中共政權又撞牆：全球基金凍結中國撥款

根據紐約時報5月21日的一篇文章，全球抗擊愛滋病、結核病和瘧疾基金（以下簡稱 「全球基金」）凍結了中國的資金。這是一件極為尷尬的事，因為中國竟然達不到一 個國際組織的標準，而許多落後的國家政府卻可以。

中國是世界第四大全球基金接受國，排在埃塞爾比亞、印度和坦尚尼亞之後。從200 3年起，中國已經從全球基金得到5.39億美元的援助，還有2.95億美元也在計畫當中 。中國只捐獻過1千6百丌美元給全球基金，相比美國捐獻了5.5億美元。中國是否有 資格接受全球基金已經引起了極大的爭議。中國政府的富有廣為人知，2008年的奧運 會和去年的上海世博會花了460億美元。為了刺激經濟，中國政府花了5860億美元。幫助創辦全球基金的Jack chow博士，認為中國對資金的胃口動搖了全球基金的基礎 ；在當前資金難以為繼的情況下，大筆捐款流入像中國這樣支付衛生項目綽綽有餘的 國家，只能更加降級捐款的意願。

但是全球基金這次凍結中國的資金卻和中國接受援助的資格無關。去年的審計發現， 中國並沒有像它承諾的那樣，把2.83億美元的愛滋病撥款中的35%發給社區組織。根據非政府組織「全球基金觀察」，社區組織只得到不到11%的撥款，另一次外部審計 發現，社區組織被排除在重要的運作環節之外。

中國的官員振振有詞，說民間組織無法恰當的使用全球基金的錢，政府機腹更值得信 任。而根據人權活動家常坤，政府官員或「官方NGO」經常侵佔過半的撥款。他在新 疆主導的一個愛滋病權利組織曾經從全球基金得到三千美元的撥款，後來只能歸還撥 款，因為政府解散了這個組織。「他們把我們的活動當作製造麻煩，他們不喜歡私人 辦的非政府組織和組織者，」他說，「我為愛滋病患者活動了7年，極少看到有人從 全球基金得到幫助。」

中國有乞丐組織，故意把被拐賣的兒童弄成殘廢，讓他們乞討，然後搶去他們的所得 。中國政府扮演同樣的角色，利用非政府組織申請撥款，批准後把他們一腳踢開。其 中一些錢毫不奇怪的流進官員們的腰包。

中國政府已經習慣為所欲為的糟踏中國老百姓的錢，作家艾未未因調查2008的四川地 震捐款的而被關押。中國人民可能無法制止中共政權，但如果要如法炮製的對待國際 組織的錢，人家就不樂意了。這次的撞壁再次在全世界面前暴露了中共政權的腐敗和 它對民間自發組織的敵視。

在中共的機關刊物「求是」上，中央政法委秘書長周本順寫道:「中國要防止落入某 些西方國家為我們設計的所謂’公民社會’的陷阱。」

目前為止，中國人還必須待在中共設計好的「動物莊園」裡—一些動物比別的動物更 「平等」。但是，中國人還能忍多久？

According to a May 21st New York Times article, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria has frozen its grants to China. This is an extremely embarrassing matter because China was unable to meet the standards of this international organization, yet many backward governments were.

China has been the Global Fund's fourth largest recipient, following Ethiopia, India and Tanzania. Since 2003 China has received $539 million from the Global Fund, and another $295 million is on the way. And China has only contributed $16 million to the fund, compared with the $5.5 billion contributed by the United States. The question of whether China should also be a recipient has been the source of deep controversy. The Chinese government is known for its deep pockets: it spent $46 billion combined on the 2008 Olympic games and last year's Shanghai Expo, and it also recently financed a $586 billion economic stimulus package. Dr. Jack Chow, who helped create the Global Fund, argues that China's large appetite undermines the Global Fund's foundation; at a time when the fund is struggling for contributions, donors will grow even more reluctant if they realize that substantial funds are being awarded to a country like China -- which can well afford to pay for its own health program.

But the embarrassing decision to withhold funds from China has nothing to do with eligibility. Instead, audits of last year's distributions showed that China had failed to pass on 35% of a $283 million AIDS grant to community-based organizations, as it had pledged. According to a report from a non-governmental organization (NGO) called Global Fund Watch, China actually allocated less than 11% of their grant money to non-government groups. In fact an external audit discovered that community groups appeared to have been entirely left out of the strategy planning sessions.

Chinese officials justified their actions, claiming that many civil society groups could not be trusted to properly spend the Global Fund's money, and that government agencies were more trustworthy. But according to human right activist Chang Kun, both government officials and 「official NGOs」 created by the government routinely pocketed more than half the grant money. An AIDS rights group that Chang Kun headed in Xinjiang received a grant of roughly $3,000, but then had to return it because the government disbanded his group. 「They view our campaigning as troublemaking. They don't like private NGOs, or people taking up an organizing role,」 he said. 「I have campaigned for AIDS patients for seven years now, and I rarely see people receiving any actual benefit from the Global Fund.」

In China there are organized 「begging」 gangs who abduct and disable children, make them panhandle in the streets, and then taking the money for themselves. Here the Chinese government plays a similar role: it uses NGOs to apply for grants, and then kicks them out after they are approved to receive funding. Not surprisingly, some of this pirated money then finds its way into the pockets of government officials.

The Chinese government has become used squandering people's money away, any way it wishes. Writer Ai Weiwei was detained for investigating the whereabouts of donations made following the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake. The Chinese people may not be able to stop the Communist regime from within, but if the regime tries to pull the same trick with money donated by international organizations, they cannot get away with it. This latest embarrassing incident, hitting up against the Global Fund wall, has once again exposed the corrupt nature of the Chinese communist regime and its hostility toward organized civil groups.

In Qiushi, a Communist Party journal, Zhou Benshun, Secretary General of the party's political and legislative affairs commission, wrote that China 「must guard against being misled to the point of falling into the trap of the so-called ‘civil society’ devised by certain Western countries.」

Well, at least for now, it seems we are stuck in the 「animal farm」 society devised by the Communist regime -- where some pigs are more equal than others. But for how much longer are we, the people, going to tolerate this abuse?

(文章僅代表作者個人立場和觀點)