新民黨 十二周年黨慶 說好香港故事
日期︰2023 年 8 月 5 日
今年是香港回歸廿六周年,也是新民黨成立第十二周年。今天(5日)新民黨假香港會議展覽中心舉行十二周年黨慶典禮,邀請行政長官李家超先生、中聯辦副主任何靖先生、外交部駐港特派員公署署理特派員潘雲東先生、國安公署局長鄧建偉先生、政務司司長陳國基先生、財政司司長陳茂波先生、各副司長、多名政策局局長、行政會議成員、立法會議員、政府高級政務官員、區議員、公營機構高級管理人員、工商及多個專業界別翹楚、社團及地區組織領袖與代表,場內設近七十圍接待賓客,全場近九百人出席參與慶祝典禮,盛況空前。
典禮於下午四時三十分開始,奏唱國歌後,先由行政會議召集人、立法會議員暨新民黨主席葉劉淑儀女士致歡迎辭(附件一為致辭全文),她稱香港正處世界百年未有之大變局,在行政長官領導下,香港在經濟、房屋供應等多方面發展取得良好進展,邁向由治及興新階段,回顧了新民黨的工作,包括向世界說好香港故事、服務地區及培養人才等,希望市民繼續支持新民黨的工作。
然後是立法會議員暨新民黨副主席容海恩女士致謝辭(附件二為致辭全文),她感謝各界支持,讓新民黨在議會及地區工作順利進行,也寄望年底的區議會選舉,新民黨有年輕黨友能參與其中。
十二周年黨務興隆 社會和諧進步
葉太與容副主席致辭後,邀請行政長官李家超先生、何靖副主任、潘雲東署理特派員、鄧建偉局長、政務司司長陳國基先生、財政司司長陳茂波先生、立法會主席梁君彥先生,與新民黨副主席潘國山先生、陳家珮議員、李梓敬議員、何敬康議員,與各中央委員,在台上進行切蛋糕與祝酒儀式,祝賀新民黨黨務興隆,更上一層樓!也祝願香港再創高峰!
拍短片致賀 展現活力與祝福
台上儀式完成後,場內播放新民黨精心製作的慶祝短片,率先播出的短片,是新民黨積極「說好香港故事」,新民黨多位成員,在黨主席葉太帶領下,向西方媒體發聲,例如在不同外國媒體投稿、接受訪問,講出香港的真實情況,未來新民黨各成員將繼續堅定不屈,向世界說好香港故事。
新民黨立法會議員何敬康,除了積極向外界「說好香港故事」,他也喜歡歌唱。今天他即席獻唱一首《無限之城》,憑歌詞寄意,表達香港掌握新動向,無限新氣象,懷著理想,向未來翱翔的希望!他的歌聲獲全場熱烈掌聲支持!
兩位政助任嘉賓司儀 帶動全場氣氛
新民黨培育不少政治人才,其中兩位黨友——勞福局政治助理傅曉琳女士與創新科技及工業局局長政治助理廖添誠先生,今天特別擔任嘉賓司儀,介紹新民黨邀請民政及青年事務局局長麥美娟女士、陳家珮議員與多位社區發展主任一起拍攝短片,透過遊戲介紹特區政府完善地區治理與青年發展的工作。
副主席容海恩議員則與律政司副司長張國鈞先生拍攝短片,與年輕黨員一同進行「特別任務」,讓各位投入「飛躍灣區之旅」,認識大灣區的專業資格互認,共同融入大灣區建設。
新民黨非常感謝地區義工一直支持,默默付出,新民黨今天特別表揚傑出義工,李梓敬議員在台上與獲嘉許的傑出義工大合照,向他們表達謝意。
新民黨感謝各界人士的出席與支持,希望未來會延續服務香港的精神,也祝願香港更快融入國家發展大局,經濟社會等繼續平穩發展。至於今天的黨慶典禮活動至近下午五時三十分圓滿結束,全場氣氛熱烈歡樂。
葉劉淑儀12周年黨慶致辭
容海恩12 周年黨慶致辭
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Like it or not, Chinese ‘boys’ love’ fiction is popular in the West
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The op-ed, “How to tell China’s story” (July 14), misses an important genre which has gained growing popularity in the West and is far more telling of life in contemporary China than decades-old titles like Life and Death in Shanghai or Wild Swans.
I am referring to the internet fiction genre of danmei. Danmeiis a term which originated in Japan. This new genre has given rise to many phenomenally successful internet novels that have been turned into wildly popular Chinese television drama series and spawned English translations. An outstanding example is Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi, which was turned into a Chinese drama series, The Untamed, in 2019, translated into English and made available on Amazon. The Untamed catapulted two young actors, Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo, to superstardom in China. Another highly successful publication is The Husky and His White Cat Shizun, the English version of which was on The New York Times’ bestselling list. The English version has such a wide following in the West that paperback editions are available.
Danmei novels celebrate “boys’ love” which is frowned on by the authorities. Immortality, a big-budget Chinese drama series produced by Tencent and based on The Husky, has been put on hold. But the genre continues to have a cult following in China and overseas, inspiring fan art, fan fiction and merchandise.
A lot of boys’ love internet novels were written by women for women. Why are they so popular with women in China? Their popularity reflects the frustration of contemporary Chinese women caught between the traditional, pragmatic, family-first concept of marriage and their yearnings for romance and true love as glorified in danmei fiction. Such fiction has become their channel for fantasy and escapism. Surprisingly the novels have also struck a chord with Western audiences.
While drama series based on such fiction have been banned, animated versions of some popular titles continue to be produced. The resilience of this genre, decried by the authorities as a lowbrow deviation from the officially sponsored “main melody” productions, reflects a subtle, ongoing tussle between the authorities and creative artists. Most of the time the authorities win, but the bans have not stopped private enterprise and creative genius from finding room for this genre to flourish. Call it the “one eye open, one eye shut” attitude of the authorities?
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盛事貴精不貴多 / Quality is more important than quantity for mega-events
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特區政府自去年開始推動盛事經濟,希望透過舉辦及支持國際級大型盛事(mega events),吸引高增值旅客訪港,加強本港旅遊業的競爭力,提振經濟。
根據政府提供的盛事年表,香港在2024 年全年將舉辦多達數百項大型盛事,數量之龐大,不禁讓人臆想,這些活動真的能稱得上是「盛事」嗎?
現時,對國際級大型盛事較主流的定義源自蘇黎世大學在2015 年一篇論文中提出的標準。作者認為一項盛事活動的訪客人數(visitor attractiveness)、轉播收益(mediated reach)、活動成本(cost)及對城市基建規劃的影響(urban transformation)都要達到一定規模才能定義為國際級大型盛事。
按照上述定義,如Taylor Swift 及其他國際級巨星舉辦的巡迴演唱會,或像 LIV Golf 巡迴賽和國家七人欖球賽等大型體育賽事都屬於國際級大型盛事。但規模如此龐大的活動,涉及海量的前期籌備工作,對場地亦有一定要求,每年能舉辦一至兩場已是不易。
反觀盛事年表所羅列的活動,不少活動或規模太小,或目標客群太窄,有些只是行業展覽,難以吸引境外旅客訪港,實在不能稱之為盛事。更令人嘆息的是,特區政府為不少「盛事」提供了資助,但這些活動本身的吸金能力相當有限,非但不能振興消費市道,反而導致公帑打了水漂。
以今年2 月舉辦的「Chubby Hearts Hong Kong」為例,政府慷慨地資助主辦方780 萬港元,但對活動的討論始終只停留在本地的媒體間,並未引起境外媒體關注,遑論吸引旅客訪港。
雖然政府推動盛事經濟的政策初衷良好,但這些所謂盛事屢次甩碌出醜,加上現時財政緊絀,政府應重新檢視成效。長遠而言,我認為政府應放棄「廣撒網、多斂魚」的思維,集中資助有真正吸金能力的盛事,避免再次「倒錢落海」。
Quality is more important than quantity for mega-eventsSince last year, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has been promoting the mega-events economy, hoping to attract high-yielding visitors to Hong Kong through hosting and supporting international mega-events, strengthen the competitiveness of the local tourism industry, and boost the economy.
According to the event calendar provided by the government, Hong Kong will host over hundreds of major events throughout 2024. The massive scale prompts wonder - can these activities truly be called "mega-events"?
Currently, the more mainstream definition of international mega-events comes from criteria proposed in a 2015 paper by University of Zurich. It argued that the visitor attractiveness, mediated reach, cost and impact on urban planning of an event need to reach a certain scale to be defined as an international mega-event.
According to these definitions, concerts by Taylor Swift and other international megastars, or large-scale sporting events like the LIV Golf Tour and National Seven-a-Side Rugby would constitute international mega-events. However, events of such scale involve tremendous preparation work and have certain venue requirements - it would already be difficult to host one to two annually.
In contrast, many events listed in the calendar have either too small a scale, narrow target audience or are simply trade exhibitions, failing to attract foreign visitors to Hong Kong and not qualifying as mega-events. More regrettably, the SAR government has subsidized numerous "mega-events" but their ability to generate revenue is limited, instead of stimulating consumption they divert public funds.
Taking "Chubby Hearts Hong Kong" in February as an example, the government generously funded the organizer $7.8 million HKD but discussion around the event was confined locally, without catching foreign media attention much less attracting tourists.
While the mega-events economic policy intent is sound, these so-called events have repeatedly underdelivered. With fiscal austerity, the government should re-evaluate effectiveness. In the long run, relying less on a scattergun approach and concentrating resources on events with genuine revenue-generating ability could prevent further waste of public money.
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英國制度缺點的完美體現 / The Perfect Embodiment of the Flaws in the British System
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前文提到,工黨議員韋雅蘭(Angela Rayner)憑高中輟學學歷成為新一任英國副首相,引來外界的關注。回顧歷史,英國歷屆政府只有8 位首相未獲得大學學位,而韋雅蘭更是唯一一位學歷為高中輟學的副首相。
有支持者認為,韋雅蘭能透過選舉一躍成為英國政府的二把手,既體現了民主制度中「主權在民」(popular sovereignty)的核心理念,亦證明了即使階級制度森嚴如英國,基層人民仍可憑藉自己的才能實現向上流動,反映出英式民主制度的優越性。但我認為韋雅蘭的任命非但未能體現英國政制的優點,反而進一步揭示了其制度的缺陷。
英國選舉採用單議席單票制,每個選區只有一個議席並以多數制決定勝負。在多黨競爭的情况下,很容易出現候選人在未獲得多數票的情况下當選。加上英國是按註冊選民數量,而非實際人口數量去劃分選區,導致選舉結果更容易向兩大黨傾斜。在這種扭曲選制下誕生的議員是否真的具有民意授權,是個值得商榷的問題。其次,英國內閣大臣的任命除考慮議員自身能力外,亦取決於其在政黨內的站隊,投機成分相當大。
韋雅蘭之所以能在2015 年首次進入下議院後,在翌年就迅速獲任命為影子內閣大臣,主要得益於她在2016 年工黨內訌時堅定站隊時任黨魁郝爾彬。實際上,英國政界都對韋雅蘭的晉升速度之快感到驚奇。當她在2023 年9 月影子內閣重組時獲委任為影子副首相一事,就引起了外界的激烈討論。
不過,副首相本身僅是一個非常設職務,任命與否全憑首相意願。由於沒有法定權力,副首相的實質權力及職能往往會視乎擔任者而有所差異,其主要職務更多時候是代替首相前往下議院接受議員質詢,屬於無所任大臣(minister without portfolio)的一種。我相信韋雅蘭是由於缺乏足夠的專業知識去處理其他部門的工作,才獲委任為副首相。
當一國的副首相是由一位才幹未受考驗,又無足夠民意授權的議會新兵擔任,又如何能顯示出英國的制度優勢?
The Perfect Embodiment of the Flaws in the British System
As mentioned earlier, Labour Party member Angela Rayner became the new UK Deputy Prime Minister with only a secondary education background, drawing public attention. Looking back in history, only 8 out of the UK's prime ministers did not have a university degree, while Rayner is the only deputy prime minister with an educational background of dropping out of high school.
Some supporters believe that Rayner's ability to rise through elections to become the UK government's second-in-command embodies the core idea of "popular sovereignty" in a democratic system, and proves that even in a strictly class-based system like the UK, grassroots people can still achieve upward mobility through their own abilities, reflecting the superiority of the British democratic system. However, I believe Rayner's appointment does not demonstrate the advantages of the UK political system, but further reveals its flaws.
The UK uses the single-seat single-vote constituency system for elections, with each constituency having only one seat decided by plurality voting. In a multi-party competition environment, candidates can easily win without obtaining a majority of votes. Coupled with the UK delineating constituencies based on registered voter numbers rather than actual population, the election results are more likely to tilt towards the two major parties. Whether MPs elected under such a distorted electoral system truly have a mandate from the people is debatable.
Furthermore, the appointment of UK cabinet ministers depends not only on the individual's capabilities but also on their positioning within the political party, with a high degree of opportunism.
The main reason Rayner was able to be appointed as a shadow cabinet minister in 2016, just a year after first entering the House of Commons in 2015, was because of her staunch support of then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn during the Labour infighting in 2016. Actually, the speed of Rayner's rise surprised many in UK politics.
When she was appointed as Shadow Deputy Prime Minister in September 2023 during a reshuffle of the Shadow Cabinet, it sparked intense public discussion.
However, the role of Deputy Prime Minister itself is a non-permanent position determined by the Prime Minister's discretion. Due to its lack of statutory powers, the actual authority and functions of the Deputy Prime Minister can vary depending on the individual, with the main duties often being to replace the Prime Minister in responding to questions from MPs in the House of Commons - equivalent to a minister without portfolio. I believe Rayner was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister because she lacked sufficient professional knowledge to handle work in other departments.
How can the appointment of a deputy prime minister of a country who is an inexperienced new MP without sufficient democratic mandate demonstrate the advantages of the UK system?
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