热天，两三天不洗个澡，谁也扛不住。”沈国良当即在村民联络群中发出倡议，号召有条件的村民开放家中闲置浴室，供工友洗漱使用。消息一出，回应像接力赛一样涌来。很快，有十几位村民积极响应，总共腾出20多间浴室。沈凡盛是第一个响应的，他读大二，暑假在家。看到群里的消息，他和妈妈商量后，马上报了名。

七 | 他把家里一楼、三楼、四楼的浴室全部收拾出来，还备好了毛巾、脸盆和沐浴露。“台风快来了，工友们到村里避险，腾几间浴室，让他们洗个热水澡，这是应该的。”沈凡盛说。除了在群里发动，村里还一对一跟之前了解过的有空房的村民沟通。“一开始还担心大家有顾虑，没想到大家都蛮积极的。”沈国良说。跟在家里一样舒坦当天晚上，工人凌贺前第一个用上了村民家的热水。