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容海恩立法會議員及廖子聰區議員辦事處(沙田) 今天開幕
容海恩立法會議員及廖子聰區議員辦事處(沙田) 今天開幕
日期︰2024 年 3 月 24 日
新民黨副主席兼立法會議員容海恩女士及新民黨廖子聰區議員辦事處(沙田)今日(24日)正式開幕。開幕儀式請來一系列重要嘉賓主禮,包括行政會議召集人、立法會議員兼新民黨主席葉劉淑儀女士;民政及青年事務局局長麥美娟女士;立法會議員兼新民黨常務副主席黎棟國先生;中聯辦新界工作部副處長余劍文先生;沙田民政事務專員及沙田區議會主席余懷誠先生;新民黨副主席、公民力量主席及沙田區議員潘國山先生;立法會議員兼新民黨中委李梓敬先生;以及一眾地區領導及區議員等等。
廖子聰區議員在開幕儀式上致歡迎辭,感謝大家抽空出席辦事處開幕禮。他指辦事處將成為他和居民之間的重要溝通平台。在黨主席葉劉淑儀的領導下,他將繼續代表新民黨為居民提供服務,並協助地區治理領導委員會和地區治理專組,更準確地掌握地區脈搏。他感謝前來捧場的地區領袖、街坊好友和義工,並承諾將繼續肩負改善社區的重任,以實際行動為居民的幸福感和獲得感作出貢獻。
行政會議召集人、立法會會員暨新民黨主席葉劉淑儀女士在開幕禮上致詞。她對辦事處開幕表示祝賀:「計及今日開幕的美田辦事處,容海恩議員目前在新界有三個辦事處,同時也是廖子聰區議員的第一個辦事處。新民黨區議員的辦事處陸續投入服務,美田則是我們在沙田區第一個辦開幕禮的辦事處。新民黨在沙田共有十一位區議員,我非常感謝各位街坊一直以來的支持,我們在沙田有充足的力量,可以為居民提供最優質的服務。」
民政及青年事務局局長麥美娟女士表示,感謝大家支持特區政府的地區工作,並祝賀容海恩立法會議員和廖子聰區議員的辦事處開幕。她指本屆區議會設有履職監察制度和指引,期望市民給予更多支持和鼓勵,讓區議員更好地為居民服務,做到上情下達、下情上報,讓社區更加和諧。
新民黨副主席、公民力量主席兼沙田區議員潘國山先生表示,廖子聰先後在2015年和2019年代表新民黨和公民力量參選區議會,地區經驗豐富。而自從美田邨在2006年入伙以來,他們就開始在這裡服務,相信美田邨的街坊感受到新民黨和公民力量的服務。他相信在廖子聰和各位議員的共同努力下,整個社區會更加幸福。
新民黨區域發展主任唐學良先生多年來一直服務美田街坊,他感謝新民黨常務副主席黎棟國和副主席容海恩兩位立法會議員,在他於2019年區議會選舉失去議席後,義不容辭在美田開設聯合辦事處,讓他可繼續服務美田居民。今日,他衷心祝賀容海恩議員和廖子聰議員辦事處正式開幕。他堅信,容海恩議員和廖子聰議員將為社區帶來進步,引領社區邁向更美好的未來。他本人亦承諾會繼續服務美田。
立法會議員、新民黨副主席容海恩女士致謝辭時表示,相當高興能與廖子聰區議員一起開設辦事處。她感謝新民黨在主席葉劉淑儀女士的領導下,為地區提供強大的支持。「未來希望向特區政府提出更多意見,改善地區和民生,讓無論是住在美田邨、烏溪沙村或馬鞍山整個大沙田板塊的居民,都能享受到幸福美滿的生活。」她總結道。
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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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