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新民黨 黎棟國議員辦事處喬遷之喜 黎棟國議員:一定會和大家心連心、手攜手,為地區做實事!
新民黨 黎棟國議員辦事處喬遷之喜 黎棟國議員:一定會和大家心連心、手攜手,為地區做實事!
日期︰2023 年 5 月 7 日
新民黨常務副主席黎棟國立法會議員辦事處暨新民黨社區辦事處(大埔),今日(7日)舉辦喬遷典禮,邀得新民黨主席葉劉淑儀女士、保安局局長鄧炳強先生、署理房屋局局長戴尚誠先生、中聯辦新界工作部副部長謝益明先生及大埔民政事務專員陳巧敏女士擔任主禮嘉賓。典禮由新民黨大埔區社區發展主任劉文杰先生主持,並且感謝新民黨副主席容海恩立法會議員、副主席潘國山先生、李梓敬立法會議員,與及一眾地區翹楚、領導出席支持。辦事處設於新界大埔汀角路29-35號榮暉商場16號舖,今後將竭誠為大埔區居民服務。
新民黨主席葉劉淑儀女士致歡迎詞時,首先感謝各位嘉賓在惡劣天氣下仍蒞臨典禮,為新民黨增光。葉太說:「新民黨本身在同一商場內有辦事處,只是隔了幾個舖位,2019年黑暴時被暴徒破壞了,現在很高興能於同一商場開設新的辦事處。另外,很高興現在社會撥亂反正,特區政府推出完善地區治理改革方案,在新的區議會制度下,相信以後的區議員會做實事。的而且確,沒安全,便沒繁榮、沒發展。多謝鄧炳強局長的努力,我們現在有安定、安全的環境,讓我們可以開設新的社區辦事處。」
葉太續說:「這是我們常務副主席黎棟國的立法會議員辦事處,也是新民黨的社區辦事處,在這辦事處服務的社區發展主任劉文杰本身是大埔居民,十分熟悉大埔事務,黎棟國議員也是家住大埔、心繫大埔,我相信這辦事處能為本區居民好好服務。我在這裡多謝各位地區友好、街坊義工一直以來的支持,希望大家繼續支持新民黨的工作,多謝大家。」
保安局局長鄧炳強先生致勉詞時表示:「多謝新民黨的邀請,今日很開心來參加黎棟國議員辦事處的開幕,正如行政長官所說,所有開心的事都是『開心香港』的事。我之前有出席黎棟國議員的大坑辦事處開幕,今日是第二次了。現在我們要撥亂反正,要完善地區治理,希望新民黨有更多朋友在地區服務,讓市民的幸福感得以提升,多謝各位。」
署理房屋局局長戴尚誠先生致勉詞時說:「很高興能參加今天的典禮,大埔是一個很有凝聚力的社區,而新民黨在大埔工作了很久,也是大埔的動力,希望這個新辦事處能為大埔凝聚更多新動力。房屋與地區息息相關,由計劃至開工到落實,都需要大家的幫助,多點向社區講解。議員辦事處當然亦能在完善地區治理下,做好橋樑的角色,我在這裡祝賀黎棟國議員辦事處業務蒸蒸日上,未來有更多黨友到地區服務,和特區政府一起推動政策,造福市民。」
最後,由新民黨常務副主席黎棟國立法會議員致謝詞:「今天除了是星期日,還有『黃雨』、『紅雨』,不過,在『紅雨』高掛下,各位主禮嘉賓、來賓、義工和街坊仍然準時到場,證明風雨並無阻礙大家到來的熱誠,我實在衷心感謝大家!」
黎棟國議員續說:「剛才葉太說,黑暴時我們的辦事處遭破壞了,我認為不要緊,因為我們會重建!我們不怕黑暴!新民黨服務地區的心不會改變!即使黑暴及新冠疫情肆虐,新民黨在地區仍然屹立不倒,我們不怕病毒;疫情期間,社區發展主任劉文杰每日四處派送防疫包,送物資給居民,因為新民黨的理念,就是要為街坊服務!所以我們不畏困難,不怕辛苦,一定會和大家心連心、手攜手,為地區做實事!」
「雖然我是選委會界別的立法會議員,但是在完善選舉制度下,我一樣會落區,一樣會開設辦事處,目前我開設了三個辦事處,未來希望能開設更多辦事處,因此希望各位地區翹楚、領袖,多多支持,我一定會在今日的基礎上,繼續努力,更好地為市民服務!」黎棟國議員總結道。
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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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