核危机恐慌蔓延至中国China: pass the salt

The distance from Tokyo to Beijing is 2,000 kilometres but that doesn’t seem to be stopping the Chinese capital’s residents from panicking about the Japanese nuclear disaster – and buying salt.

北京距东京2000公里。但距离似乎没有让北京居民减少对日本核灾难的恐慌。他们开始抢购食盐。

China’s economic agency told shoppers on Thursday to stop clearing the supermarket shelves of salt, in the mistaken belief that the minute amounts of iodine in it can stop radiation sickness.

中国经济主管部门周四呼吁消费者停止抢购超市货架上的食盐。消费者错误认为，食盐中少量的碘可以防辐射。

Reuters reports from Beijing:

汤森路透(Reuters)来自北京的报道称：

'The Chinese government has repeatedly said the country’s residents will not be exposed to radiation from a nuclear plant in northeastern Japan which engineers are frantically trying to bring under control after it was damaged by last Friday’s earthquake and tsunami.

中国政府多次表示，中国居民不会因日本东北部核电站的核泄漏而受到影响。在这个因上周五的大地震和海啸而受损的核电站，工程师们正疯狂地设法控制形势。

But in a sign of increasing public worries about the risks, people across much of China have been buying large amounts of iodised salt, emptying markets of the usually cheap and plentiful product.

但中国公众对于核风险的担忧日益加剧。一个迹象就是许多地区的人们开始大批量购买碘盐，让这个通常廉价且供应充足的产品，一下子抢购一空。

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country’s economic policy agency, said price regulators could investigate and punish price gouging. “In recent days, some areas have been affected by rumours that have sparked intensive buying of salt, and some lawless merchants have leapt at the opportunity to raise prices,” said the NDRC in an emailed statement. “Don’t believe rumours, don’t spread rumours, and don’t panic buy.” '

中国经济政策主管部门国家发改委(NDRC)要求各地价格主管部门开展市场价格检查，坚决打击哄抬价格等不法行为。“部分地方受谣言影响，引发食用盐集中购买现象，一些不法经销商乘机哄抬价格，”发改委在以电子邮件发送的声明中称。它要求“不信谣、不传谣、不抢购。”

The Chinese authorities initially tried to shrug off public concerns about its own nuclear programme. But. as the FT has reported, on Wednesday it announced a suspension of its reactor construction programme – the biggest in the world – pending a review.

中国当局最初试图不理会公众对于本国核电站计划的担忧。但正如FT此前报道的那样，中国周三宣布暂停其核反应堆建设计划（为全球规模最大），等待接受检查。

“Until the [new] nuclear safety plan is approved, we will suspend approvals of new plants including those in the pre-development phase,” China’s State Council said, according to the FT. “We must fully understand the urgency and importance of nuclear safety.”

“在（新）的核安全规划批准前，暂停审批核电项目包括开展前期工作的项目。”FT报道称，中国国务院表示“要充分认识核安全的重要性和紧迫性。”

The decision by the State Council, which did not provide details about how long the safety review would last, reflected widespread fears in China about the crisis at Japan’s Fukushima atomic plant.

国务院的这项决定反映出中国对于日本福岛核电站危机的普遍担忧。但这一声明没有提供有关安全检查将持续多久的具体细节。

The decision hit the stocks of China’s nuclear power equipment makers. As FT Tilt, the FT’s subscription-based emerging markets service, reported “Naturally, investors are spooked: It’s unclear what’s next in store for China’s nuke plans, and whether the government will revise its plan of spending $159bn in the nuclear sector over the next decade.”

这一决定打击了中国核能设备制造商的股价。正如FT旗下新兴市场刊物FT Tilt报道的那样：“投资者自然感到恐慌：目前还不确定，中国的核电站接下来会怎样，政府是否会修订未来10年在核领域支出1590亿美元的计划。”

Dongfang Electric saw its Hong Kong-listed shares close 8.6 per cent down, taking the drop for the year to date to a whopping 35.7 per cent. Harbin Power Equipment fell 18.2 per cent (35.5 per cent down on the year) and Shanghai Electric Group plunged 12.7 per cent (-31.1 per cent on the year).

东方电机(Dongfang Electric)在香港上市的股票收盘下挫8.6%，今年迄今的跌幅已高达35.7%。哈尔滨动力股份(Harbin Power Equipment)大跌18.2%（今年迄今累计下跌35.5%），上海电气(Shanghai Electric Group)下挫12.7%（今年迄今累计下跌31.1%）。

The Hang Seng closed 1.8 per cnet down, with the Shanghai Composite not far behind – 1.6 per cent lower.

恒生指数(Hang Seng)收盘下跌1.8%，上证综指紧随其后，下跌1.6%。