A senior government official in China has said the diversion of water resources to Beijing for the Olympic Games threatens the livelihoods of millions of people to the west of the capital. The Shaanxi province official An Qiyuan(安启元) said the central government in Beijing should compensate provinces that have been ordered to pump their cleanest water to Beijing. Mr. An indicated that factories in the affected provinces would have to close to fulfill the water need to the Games. Branden Martial reports.

“The public criticism by Mr. An in an interview with the London Financial Times is unusually frank for a senior Chinese official though he’s known to have been campaigning in political circles on this issue. His province and others, including Hebei, have been suffering a water shortage for some time, leaving farmland parched and drinking water in short supply. Officials in Beijing have recognized that the capital itself is facing a water crisis. And the scarcity will be exacerbated by the increasing demand during the Olympics.”

翻译:
A senior government official in China has said the diversion of water resources to Beijing for the Olympic Games threatens the livelihoods of millions of people to the west of the capital. The Shanxi province official An Shiyang said the central government in Beijing should compensate provinces that have been ordered to pump their cleanest water to Beijing. Mr. An indicated that factories in the affected provinces would have to close to fulfill the water need to the Games. Branden Martial reports.

中国政府一高层官员说，北京奥运用水将威胁到首都以北数百万群众的生活.山西省一安姓官员说，中央政府应对被要求向北京供水的省份进行补偿。他还指出，这些受影响的省份将不得不关闭许多工厂以便达到奥运用水的需求量。布兰登·马歇尔报道。

“The public criticism by Mr. An in an interview with the London Financial Times is unusually frank for a senior Chinese official though he’s known to have been campaigning in political circles on this issue. His province and others, including Hebei, have been suffering a water shortage for some time, leaving farmland parched and drinking water in short supply. Officials in Beijing have recognized that the capital itself is facing a water crisis. And the scarcity will be exacerbated by the increasing demand during the Olympics.”

Mr.安在与伦敦金融时报的会晤中发表的公然批评，对一名中国高级官员来说有点意外的直接，尽管他就是以这个问题在政治圈立足的。他所在的省份及河北等省都面临着缺水的危机，导致农田龟裂以及饮用水短缺。中央政府也承认首都正面临着用水危机。而在奥运会期间，随着用水需求的增加，这个缺口将更加严重。