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香港特別行政区で大事なことは依然としてビジネス
アヘン戦争以来、英国の植民地だった香港は97/7/1未明、中国に返還されました。この直後に香港に出張したときに書いた記事です。
返還式典の前後はメディアが大騒ぎしました。パニックで香港人は海外に脱出するのではとか、共産中国のもとで政治的自由のない暗い雰囲気になってしまうのではと。ところが3週間たち香港に行ってみたら、以前と変わらない香港に思えました。中国の兵士も北京政府のお役人の姿もどこにも見あたらないのです。しかしそれは、香港資本が逃げ出さないために周到に準備された光景なのでした。
返還後かなり経過した現在では、政治的自由を規制しようとする動きに対して香港人は声を上げて反対するようになっています。
SAR Hong Kong's business remains business
The Japan Times, July 22, 1997
HONG KONG ─ Three weeks after the handover of this former British colony to China, the city-state has a palpable business-as-usual ambience about it.
There is neither a sense of jubilation, nor fear of an imminent wave of repression sby its new ruler, the People's Republic of China.
The prevailing sense of normalcy has been brought about by years of design; London and Beijing have spent over a decade thrashing out the details of this unprecedented geopolitical power shift.
In addition, both Hong Kong and Beijing are apparently exercising restraint to avoid political acrimony; new Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa has told Hong Kong's people to "leave behind the baggage of Tiananmen," referring to the 1989 Beijing massacre that led to a sudden chill in trilateral relations among Beijing, London and Hong Kong.
"There has been no change in Hong Kong since the handover day, . . . but maybe there will he some change 10 years from now," said 27-year-old hotel worker Thomas Ng in a comment characteristic of remarks made to The Japan Times by local residents.
"The People's Liberation Army soldiers are now here, but none of us have seen any one of them since July 1, because they are not allowed to walk around in town in uniform," he said.
The former colony, now called the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is China's richest, and, in a sense, newest city.
It is also its most democratic due to reforms installed in recent years.
On the surface, few things appear to have changed.
Beijing did not abolish the Hong Kong dollar, which is still the only legal currency, and the border with mainland China will remain closed to preventunauthorized immigrants from pouring in.
Beijing has, thus far, shown no desire to suppress the laisse-faire economic system and its free-port policy, elements that have helped the tiny region half the size of Tokyo grow into an economy one fourth the size of mainland Chinese economy.
The apparent absence of Chinese control here is stipulated in China's 1990 HKSAR Basic Law, enacted after years of negotiations with Britain.
China has given Hong Kong a "high degree of autonomy" and introduced a "one country, two systems" formula, a major factor in the smooth transfer.
Residents apparently harbor mixed feelings.
Many said they cannot yet conclude if they are happy to return to motherland China or unhappy due to the underlying fear of abuses by the Chinese Communist Party.
"We were alert at first," said Nicky Chan, a sales manager at a five-star hotel in Kowloon.
"But after one or two days, everything was as usual. Nothing had changed. We go to karaoke, go watch movies, and we go to work at our offices," he said.
Despite these residents' claims, there have been some key changes, including the disappearance of British emblems from everything from government offices to public trash bins in favor of the new HKSAR emblems, as well as perceived civil rights reversals enacted by the new legislature.
This legislature, the Provisional Legislative Council, has been contentious as it replaced the Legislative Council, or LEGCO.
However Chan asserted that "Hong Kong is a (former) colony; we are used to listening to what the government says. Most of us are not interested in politics and this will remain so as long as the Basic Law and its 50-year guarantee (of keeping Hong Kong's socioeconomic system intact) are observed."
Nevertheless, many have shown what they have thought of this guarantee — by emigrating to Canada, the U.S. and other nations with large overseas Chinese populations.
This pattern of emigration increased sharply after the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown on democracy activists, but peaked in 1992 when 66,000 left, according to a Hong Kong government source.
Shukan ST: Jan. 2・9, 2004
(C) All rights reserved
- handover
- 返還
- this former British colony
- 「この旧英植民地」(香港を言い換えた表現)
- business-as-usual ambience
- いつもと変わらずといった雰囲気
- jubilation
- 祝賀
- imminent wave of repression
- 迫り来る弾圧の波
- sense of normalcy
- ふつうである、いつも通りであるという感覚
- brought about
- もたらされた
- thrashing out
- よく考えて作る
- unprecedented geopolitical power shift
- 前例のない地政学的な権力移動
- restraint
- 自制心
- acrimony
- 憎しみ
- new Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa
- 初代の行政長官(香港のトップ)の董建華
- the baggage of Tiananmen
- 天安門事件という過去の荷物
- referring to
- 〜と言ったが、それは...のこと
- Beijing massacre
- 例の1989年の北京での多くの人が殺された事件
- trilateral relations
- 中英香港の3国・地域の関係
- characteristic of
- 特徴的な、代表的な
- The People's Liberation Army
- 人民解放軍(中国軍の正式名)
- in a sense
- ある意味
- installed
- 設置する、備え付ける
- On the surface
- 外見は
- legal currency
- 法定通貨
- mainland China
- 中国本土
- unauthorized immigrants
- 許可のない越境者
- thus far
- これまでのところ
- suppress
- 圧迫する
- laisse-faire
- 自由放任
- free-port
- 自由港、関税が無料である貿易港
- grow into an economy one fourth the size of mainland Chinese economy
- 中国本土経済の四分の1サイズの経済にまで成長させた
- apparent absence
- 外見上無いこと
- stipulated
- 規定されている
- 1990 HKSAR Basic Law
- 1990年制定の香港特別行政区基本法
- high degree of autonomy
- 高度の自治
- one country, two systems
- 「1国2制度」方式(香港は中国というひとつの国の一部だが、本土の社会主義とは別の制度<資本主義>を50年間にわたり維持することを許す、というもの
- harbor
- 心に抱く
- cannot yet conclude
- 結論付ける
- motherland
- 祖国
- underlying fear of abuses
- 可能性として存在している、中国共産党が香港人の権利をひどく扱うのではないかという恐れ
- Chinese Communist Party
- 中国共産党
- alert
- 気をつけて観察していた
- Kowloon
- 九龍半島
- as usual
- いつも通り
- claims
- 主張する
- emblems
- 紋章
- trash bins
- ゴミ箱
- in favor of
- 〜に取って代わられ
- reversals
- 改悪
- enacted by the new legislature
- 議会によって制定された
- Provisional Legislative Council
- 暫定立法会
- contentious
- 物議をかもしている
- Legislative Council
- 立法評議会
- asserted
- 主張した
- guarantee
- 保障
- keeping Hong Kong's socioeconomic system intact
- 香港の社会経済システムを維持する
- observed
- 守られる
- emigrating
- 移住する
- crackdown
- 弾圧
- activists
- 活動家
- peaked
- ピークになった