Authorities in Bangkok have banned street food from the capital’s major roads, causing an outcry in a city famous for its affordable roadside cuisine.
曼谷市政府部门下令,禁止商贩在曼谷主要街道设立小吃摊。这个城市以价格实惠的路边摊美食而闻名,因而此举引发了强烈抗议。
In a move criticised by locals and culinary enthusiasts, thousands of vendors selling dishes such as spicy prawn soup and papaya salad will disappear by the end of the year in the interests of “order and hygiene”, according to city hall.曼谷市政厅表示,到今年年底,在街边售卖冬荫功汤和木瓜沙拉等美食的数千小贩将被清走,以维护城市的“秩序和卫生”。此举饱受当地群众和广大美食爱好者批评。Wanlop Suwandee, chief adviser to Bangkok’s governor, said officials are “now working to get rid of stalls from all 50 districts of Bangkok” and return the pavements to pedestrians.曼谷市政府首席顾问苏万迪表示,政府官员现正在清除曼谷50个区域里所有的小摊贩,确保将人行道“还给行人”。“There will be no let-up in this operation. Every street vendor will have to move out,” he said in comments reported by the local news portal.在接受当地新闻门户的采访时,苏万迪说道:“所有小摊贩都将被清走,无一例外。”For decades Bangkok, the most visited city in the world, has promoted itself as a key destination for the food-obsessed. Locals and foreigners dine on plastic chairs at folding tables, slurping steaming noodles at street food eateries that stay open until dawn.几十年来,曼谷一直是全球第一旅游城市,让世界各地的美食爱好者心生向往。在曼谷,无论是当地民众,还是外国游客,都会倾心于通宵营业的街边小吃摊,坐在折叠桌旁的塑料椅上,对着一碗热气腾腾的面条大块朵颐。Roadsides clog up daily as workers rush to buy pineapple slices, fried chicken or sweet pork kebabs. Tourism, which makes up an estimated 15% of the economy, is buoyed by hundreds of street food tours through the subtropical city.冲到小摊前购买菠萝片、炸鸡肉或者烤猪肉串的上班族每天都将街头路边挤得水泄不通。旅游业的收入约占曼谷经济来源的百分之十五,而遍布这座亚热带城市的数百个街头小吃店大大振兴了当地旅游业的发展。For the second year running, CNN this month named Bangkok as the city with the best street food on the planet.本月,曼谷被美国有线电视新闻网评为全球第一街边美食之都。曼谷已经连续两年获此殊荣。However, since seizing power in 2014, Thailand’s junta has led a campaign to “clean up” and “return happiness” to the country, focusing on issues such as late night drinking, corruption and the sex trade.但是,自2014年泰国军政府上台以来,便开展了旨在“整顿风气”、“把幸福还给国家”的行动,致力于解决深夜饮酒、腐败和性交易等一系列问题。Chawadee Nualkhair, a Bangkok-based street food blogger, said authorities’ previous attempts to remove stalls had failed.曼谷街头美食作家查瓦迪称,曼谷政府先前曾尝试清除路边摊,但均以失败告终。“Street food was still too popular with the locals,” she said. “Of course, it would make Bangkok less charming. But it also takes a big chunk of cheap options away from working Thais, and closes up an avenue of work for many. Where will shop employees, construction workers and taxi drivers eat?” “街头小吃还是太受当地民众的欢迎了,”查瓦迪说:“当然,路边摊的确是让曼谷市容受到了影响。但是,如果它们全被清走了,泰国的工薪族就少了很多平价的用餐选择,也会剥夺很多工作机会。没了路边摊,商店员工、建筑工人和出租车司机要吃什么呢?”Some of the city’s most acclaimed street food hotspots have been dismantled by developers who have bought land and evicted vendors.曼谷最受欢迎的一些美食热门区已被开发商清理。这些开发商买下了土地并将摆摊的小贩驱逐出去。Last year, the renowned Soi Sukhumvit 38 food market, which had operated for nearly 40 years, was destroyed to make way for a high-priced condominium. Some of the vendors selling pad thai and mango sticky rice were allowed to set up in the basement of a nearby building. Others selling egg noodles with BBQ pork and crab still squat in the area.去年,为了建造一座高价公寓,已有近40年历史的知名美食市场素坤逸路38号被拆除。一些售卖泰式炒河粉和芒果糯米饭的小商贩将摊位搬到了附近一栋建筑的地下室里。另一些售卖鸡蛋面和烤猪肉、烤螃蟹的小摊则依然驻扎在街区里。City hall says the central district of Siam has been cleared by police and that Chinatown’s Yaowarat Road and the backpacker haunt, the Khao San Road, made famous in the novel The Beach, are next on the list.曼谷市政厅表示,警方已清扫了暹罗的中心街区。他们的下一个目标是唐人街耀华力路和因小说《海滩》而出名的背包客聚集地考山路。Along the busy streets of Thong Lor and Ekkamai, notices were warning vendors that the deadline to leave the area was 1 June. But it was brought forward to 16 April, after the traditional New Year holiday.熙熙攘攘的通罗街和爱卡买街贴满了告示——小贩们必须在6月1日前搬离。但是最后期限被提前到4月16日,小贩们必须在当地新年假期之后撤离。Along Thong Lor on Tuesday, almost all the street vendors had left. Next to the spot where a popular chicken broth stall was based, a new sign says permits to trade have been revoked.4月17日,通罗街上几乎所有的小贩都撤离了。在一个生意红火的鸡肉汤小摊旁立着一个牌子,上面写着营业许可已被撤销。One vendor, a 61-year-old woman selling coconut and pumpkin sweets, said she was allowed to remain as she rented space in front of a pharmacy for about £5 a day, rather than using public space.
一位61岁的老妇人在街边售卖椰子和南瓜甜品。她说,她在一个药店门口以每天5英镑(约为人民币44.1元)的价格租了一块地方摆摊,没有占用公共空间,因此她可以继续留在街上做生意。“There is nothing I can do,” said the woman, who called herself Aunty Tao and said she had worked there for three decades. She added that for years, law enforcement had often confiscated equipment from unlicensed vendors and fined them up to £35.这位老妇人自称陶阿姨,已经在街上摆了30多年的摊了。她说,自己什么都做不了。她补充道,多年来,执法人员经常没收无证摊贩的摆摊用具,罚款数额可高达35英镑(约为人民币309元)。There has been confusion about how the policy will be implemented. The area’s district chief, Boontham Huiprasert, said push-cart vendors who could move around would still be tolerated but larger semi-permanent stalls with seating would have to go.这项政策将如何实行尚不明朗。该片区长官本桑说,可移动的小推车尚可网开一面,但是一些较大的、带座位的半固定型摊位必须要撤离。“Or if they can find a place to set up their shop without obstructing the sidewalk, such as behind the railing of the Thong Lor police station or some other private building, that would be OK too,” he said.本桑说:“如果这些摊贩可以找到一个不占用人行道的地方摆摊,比如通罗警察局围栏后面那片地方或者其他一些私人的建筑,也是可以的。”