Protest in Hong Kong

　　香港的抗議

　　ON JULY 1st 2003 half a million people took to the streets of Hong Kong, forced thegovernment to give up on a reviled law and ended the career of the territorys chief executive,Tung Chee-hwa. This is not a Tung Chee-hwa moment, but the kettle is boiling again. On July1st throngs of angry Hong Kong people rallied between Victoria Park and the governmentbuildings in Centralmore than 200,000, according to organisersshouting, singing, whistlingand waving banners demanding democratic rights, great and small. It was the largestpopular demonstration on Chinese territory in several years. The people of Hong Kong, sooften quiescent, are angry again: at their local government and at meddling by the nationalauthorities in faraway Beijing.

　　2003年7月1日，五十萬民眾走上香港街頭，迫使政府放棄備受詬病的法律和結(jié)束特區(qū)行政長(zhǎng)官董建華的職業(yè)生涯。此時(shí)已不是董建華的重要時(shí)刻，但是壺水再一次沸騰了。據(jù)組織者說，7月1日超過20萬憤怒的香港民眾集結(jié)在維多利亞公園和中環(huán)的政府大樓，大聲呼喊，放聲歌唱，吹著哨子，舉著橫幅要求各階層人民的民主權(quán)利。這是這幾年中國(guó)轄區(qū)內(nèi)范圍最大的示威游行。通常沉寂的香港民眾再一次對(duì)地方政府和遠(yuǎn)在北京的國(guó)家當(dāng)局的干預(yù)憤怒了。

　　On the next business day, July 4th, the government blinked, postponing a controversialrevision to Hong Kongs electoral law, which would have banned by-elections for vacated seatsin the Legislative Council . The government had wanted to do this to prevent itsopponents from repeating a stunt from last year, when they engineered by-elections toimprovise a kind of straw poll on democracy itself.

　　下一個(gè)工作日，7月4日，政府推遲了有爭(zhēng)議的香港選舉法修正法案，這個(gè)修正法案禁止立法委員會(huì)空缺職位的遞補(bǔ)選舉。政府想通過這防止反對(duì)者重復(fù)去年的伎倆，當(dāng)時(shí)反對(duì)者們炮制了遞補(bǔ)選舉，做了一個(gè)臨時(shí)的關(guān)于民主本身的民意測(cè)驗(yàn)投票。

　　Never mind that those by-elections drew only 17% of registered voters to the polls. Thegovernment is hell-bent on keeping voters away from anything that looks like a referendum. Itthinks its very legitimacy is at stake.

　　那些遞補(bǔ)選舉無關(guān)緊要，他們僅僅吸引了17%的注冊(cè)選民參與民意測(cè)驗(yàn)投票。政府竭力使選民遠(yuǎn)離類似公投性質(zhì)的投票。政府認(rèn)為其合法性是有問題的。

　　Before the July 1st protest, it had argued that the proposed change was urgently neededbefore Legcos next session could begin. Now there will be a public consultation, meaning atwo-month pause in which the government must hope the protesters lose interest or go onholiday.

　　7月1日抗議之前，政府已經(jīng)對(duì)在立法委員會(huì)下屆會(huì)議之前改動(dòng)提議的迫切性進(jìn)行了爭(zhēng)論。現(xiàn)在將會(huì)有一個(gè)民意征詢，即暫停兩個(gè)月，這兩個(gè)月內(nèi)政府最好希望抗議者對(duì)此失去興趣或外出度假。

　　The delay may cool passions, but not for long. Theunderlying issue of suffrage in Hong Kong isbecoming more divisive as the tenure of DonaldTsang Yam-kuen, the current chief executive,draws to a close. This July marks the start of MrTsangs last year in office. In 2023 a carefullyselected committee of 1,200 members0.017% ofthe populationwill choose his replacement.

　　延期也許會(huì)使激情消退，但是時(shí)間不會(huì)長(zhǎng)久。由于現(xiàn)任行政長(zhǎng)官曾蔭權(quán)的任期接近尾聲，香港選舉權(quán)的根本問題變得更加分化。今年七月，標(biāo)志著曾蔭權(quán)執(zhí)政最后一年的開始。2023年，一個(gè)精挑細(xì)選的擁有1200個(gè)成員的特別委員會(huì)將會(huì)選出曾蔭權(quán)的繼任者。

　　To most Hong Kongers it is a rigged contest. Of the desultory crew of candidates beingmooted, the three most likely share a salient characteristic: they are dependably pro-Beijing. One of them, Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, a former president of Legco with a schoolmarmishmanner, enjoys a measure of popularity. Another, Leung Chun-ying, is a force in theproperty world. He is rumoured to have some ideas up his sleeve, which would be a welcomechange. But in opinion polls he draws lower numbers than any other candidate underconsiderationperhaps because of his close ties to Chinas Communists. The emergingfavourite, with only marginally better ratings, is Henry Tang Ying-yen, the current chiefsecretary, whose most memorable recent public pronouncement has been his defence of thedespised property tycoons who get blamed for the territorys extortionate housing prices.

　　對(duì)于大部分的香港民眾來說，這是一個(gè)操縱選舉的較量。這些背景參差不齊的候選人中，三個(gè)希望最大候選人都具有一個(gè)顯著特征：他們是忠實(shí)的親北京派。其中之一，帶有女校長(zhǎng)舉止的立法委員會(huì)前任主席范徐麗泰，很受歡迎。另外一個(gè)，梁振英，他是房地產(chǎn)領(lǐng)域的重量級(jí)人物。據(jù)說他有些錦囊妙計(jì)，這將會(huì)是一個(gè)可喜的變化。然而民意調(diào)查顯示，他的支持者數(shù)量在所有候選人中最低，這也許是因?yàn)樗椭袊?guó)共產(chǎn)黨的密切關(guān)系。最近出現(xiàn)的民意調(diào)查中稍占優(yōu)勢(shì)的是現(xiàn)任政務(wù)司司長(zhǎng)唐英年，他最近的引人矚目的公開聲明，為受到歧視的房地產(chǎn)大亨作了辯護(hù)，此房地產(chǎn)大亨因香港過高的房?jī)r(jià)而受指責(zé)。

　　July 1st has been a day of protest since 1998, when it marked the first anniversary of HongKongs handover from Britain to China. But it was only after the huge anti-Tung protest of2003 that the full power of the annual march was realised. The day is always a long, hot slog.Some years the marchers have been few, and their tempers mild. But other years, the protestignites. The 2003 explosion owed its intensity to the fearsome combination of SARS, aserious form of pneumonia that appeared that year, a housing bust, knock-on effects in thelocal economy and a sense that Mr Tung was too incompetent to cope with it all. After MrTsang succeeded him in 2005, confidence in the government was partially restored.

　　自從1998年，7月 1日成了抗議的日子，當(dāng)時(shí)是英國(guó)移交香港給中國(guó)的第一個(gè)周年紀(jì)念日。但是2003年反董建華抗議大游行后不久，每年的大規(guī)模示威游行實(shí)現(xiàn)了。這一天總是漫長(zhǎng)而炎熱的。一些年份游行者少了，他們的脾氣也溫和了。但是其他年份，抗議被點(diǎn)燃了。2003年的強(qiáng)烈爆發(fā)，基于多個(gè)原因：那一年出現(xiàn)了一種嚴(yán)重肺病 SARS，房地產(chǎn)泡沫破滅并對(duì)當(dāng)?shù)亟?jīng)濟(jì)產(chǎn)生連鎖效應(yīng)，以及人們覺得董建華太無能而無法應(yīng)對(duì)這一切。2005年曾蔭權(quán)從他手中接任之后，民眾對(duì)政府的信心才得以部分恢復(fù)。

　　This summer housing prices are near their record highs, making the unpropertied classesmiserable in a new way. Recent polls by the University of Hong Kong find Mr Tsangs approvalratings have fallen to their lowest level since he took office. Only 20% of citizens said they weresatisfied with his government, down from a high of 57% when he took the job. As Mr Tsangsstock has fallen, so has Hong Kongs view of China. Each of the past 14 years the same pollingunit has used the handover anniversary to ask Hong Kongers whether or not they feel proud tohave become citizens of China. The figures fluctuated only slightly between 2007 to 2010, witheach sides numbers hovering between 48% and 50%. But this year saw a seven-point drop:only 41% felt proud to be part of China.

　　今年夏天房?jī)r(jià)已接近歷史高點(diǎn)，這使無產(chǎn)階層以一種新的方式遭受痛苦。香港大學(xué)的民意調(diào)查顯示，曾蔭權(quán)的支持率已經(jīng)跌到了他就職以來的最低水平。只有20%的民眾對(duì)政府滿意，從他就職時(shí)的57%下降了。隨著曾蔭權(quán)股價(jià)的下跌，中國(guó)對(duì)香港的看法也是如此。在過去的14 年，每年的香港回歸周年紀(jì)念日，同一個(gè)投票站單位向香港人征詢，他們是否為已經(jīng)成為中國(guó)公民感到自豪。投票數(shù)字只在2007到2010年之間變動(dòng)不大，雙方數(shù)字徘徊在48%到50%之間。

　　At the moment, most resentment is local, focused on the chief executive, a few of his officers,and the near future. But if the 1,200-member election committee cannot find a more popularleader, next years July 1st rally might dwarf this one.

　　眼下，人們的不滿主要是針對(duì)地方政府，對(duì)象集中于行政長(zhǎng)官，不久的將來，一些政府職員也將加入。如果擁有1200個(gè)成員的特別選舉委員會(huì)不能選出一個(gè)更受歡迎的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)，下年7月的集會(huì)游行也許會(huì)比今年的更大。

　　Protest in Hong Kong

　　香港的抗議

　　ON JULY 1st 2003 half a million people took to the streets of Hong Kong, forced thegovernment to give up on a reviled law and ended the career of the territorys chief executive,Tung Chee-hwa. This is not a Tung Chee-hwa moment, but the kettle is boiling again. On July1st throngs of angry Hong Kong people rallied between Victoria Park and the governmentbuildings in Centralmore than 200,000, according to organisersshouting, singing, whistlingand waving banners demanding democratic rights, great and small. It was the largestpopular demonstration on Chinese territory in several years. The people of Hong Kong, sooften quiescent, are angry again: at their local government and at meddling by the nationalauthorities in faraway Beijing.

　　2003年7月1日，五十萬民眾走上香港街頭，迫使政府放棄備受詬病的法律和結(jié)束特區(qū)行政長(zhǎng)官董建華的職業(yè)生涯。此時(shí)已不是董建華的重要時(shí)刻，但是壺水再一次沸騰了。據(jù)組織者說，7月1日超過20萬憤怒的香港民眾集結(jié)在維多利亞公園和中環(huán)的政府大樓，大聲呼喊，放聲歌唱，吹著哨子，舉著橫幅要求各階層人民的民主權(quán)利。這是這幾年中國(guó)轄區(qū)內(nèi)范圍最大的示威游行。通常沉寂的香港民眾再一次對(duì)地方政府和遠(yuǎn)在北京的國(guó)家當(dāng)局的干預(yù)憤怒了。

　　On the next business day, July 4th, the government blinked, postponing a controversialrevision to Hong Kongs electoral law, which would have banned by-elections for vacated seatsin the Legislative Council . The government had wanted to do this to prevent itsopponents from repeating a stunt from last year, when they engineered by-elections toimprovise a kind of straw poll on democracy itself.

　　下一個(gè)工作日，7月4日，政府推遲了有爭(zhēng)議的香港選舉法修正法案，這個(gè)修正法案禁止立法委員會(huì)空缺職位的遞補(bǔ)選舉。政府想通過這防止反對(duì)者重復(fù)去年的伎倆，當(dāng)時(shí)反對(duì)者們炮制了遞補(bǔ)選舉，做了一個(gè)臨時(shí)的關(guān)于民主本身的民意測(cè)驗(yàn)投票。

　　Never mind that those by-elections drew only 17% of registered voters to the polls. Thegovernment is hell-bent on keeping voters away from anything that looks like a referendum. Itthinks its very legitimacy is at stake.

　　那些遞補(bǔ)選舉無關(guān)緊要，他們僅僅吸引了17%的注冊(cè)選民參與民意測(cè)驗(yàn)投票。政府竭力使選民遠(yuǎn)離類似公投性質(zhì)的投票。政府認(rèn)為其合法性是有問題的。

　　Before the July 1st protest, it had argued that the proposed change was urgently neededbefore Legcos next session could begin. Now there will be a public consultation, meaning atwo-month pause in which the government must hope the protesters lose interest or go onholiday.

　　7月1日抗議之前，政府已經(jīng)對(duì)在立法委員會(huì)下屆會(huì)議之前改動(dòng)提議的迫切性進(jìn)行了爭(zhēng)論。現(xiàn)在將會(huì)有一個(gè)民意征詢，即暫停兩個(gè)月，這兩個(gè)月內(nèi)政府最好希望抗議者對(duì)此失去興趣或外出度假。

　　The delay may cool passions, but not for long. Theunderlying issue of suffrage in Hong Kong isbecoming more divisive as the tenure of DonaldTsang Yam-kuen, the current chief executive,draws to a close. This July marks the start of MrTsangs last year in office. In 2023 a carefullyselected committee of 1,200 members0.017% ofthe populationwill choose his replacement.

　　延期也許會(huì)使激情消退，但是時(shí)間不會(huì)長(zhǎng)久。由于現(xiàn)任行政長(zhǎng)官曾蔭權(quán)的任期接近尾聲，香港選舉權(quán)的根本問題變得更加分化。今年七月，標(biāo)志著曾蔭權(quán)執(zhí)政最后一年的開始。2023年，一個(gè)精挑細(xì)選的擁有1200個(gè)成員的特別委員會(huì)將會(huì)選出曾蔭權(quán)的繼任者。

　　To most Hong Kongers it is a rigged contest. Of the desultory crew of candidates beingmooted, the three most likely share a salient characteristic: they are dependably pro-Beijing. One of them, Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, a former president of Legco with a schoolmarmishmanner, enjoys a measure of popularity. Another, Leung Chun-ying, is a force in theproperty world. He is rumoured to have some ideas up his sleeve, which would be a welcomechange. But in opinion polls he draws lower numbers than any other candidate underconsiderationperhaps because of his close ties to Chinas Communists. The emergingfavourite, with only marginally better ratings, is Henry Tang Ying-yen, the current chiefsecretary, whose most memorable recent public pronouncement has been his defence of thedespised property tycoons who get blamed for the territorys extortionate housing prices.

　　對(duì)于大部分的香港民眾來說，這是一個(gè)操縱選舉的較量。這些背景參差不齊的候選人中，三個(gè)希望最大候選人都具有一個(gè)顯著特征：他們是忠實(shí)的親北京派。其中之一，帶有女校長(zhǎng)舉止的立法委員會(huì)前任主席范徐麗泰，很受歡迎。另外一個(gè)，梁振英，他是房地產(chǎn)領(lǐng)域的重量級(jí)人物。據(jù)說他有些錦囊妙計(jì)，這將會(huì)是一個(gè)可喜的變化。然而民意調(diào)查顯示，他的支持者數(shù)量在所有候選人中最低，這也許是因?yàn)樗椭袊?guó)共產(chǎn)黨的密切關(guān)系。最近出現(xiàn)的民意調(diào)查中稍占優(yōu)勢(shì)的是現(xiàn)任政務(wù)司司長(zhǎng)唐英年，他最近的引人矚目的公開聲明，為受到歧視的房地產(chǎn)大亨作了辯護(hù)，此房地產(chǎn)大亨因香港過高的房?jī)r(jià)而受指責(zé)。

　　July 1st has been a day of protest since 1998, when it marked the first anniversary of HongKongs handover from Britain to China. But it was only after the huge anti-Tung protest of2003 that the full power of the annual march was realised. The day is always a long, hot slog.Some years the marchers have been few, and their tempers mild. But other years, the protestignites. The 2003 explosion owed its intensity to the fearsome combination of SARS, aserious form of pneumonia that appeared that year, a housing bust, knock-on effects in thelocal economy and a sense that Mr Tung was too incompetent to cope with it all. After MrTsang succeeded him in 2005, confidence in the government was partially restored.

　　自從1998年，7月 1日成了抗議的日子，當(dāng)時(shí)是英國(guó)移交香港給中國(guó)的第一個(gè)周年紀(jì)念日。但是2003年反董建華抗議大游行后不久，每年的大規(guī)模示威游行實(shí)現(xiàn)了。這一天總是漫長(zhǎng)而炎熱的。一些年份游行者少了，他們的脾氣也溫和了。但是其他年份，抗議被點(diǎn)燃了。2003年的強(qiáng)烈爆發(fā)，基于多個(gè)原因：那一年出現(xiàn)了一種嚴(yán)重肺病 SARS，房地產(chǎn)泡沫破滅并對(duì)當(dāng)?shù)亟?jīng)濟(jì)產(chǎn)生連鎖效應(yīng)，以及人們覺得董建華太無能而無法應(yīng)對(duì)這一切。2005年曾蔭權(quán)從他手中接任之后，民眾對(duì)政府的信心才得以部分恢復(fù)。

　　This summer housing prices are near their record highs, making the unpropertied classesmiserable in a new way. Recent polls by the University of Hong Kong find Mr Tsangs approvalratings have fallen to their lowest level since he took office. Only 20% of citizens said they weresatisfied with his government, down from a high of 57% when he took the job. As Mr Tsangsstock has fallen, so has Hong Kongs view of China. Each of the past 14 years the same pollingunit has used the handover anniversary to ask Hong Kongers whether or not they feel proud tohave become citizens of China. The figures fluctuated only slightly between 2007 to 2010, witheach sides numbers hovering between 48% and 50%. But this year saw a seven-point drop:only 41% felt proud to be part of China.

　　今年夏天房?jī)r(jià)已接近歷史高點(diǎn)，這使無產(chǎn)階層以一種新的方式遭受痛苦。香港大學(xué)的民意調(diào)查顯示，曾蔭權(quán)的支持率已經(jīng)跌到了他就職以來的最低水平。只有20%的民眾對(duì)政府滿意，從他就職時(shí)的57%下降了。隨著曾蔭權(quán)股價(jià)的下跌，中國(guó)對(duì)香港的看法也是如此。在過去的14 年，每年的香港回歸周年紀(jì)念日，同一個(gè)投票站單位向香港人征詢，他們是否為已經(jīng)成為中國(guó)公民感到自豪。投票數(shù)字只在2007到2010年之間變動(dòng)不大，雙方數(shù)字徘徊在48%到50%之間。

　　At the moment, most resentment is local, focused on the chief executive, a few of his officers,and the near future. But if the 1,200-member election committee cannot find a more popularleader, next years July 1st rally might dwarf this one.

　　眼下，人們的不滿主要是針對(duì)地方政府，對(duì)象集中于行政長(zhǎng)官，不久的將來，一些政府職員也將加入。如果擁有1200個(gè)成員的特別選舉委員會(huì)不能選出一個(gè)更受歡迎的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)，下年7月的集會(huì)游行也許會(huì)比今年的更大。