【新唐人2014年11月08日讯】11月6号，总部位于英国伦敦的非政府组织“环境调查机构”（Environmental Investigation Agency，EIA）发布报告，引述地下象牙供应者的话说，中国驻坦桑尼亚大使馆的外交官是非法象牙的最大买家。去年中共总书记习近平访问坦桑尼亚时，随行官员买下了数千公斤偷猎的象牙，装在外交邮袋里，搭乘习近平的专机送往中国。不过，对此中方表示否认。
这份题为《消失点：犯罪、腐败以及坦桑尼亚大象的毁灭》的报告说，“环境调查机构”的调查员从地下象牙供应者口中得知，2013年3月，习近平出访坦桑尼亚时，随行的中共官员和商界领袖大批购买非法象牙，导致当地象牙的价格翻了一番，达到每公斤7万美元。
根据“环境调查机构”公布的录像，地下像牙供应者向伪装成买家的调查员声称，在习近平访问坦桑尼亚的时候，就有官员事先向他们购买“两千公斤”的象牙。
这些供应者说，随后官员护送象牙到机场，将象牙送上了习近平所搭乘的专机。报告称，部分象牙甚至被打包在外交邮袋中，装上习近平的专机。
报告引述地下象牙商人称，买家钻了外交访客不需要接受安检的漏洞。报告还说，同样的走私手法也发生在中共前总书记胡锦涛过去出访时。至少从2006年起，一些中共大使馆的官员就开始大批购买盗猎的象牙。
中共外交部发言人洪磊6号出面否认，声称相关报导“毫无根据”，中方表示强烈不满。
但报告说：中共外交官和军方人员，与腐败的坦桑尼亚官员、以及以中国人为首的犯罪集团勾结，把大量的非法象牙运往中国，导致坦桑尼亚的大象数量减半。
“环境调查机构”在一份声明中说：仅去年，坦桑尼亚被偷猎杀死的大象就有大约1万头。当地禁猎区的大象数量从2009年的3.9万头下降为去年的1.3万头。而中国是走私象牙的最大进口国。
美国国际爱护动物基金会、亚洲部负责人葛瑞：“这是很可怕的事情 ，就是现在的这个在走私中的象牙变得越来越小，要不就是他们杀的是小的，因为它们生活在森林里，一般生活在中非和西非的森林里，因为有很厚的森林覆盖，研究它们非常难，得知它们到底种群有多大也非常难，那么同时给盗猎分子提供很大一个机会。”
“国际保护组织”长期以来，指责北京对中国在非法象牙贸易中所起的主要作用，睁一只眼闭一只眼，自从联合国支持的“濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约”的官员，允许中国在2008年购买了68吨非洲像牙的合法储备后，中国的非法交易一路攀升。
“环境调查机构”的数据和采访显示，中国公民深度卷入象牙交易。调查员通过隐藏摄像头记录到，中国和坦桑尼亚走私贩承认买卖非法象牙，几个中国走私贩说，非法象牙占据中国市场的90%。
美中科技交流协会负责人谢家叶：“在美国海关查的是非常严的 ，如果查到你在行李里面夹带象牙制品，那是以走私论处，一般不敢轻易触法，（中国）执法上面托个人情，然后通过一些什么渠道带入境，所以这些你不能够把漏洞堵全的话，贩卖象牙的事情就会越来越严重。”
地下象牙商人再三告诉“环境调查机构”的调查员，中共驻坦桑尼亚大使馆人员是主要的象牙买家。
英国《BBC》引用该报告的主要撰写人之一——苏瑞希的话说，报告内容都是来自EIA的调查员所收集的资料和情报。她说，许多媒体报导和公开资料都显示，中国是世界上最大的走私象牙进口国，先前坦桑尼亚当局逮捕了一名走私象牙的嫌犯，这人就是中国大使馆的前雇员。她强调：不容否认，领头国际走私象牙的就是华人犯罪团伙。
采访编辑/李韵 后制/肖颜
EIA Report: Xi’s Presidential Plane Helps To Smuggle Ivory
November 6, headquartered in London, UK NGO Environmental
Investigation Agency (EIA) released a report, quoting the
words of the underground ivory suppliers, a Chinese diplomat
in Tanzania is the biggest purchaser of the illegal ivory.
Last year, when Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General
Secretary Xi Jinping visited Tanzania, the accompanying
officials sent thousands of kilograms of poached ivory in the
diplomatic mail bag via Xi Jinping’s plane to China.
However, the Chinese authorities denied this.
The report “Vanishing Point – Criminality, Corruption
and the Devastation of Tanzania’s Elephants" reads:
Earlier that year, in March, the visit of a large official
delegation accompanying Chinese President Xi Jinping
to Tanzania created a boom in illegal ivory sales and caused
local prices to double to $ 70,000 per kilogram.
According to EIA videos, underground ivory providers told the
disguised purchaser that some officials purchased
2,000 kg of ivory during Xi Jinping’s visit to Tanzania.
These suppliers said then officials escorted the ivory to
Xi Jinping’s plane.
The report said, some ivory were even packaged in the diplomatic
bag to fit in Xi Jinping’s plane.
The report cited the underground ivory traders saying, the
purchasers took advantage of the diplomatic visitors,
who do not need a security check.
The report also said the same smuggling practices
also occurred during former CCP General Secretary
Hu Jintao’s visit.
At least since 2006, some Chinese officials began buying large
numbers of poached ivory.
November 6, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei denied
the relevant report as being baseless and
expressed strong dissatisfaction.
But the report said: Chinese-led criminal gangs are conspiring
with corrupt Tanzanian officials to traffic huge amounts of ivory,
a trade which has caused half of Tanzania’s elephants to be poached.
EIA said in a statement: there were about 10,000 poached
elephants in Tanzania only last year.
The elephant number of local elephants in sanctuary fell from
39,000 in 2009 to 13,000 last year.
And China is the largest importer of smuggled ivory.
US International Fund For Animal Welfare (IFAW) Asian
Regional director Grace: This is very terrible.
The smuggled ivory is getting smaller.
It could be that they are killing the younger elephants.
The elephants live in the deep forests of the Central and
West Africa, which makes it very difficult to investigate
these animals, for the size of the population, and provides
a great opportunity to the poachers.
NY Times report: International conservation groups have long
accused Beijing of turning a blind eye to China’s major role
in the illegal ivory trade.
Which has surged since officials with the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species, or Cites, permitted
China to buy 68 tons of African ivory in 2008.
Investigators with the organization have documented, often
with hidden cameras, Chinese and Tanzanian smugglers
acknowledging that they had bought and sold illegal ivory.
This illegal ivory, several Chinese traffickers have said
accounted for 90 percent of the Chinese ivory market.
US-China Association of Science and Technology Director
Xie Jiaye: The customs check in the U.S. is very strict.
Any ivory item in luggage is considered smuggling.
Generally, people would not dare to break the law.
But, in China, the networking often creates loopholes.
The ivory smuggling will only get increasingly serious.
The ivory traders told EIA that diplomats at the Chinese
Embassy of Tanzania are the main buyers.
BBC quoted the reporter as saying that the EIZ investigation
and information has revealed that China is the world’s largest
importer of smuggled ivory.
Accordingly, a smuggler arrested was formerly an employee
of the Chinese Embassy.
The reporter emphasized that the Chinese gangs are undoubtedly
the leaders in the international ivory smuggling.
Interview & Edit/LiYun Post-Production/XiaoYan
