經濟不平等加劇香港政治分歧

Hong Kong’s protest movement – now more than three weeks old – has largely focused on definitions of universal suffrage and various methods for electing political leaders.

如今，香港抗議活動已持續超過三週。在很大程度上，這次抗議活動爭論的焦點集中於普選的定義以及選舉政治領袖的不同方法上。

However, many of those taking part also feel economically disenfranchised by a system they blame for leaving a generation locked out of the housing market and making an already troubling income divide even worse.

然而，許多參加抗議活動的人同樣感覺到，現行體制也讓他們在經濟上被剝奪了應有的權利。他們認爲，在現行體制下，一代香港人因買不起房子而被排除於香港樓市之外。而且，這個體制還讓香港原本就問題重重的收入差距問題變得更爲嚴重。

On Monday CY Leung, Hong Kong chief executive, appeared to confirm protesters’ fears when he warned in an interview with the FT and other foreign media that a fully open voting system would lead to populism by shifting power towards low-earners.

週一，香港特首樑振英似乎是確認了抗議者內心的這種擔憂。當時他在接受英國《金融時報》及其他外媒採訪時警告說，完全開放的選舉體制會導致權力向低收入階層傾斜，從而導致民粹主義。

While Hong Kong’s establishment has stressed the importance of protecting the interests of the business community, many in the street believe political change is needed to fix economic imbalances.

儘管香港當權者曾強調過保護商界人士的利益，許多走上街頭的抗議者還是相信，必須通過政治改革，改變經濟上的不平等。

“We need to think if Hong Kong should stay an international financial centre and a paradise for global capitalism,” said Rebecca Lai, a 47-year-old NGO worker at a protest site in Mongkok district. “We need to think if this is still good for the citizens.”

在旺角一處抗議地點，一名47歲的非政府組織(NGO)員工Rebecca Lai表示：“我們必須考慮一下，香港是否還要做國際金融中心，是否還要做全球資本的天堂。我們必須考慮一下這麼做對香港市民有沒有好處。”

Hong Kong’s low-tax, laisser-faire style of government has created one of the world’s most successful economies. The territory’s per capita GDP has soared from below $7,000 two decades ago to about $38,000 now.

香港擁有一個秉持低稅收和自由放任政策的政府，這令香港成爲全球最成功的經濟體之一。過去20年間，香港人均國內生產總值(GDP)從20年前的不到7000美元激增至如今的大約3.8萬美元。

In the annual “Ease of Doing Business” report compiled by the World Bank, Hong Kong ranks second again this year, recognition for a city that has fostered a number of globally successful business empires.

在世界銀行(WB)編制的年度《營商環境報告》(Ease of Doing Business)中，香港今年再次排到了第二，這是對一個孵化了多家成功的全球性商業帝國的城市的認可。

However, that economic dynamism has come at a price. A fifth of Hong Kong’s 7m people live in poverty, according to the charity Feeding Hong Kong, while the income gap is the widest in the developed world.

然而，這種經濟活力也是有代價的。根據慈善組織樂餉社(Feeding Hong Kong)的數據，香港700萬居民中有五分之一生活在貧困之中，香港收入差距是發達經濟體中最大的。

Loose monetary policy across the globe in the wake of the financial crisis has contributed to worsening inequality in many places, as asset prices have risen while wages have stagnated.

金融危機之後，全球推行的寬鬆貨幣政策也加劇了許多地區的不平等，原因是在薪水增長陷入停滯之際，資產價格卻出現了上漲。

But Hong Kong’s experience has been among the most extreme, owing to its unique position of importing interest rates from the US through its currency peg, while benefiting from rapid Chinese growth across the border. The richest 10 per cent of the Hong Kong population now controls 77.5 per cent of the wealth, according to Credit Suisse research, up from 69.3 per cent in 2007.

香港擁有一種獨一無二的經濟地位，這種地位一方面源自港幣與美元掛鉤而從美國輸入的低利率，另一方面則源自中國的高速增長。這種經濟地位令寬鬆貨幣政策的影響在香港達到極點。如今，根據瑞士信貸(Credit Suisse)的研究，香港人口中10%的最富有人羣控制着77.5%的財富，高於2007年的69.3%。

House prices have soared, making them the most expensive in the world. Average prices are now 14.9 times median household income, according to consultancy Demographia, compared with 4.7 times in London and 9.2 times in San Francisco. Inflation has also remained high as costly retail space and a tourist wave from China has fed into the pricing of everyday goods.

同時，香港房價也激增到全球最貴的水平。根據諮詢公司Demographia的數據，如今香港平均房價是香港居民收入中位數的14.9倍，倫敦這一比例只有4.7倍，而舊金山這一比例則是9.2倍。此外，由於零售賣場成本提高以及中國內地遊客涌入推高了日常商品的價格，香港的通脹率也居高不下。

“Look at this street – it’s all jewellery shops and medicine shops,” said Catherine, a 30-year-old protester in the Causeway Bay shopping district, who declined to give her surname. “All the small restaurants have gone. We cannot eat gold.”

銅鑼灣購物區30歲的抗議者Catherine表示：“看看這條街，街上全是珠寶店和藥店，所有小餐館都不見了。我們總不能吃黃金吧。”這位抗議者拒絕告訴記者她的全名。

The leaders of the protest movement have also highlighted their concerns about inequality, the lack of opportunities for young people, and the power of the wealthy.

抗議活動的領導人也在強調社會不公、年輕人缺乏機遇、以及富人影響力過大帶來的擔憂。

“We are not slaves to anybody. We are not slaves to Li Ka-shing,” said student leader Lester Shum to the crowd demonstrating outside government headquarters last week. The reference to Mr Li, a property tycoon and Asia’s richest man, was met with loud cheers and rapturous applause.

就在上週，學生領袖岑敖暉(Lester Shum)曾向港府總部外示威的人羣表示：“我們不是任何人的奴隸。我們不是李嘉誠(Li Ka-shing)的奴隸。”李嘉誠是香港地產大亨，亞洲最富有的人。當時，岑敖暉對李嘉誠的引用招來了聽衆大聲喝彩和熱烈的掌聲。

Mr Leung acknowledges the severity of the problems facing many of Hong Kong’s young and underprivileged, describing housing in particular as a “major concern”.

樑振英承認香港許多年輕人和貧困人士面臨的問題十分嚴重，他特別指出住房問題是個“主要問題”。

“Social mobility, for a combination of reasons, is not as good as what we – my generation – enjoyed 30-something years ago, and we need to address that,” he said on Monday. “We need to do more.”

他在週一表示：“出於一系列原因，香港的社會流動性不如30多年前我們那代人的時候，我們必須解決這個問題。我們必須採取更多措施。”

Many protesters see an overhaul of the electoral system as the only answer. They want to take political power away from the 1,200-member committee that picked Mr Leung, and is set to vet the candidates for the 2017 election under current reform plans.

許多抗議者將選舉制度的徹底改革視爲解決問題的唯一答案。他們想要的，是剝奪香港特首選舉委員會的政治權力。正是這個擁有1200名成員的選舉委員會選出了樑振英，根據現有改革方案，該委員會還將在2017年審查香港特首的候選人。

In contrast, Mr Leung’s answer is to target faster economic growth. “An economy that grows at a high rate should provide the social mobility that young people deserve,” he said.

與此相反，樑振英對這個問題的答案則是以加快經濟增長爲目標。他說：“高速增長的經濟會提供年輕人所需的社會流動性。”

However, many people on the streets complain that only a handful of super-rich tycoons, many of them property developers, have felt the benefits of previous booms, especially in the years since Hong Kong rejoined China.

然而，許多香港街頭抗議者卻抱怨說，從此前的經濟繁榮（尤其是香港迴歸中國後的那幾年）中受益的只有少數幾個超級富豪——他們中許多人都是地產商。

“The Hong Kong economy has been flying since 1997. It has skyrocketed. But a lot of people don’t enjoy the success,” says Eric Yeung, a 26-year old protester, who works in a hospital. “We are earning our money to feed this small group of people. They get richer, while we get more underprivileged. Our burden has become heavier.”

在醫院工作的26歲抗議者Eric Yeung表示：“1997年後，香港經濟一直在飛速發展。在經濟飛速發展的同時，許多人卻未能分享到這種成功。我們賺了錢，卻養活了少數人。他們變得更加富有，我們卻變得更加貧窮。我們的負擔也比以前更重了。”