美国国家公共电台 NPR--25 years ago, Britain handed Hong Kong back to China

25 years ago, Britain handed Hong Kong back to China

Transcript¹

At the time, the city was promised "a high degree of autonomy" for 50 years. Half way into the promise, where do things stand?

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Twenty-five years ago, Britain handed Hong Kong back to China. And today, Chinese leader Xi Jinping was in the territory to mark the occasion. When it was handed back, the city was promised a high degree of autonomy for 50 years. Well, we're officially halfway² there, and that autonomy is very much in question. To help us understand where things stand, we're joined by NPR's China affairs correspondent John Ruwitch. John, walk us through why Xi Jinping was there. And what did he have to say?

JOHN RUWITCH, BYLINE³: Yes, Xi Jinping was there to attend a joint⁴ event. It was a commemoration of the anniversary, the 25th anniversary, and the swearing in of Hong Kong's new chief executive, John Lee. Xi's appearance there was significant for a couple of reasons. First of all, he had not been outside of mainland China for the entire pandemic until this trip. So he obviously felt that this, you know, highly symbolic⁵ event was important. He was in Hong Kong five years ago for the 20th anniversary of the handover.

And the city in those five years has seen a ton of change and been through a lot. In 2019, there were huge marches and often violent protests against the government. In 2020, Beijing imposed a national security law in Hong Kong and changed the political landscape. COVID-19 has hammered the economy. Today, in his speech, Xi Jinping really seemed to drive home one point, and that was that Hong Kong's political development was - is basically going to be on Beijing's terms. Here's a clip from his speech through a translator.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)

PRESIDENT XI JINPING: (Through interpreter) People have learned the hard way that Hong Kong must not be destabilized and cannot afford to see chaos⁶. There is extensive consensus⁷ that no time should be lost in Hong Kong's development and that all interference should be removed.

RUWITCH: Yes, Xi said that everyone in Hong Kong needs to understand and support the fact that the Communist Party runs China, that Beijing ultimately has jurisdiction⁸ over the territory, even though it has autonomy to a certain extent, and that only, quote, unquote, "patriots⁹" can administer Hong Kong.

MART?NEZ: And you said there was a symbolic significance here. Remind us, why is this day so important to China?

RUWITCH: Yeah, this day is important, you know, because, you know, Hong Kong's return to China in 1997 was this gigantic milestone¹⁰ that put an end to what China calls the century of humiliation¹¹ at the hands of foreign powers and in the words of the party, you know, standing¹² up as a nation, really. Hong Kong's also been a critical piece in helping¹³ the country become wealthier and stronger over the past 25 years. It's played an outsized role as a portal for trade and for financial transactions between China and the rest of the world.

MART?NEZ: And a lot has changed, though - right? - in 25 years.

RUWITCH: Yeah, for sure. I mean, so 25 years ago, I was actually there for the handover. And I went to the border to witness Chinese troops coming across in armored personnel carriers and trucks for the first time. There was a lot of concern around this because, remember, it was less than a decade before then that Chinese troops crushed pro-democracy protests, you know, in and around Tiananmen Square in Beijing. And that concern - there was sort of a bigger related question underpinning¹⁴ it, which is whether or not China would live up to its promises to preserve Hong Kong's way of life.

I was there a few weeks ago in Hong Kong. It feels very different in some respects. It feels the same in some, different in others. People are wary¹⁵ about talking about politics at newspaper stands. You know, there are newspapers you just can't get anymore because they've folded. Pro-democracy politicians used to be accessible and happy to talk. Many of them are now in jail, though, and others are afraid to meet.

MART?NEZ: So it sounds like China hasn't lived up to its promises.

RUWITCH: Good question. There's no doubt that individual freedoms have been curtailed¹⁶ in Hong Kong over the past couple years. You know, Xi Jinping says, though, that he - you know, that promised high degree of autonomy is still there and that, in his words, has been implemented¹⁷ properly, that the one country, two systems model for Hong Kong has been great. You know, but critics say the pillars of what made Hong Kong different from other Chinese cities are being dismantled¹⁸ piece by piece, things like freedom of speech and an independent judiciary.

MART?NEZ: How do people in Hong Kong overall feel about these changes?

RUWITCH: It's a very divided city right now. You know, many businesses and others welcome some stability after the past few years. But there are a lot of people who are quietly unhappy with the changes. They're mostly reluctant to talk about it openly or on the record. And that's going to be a big challenge for the new chief executive, John Lee. He has strong backing from Beijing, but trust in the Hong Kong government is very low. The divisions in society are becoming entrenched¹⁹. So rebuilding that trust with the Hong Kong people is a big task for him, and it's not going to be easy.

MART?NEZ: That's NPR's John Ruwitch. Thanks a lot.

RUWITCH: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

6 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

7 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

8 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

9 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

10 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

11 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

12 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

13 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

14 underpinning   

n.基础材料；基础结构；（学说、理论等的）基础；（人的）腿v.用砖石结构等从下面支撑（墙等）( underpin的现在分词 )；加固（墙等）的基础；为（论据、主张等）打下基础；加强

参考例句：

• Underpinning this success has been an exemplary record of innovation. 具有典范性的创新确保了这次成功。 来自辞典例句
• But underpinning Mr Armstrong's technology changes is a human touch. 但阿姆斯特朗技术变革的支柱是人情味。 来自互联网

15 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

16 curtailed   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Spending on books has been severely curtailed. 购书开支已被大大削减。
• Their public health programme had to be severely curtailed. 他们的公共卫生计划不得不大大收缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

18 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。

19 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。