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sun 發表於 2017-7-2 01:30

香港,曾經的模範城市變成一個警世故事

[font=Arial, &quot][size=13px]香港,曾經的模範城市變成一個警世故事KEITH BRADSHER [size=10px]2017年6月30日[/size][/size][/font]
[font=Arial, &quot][size=13px][url=https://cn.nytimes.com/slideshow/20170630/c30hongkong-ss/zh-hant/][img]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/29/world/asia/HongKongTwenty-slide-IY00/HongKongTwenty-slide-IY00-articleLarge.jpg[/img]
[size=18px]東方之珠,你還好嗎?[/size]

[/url][size=12px]在香港主權移交20年之際,圍繞著其政治未來的鬥爭讓它的命運陷入混亂與未知。這個中國政府心目中曾經的典範之城,也成為了一個警世故事。[/size]
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[font=Arial, &quot]香港——20年前[url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/hongkong/index.html?inline=nyt-geo]香港[/url]回歸中國時,外界認為[url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/china/index.html?inline=nyt-geo]中國[/url]也許會以它為榜樣,有一天變成它的樣子:繁榮、現代、國際化、享有法治的廣泛保護。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]有人擔心,這樣一個地方如何能在實行威權主義的中國生存。但即便在北京開始侵犯這個前英國殖民地的自由後,它亞洲管理最佳城市之一的名聲仍得以保持。列車準點行駛。犯罪率和稅率處於低位。天際線上總有更高的建築出現,令人驚嘆。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]這些依然是事實。但在週六的政權移交20週年紀念日到來之際,認為香港是一個特別的地方——東西方交匯的一個充滿活力的十字路口,中國可能想要效仿它——的想法正在迅速消失。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]北京支持的香港領導層和親民主的反對派之間沒完沒了的爭吵,嚴重影響了政府制定艱難決策和完成重要建設項目的能力。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]夾在對立的治理模式——北京發出的號令和本地民眾的訴求——之間,當局放任問題惡化,包括經濟適用房屋危機、問題叢生的教育制度和一條延遲的高鐵線路。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]很多人說,圍繞香港的政治未來展開的鬥爭讓它陷入了癱瘓,也許還會使它註定衰落。因此,香港越來越不被當作中國未來的樣板,而是作為一個警世故事——對北京及其盟友而言,是提醒它們注意民主的危害;而對反對派來說,則是警惕威權主義的危害。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]「徒勞的感覺越來越強烈,」曾在香港回歸前後擔任港府二號人物的陳方安生(Anson Chan)說。她將香港的問題歸咎於北京的干涉。「我們的門口站著一個龐大的巨人,」她說,「不管這個巨人做什麼,世界其他地方似乎都不太會去質疑。」[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]也有人歸咎於更廣泛的因素。他們把矛頭指向反對派的不願妥協和一些削弱政黨的政策,比如多議席選區制讓一些激進候選人只需少數票就可以獲勝。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]「這種政治氣氛會破壞許多原本可能會出現的創舉,」香港特別行政區行政會議成員胡紅玉(Anna Wu)說。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]計劃多年的高速鐵路香港站到現在還沒完工,而中國其他城市的高鐵已經開通多年。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]香港是僅次於紐約和倫敦的全球金融中心,但它卻沒有一個世界級的博物館。在拖延了15年之後,一個有意與林肯中心(Lincoln Center)分庭抗禮的文化區終於開工,但接下來,立法會的撥款也有可能受阻。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]人們普遍不滿於學校熱衷考試,致香港學生在與大陸學生的競爭中處於劣勢,但不滿並沒有轉化為教育改革。飛速上漲的租金和房價引起的憤怒情緒一觸即發,但港府至今不知如何應對。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]香港曾以速度和效率著稱,每隔幾年就建造一批巨大的規劃社區,裡面提供大量的公共住房。但是自英國在1997年7月1日將香港的管轄權交還給中國後,香港再也沒能再做到這一點。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]從許多方面講,香港依然是一顆明珠,一個讓人很難不喜歡的地方,也是讓這裡的740萬居民難以離開的地方。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]如狹長絲帶一般的濱海摩天大樓背後就是被樹林覆蓋的山坡,這些地方被當作郊野公園保護起來。從景色壯觀的維多利亞港和金融區沿著山坡走10分鐘,就可以看到令人驚嘆的南海海景。沿著湖泊和瀑布蜿蜒延伸的森林小徑上,鋼筋和水泥漸漸消失。所有這些景色距離香港巨大而高效的機場都不太遠,而機場只是香港著名的交通網路的一部分,此外還包括地鐵、巴士、有軌電車和渡船。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]但這座機場是在香港回歸之前由英國人建造的。那些真的讓這座城市與眾不同的地方也是如此:獨立的法院、廣受尊敬的行政部門,以及自由的媒體。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]在「一國兩制」的制度下,這些狀況得以保持。當英國將香港歸還給中國之時,這項制度承諾給予香港高度自治權。然而,隨著共產黨越來越多地干預香港事務,恐嚇[url=http://cn.nytimes.com/china/20160617/hong-kong-bookseller-lam-wing-kee/]甚至綁架[/url]被認定在挑戰其利益的人,這項制度已經被削弱。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]2014年末爆發的[url=http://d3pr0rdx2u247r.cloudfront.net/china/20141216/c16hongkong/]要求自由選舉權[/url]的雨傘運動已經成為遙遠的記憶——當時活動人士控制市中心多條街道長達11周。但隨著香港民主發展進程陷入停滯,針對中國大陸的怨憤情緒在香港蔓延開來。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]今年春天,林鄭月娥(Carrie Lam)被一個由大約1200名成員組成的委員會[url=https://cn.nytimes.com/china/20170327/hong-kong-election-carrie-lam-chief-executive/]選為[/url]香港新任特首,這些委員大多是[url=https://cn.nytimes.com/china/20170324/hong-kong-chief-executive-ce-election-carrie-lam-john-tsang/]聽從北京指令[/url]的盟友。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]在她之前的幾任特首繞開了一些棘手的問題,小心翼翼地既不想惹到中國領導層,也不想激怒香港民眾。批評人士表示,與此同時,有限的公眾問責使香港官員中出現大量不稱職乃至貪腐的行為。前一屆政府的一、二號人物都因此[url=https://cn.nytimes.com/china/20170223/donald-tsang-sentence-hong-kong/]遭到[/url][url=https://cn.nytimes.com/china/20141224/c24hongkong/]腐敗指控而受審[/url]。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]香港立法會議員大多為北京的盟友,因為這70個席位中有一半是由大多忠於大陸政府的利益集團選出的。不過另一半是選舉出來的,想要實現更多民主的議員,贏得了這些席位中的絕大多數。結果就形成了現在的僵局。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]在支持民主的陣營,也有一種[url=https://cn.nytimes.com/china/20160906/hong-kong-election-china-basic-law/]代際轉換[/url]在發生。選民們替換掉年齡較大、較務實的政客,代之以更年輕的候選人,後者更強硬地反對共產黨當局,願意進行全面的抵抗。去年末,北京曾介入香港事務,[url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/world/asia/china-hong-kong-sixtus-leung-yau-wai-ching-oath.html]阻止兩名支持港獨的政治人士取得立法會席位[/url],此前兩人修改了自己就職宣誓詞,以示對中國統治的抗議。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]依據立法會的規章,任何三名議員都可以通過拉布拖延行議程數月。在過去兩年裡,親民主陣營中的各種團體曾多次使用這種戰術,由此導致議案積壓,甚至連一些沒有爭議的項目也遭到延誤,比如港口清理計劃。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]雙方都認為,如果不做出某種政治上的改變,香港將變得難以治理。但他們無法就改變什麼達成一致。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]民主人士想要一張明確的實現普選權路線圖——北京曾在2007年承諾「可以」在2017年實行普選,即開始直接選舉香港特別行政行政長官。他們表示,只有政府對民眾負責,它才能獲得授權,解決這個城市面臨的各種挑戰。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]但支持北京的人士表示,現在的問題是民主太多了,而不是太少。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]即將卸任的香港特別行政區政府中央政策組首席顧問邵善波(Shiu Sin-por)表示,親北京的議員必須摒棄傳統,對拉布採取強硬手段。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]他還想取消許多高層官員享有的公務員保護,改為與之簽署可續期的短期合同——這會讓他們更好地對北京負責。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]「裡面有許多遊手好閒的人,他們會一直拖到退休,」他說。「選舉會改變這種狀況嗎?不會。」[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]作為與北京政府關係密切的資深權力中間人,邵善波警告,如果香港繼續保持這種政治僵局,將會跌出世界最偉大城市的行列,最終淪為摩納哥那樣的城市,即富人避稅的天堂,除了金融服務和零售之外幾乎沒什麼產業。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]即將在週六宣誓就職的林鄭月娥在接受採訪時承認,不進行政治改革就更難解決住房、教育和基礎設施等問題,這種說法「有一定的道理」。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]但她也表示:「如果明天就開始普選,所有這些問題都會消失嗎?我覺得不會。」[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]從許多方面講,香港作為一座城市的境遇要比它的居民強。自回歸以來,有超過100萬大陸人移居到這裡,為香港的經濟發展貢獻了他們的活力與才能。但新來者的成功,有時是以犧牲在本地生活了更久的人為代價的。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]現在,大的跨國公司和銀行在積極招募大陸人,而非本地居民——後者說的是粵語,不是大陸使用的普通話,而且他們往往缺少在大陸贏得交易和發展壯大所需的關係。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]語言問題對香港教育制度構成了挑戰,這裡試圖教授三種語言——英語、普通話和粵語。這樣一來就會有許多畢業生在英語和普通話上不及來自大陸頂尖學府的學生。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]然而,解決這個問題的努力卻受困於香港難以駕馭的政治,因為有人疑心北京想破壞香港本地的身份認同,或限制西方對這裡的影響。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]與此同時,政府也拒絕接受緩解高壓考試文化的提議,這種文化是引發大量公眾不滿的一個源頭。相反,政府試圖將「愛國」內容引入課程,這在取悅北京的同時,卻[url=https://cn.nytimes.com/china/20120731/c31hongkong/]激怒了香港的學生和家長[/url]。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]大陸人大量湧入,將這裡的房價推至歷史新高,令香港成為世界上居住成本最高的地方之一。最近單單是一個停車位都[url=https://cn.nytimes.com/china/20170616/hong-kong-parking-spot-record-real-estate/]賣到了66.4萬美元[/url]。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]不斷飆升的房價和租金尤其給中產家庭和更年輕的居民帶來壓力,助長了他們對大陸人的怨恨情緒,正是後者將大筆資金投入了這個市場。政府採取的遏制投機的措施沒能阻止這些投資者,他們中有許多在尋找將資金從大陸轉移出去的安全方式。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]根本的問題在於供應有限。因為存在土地糾紛,在香港北部鄉村區域修建大型住宅區的計劃幾近停滯。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]依據一項始於殖民時代的政策,香港傳統村落的家庭被授予長期擁有土地的權利,由此導致郊區雜亂擴張,令集中大片區域開發變得十分困難。政府可以迫使這些家庭出售土地,但他們擔心這會引發抗議,部分原因在於這些社區的領導者基本都是北京的支持者。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]在其他地方建住宅區的計劃也被擱置。將郊野公園的外圍改建為公寓樓的打算遭到環境保育人士的阻攔,而開發商提出的土地回收補貼和修建成千上萬畝人工島的爭議性計劃,又讓政府擔心成本過高。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]「香港有土地,但我們缺少可開發的土地,」香港運輸及房屋局局長張炳良(Anthony Cheung)說。他指出,人人都希望有更多房屋建起來,但沒人希望它們建在自家隔壁。「我們仍需爭取本地社區的支持。」[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]不過,鑒於政府非常不受信任,想要獲得這類支持並非易事。一些社區和環保團體提起的訴訟,已經讓一系列所需土地遠遠少於住宅區的基礎設施項目的建設有所延遲。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]舉個例子,由於在獲得土地方面遭遇了政治挑戰,計劃中全長16英里(約合26公里)的高鐵線路將全部建在地下。這讓該工程的成本增加了很多倍。不過,就算開挖隧道只需讓一個不到100人的村莊搬遷,民主活動人士還是和村民一道舉行了拖延項目進度的抗議活動。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]向市中心在建高鐵站派駐中國移民官員的提議也引發了爭議。批評人士反對大陸在這座城市的中心布設更多安保力量。他們提及了最近發生的幾起事件:中國官員現身香港,綁架了一些人——其中包括幾名書商,[url=https://cn.nytimes.com/business/20160205/c05hongkong/dual/]他們賣的書裡有的講述了大陸官員的香艷故事[/url],還有一名對共產黨權貴的財務狀況[url=https://cn.nytimes.com/china/20170212/xiao-jianhua-hong-kong-disappearance/dual/]有著罕見了解的大亨[/url]——並在沒有合法權限的情況下將其帶到大陸。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]「這會被人當成幌子,去製造嚴重的漏洞,從而讓大陸官員得以在香港境內實施大陸的法律,」立法會親民主議員朱凱迪(Eddie Chu)說。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]隨著政治角力在香港持續上演,一些人正在離開。台灣是一個頗受青睞的目的地,這片實施民主制的欣欣向榮之地有更便宜的樓市,以及不受北京脅迫的媒體——香港也有很多這樣的媒體。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]現年43歲的創業者帕特·楊(Pat Yeung)說,她於今年夏天搬到了台灣——在此之前,她看到一個朋友為幫助子女擺脫學習壓力極大的學校而移居那裡,她還遇到過另一對為尋求更便宜的住房而搬過去的夫婦。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]在商業競爭無休無止、政治氛圍日漸暗淡的香港,帕特·楊說,「壓力實在太大了。」[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]三年前,北京給了香港這樣一個[url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/01/world/asia/hong-kong-elections.html]方案[/url]:香港居民可以選舉特首,但只能從一份得到提名委員會首肯的候選人名單裡選——該委員會受北京控制。親民主力量拒絕了這項提議,堅持要求進行不受此限制的自由選舉,北京拒絕讓步,從而引發了名為「雨傘運動」的抗議活動。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]對香港來說那是一個關鍵時刻,各方都讓妥協的機會從手邊溜走,固執己見地不肯退讓,進而催生出曠日持久的僵局。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]親民主陣營的最大錯誤或許是,認為當時上台快兩年的習近平有意帶領中國走向更多元化的未來。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]民主黨創始人李柱銘(Martin Lee)說,他當初懷有這樣的希望是因為他見過習近平的父親,一名被認為比毛澤東的大多數將領更開明的共產黨高級領導人。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]還有人提到習近平在中國東部省份福建和浙江出任領導職務的履歷。資深民主倡導人士鄭宇碩(Joseph Cheng)說,習近平在那些地方採取了一種溫和的路線,竭力吸引香港的投資者。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]位高權重的中共中央政治局常委張德江曾主導對港政策,當時有人懷疑,他的強硬立場反映了習近平的想法。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]不過現在毋庸置疑的是,發號施令的是習近平。在他上台將近5年後,事實證明,他是一個堅定的威權主義者,把政治自由化視為一種威脅。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]北京似乎不太可能給香港一個好過三年前的方案。北京長期以來的盟友、最近剛從立法會主席的位置上退下來的曾鈺成(Jasper Tsang)說,中國領導層對香港的態度很強硬。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]「有人告訴我,不會有第二次機會,」他說。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]張德江於上月到訪澳門——這個前葡萄牙殖民地目前是中國的一個博彩業中心——對那裡讚賞有加,言談中透露出他認為澳門是香港的榜樣。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]一些香港人頗為驚詫,因為澳門向來唯北京馬首是瞻,並且存在長期腐敗和有組織犯罪,對工會和其他獨立組織缺乏容忍。[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot]人們現在擔心習近平對香港的未來也是這麼看的。「如果這個看法源自他,」李柱銘說,「我們就完了。」[/font]
[font=Arial, &quot][size=13px]
[size=12px]歡迎在Twitter上關注本文作者Keith Bradsher@KeithBradsher。[/size]
[size=12px]翻譯:紐約時報中文網
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sun 發表於 2017-7-2 01:31

Once a Model City,
Hong Kong Is in Trouble[align=center][size=1.2]When the British left 20 years ago, Hong Kong was seen as a rare blend of East
and West that China might seek to emulate. Now, increasingly, it’s a cautionary tale.[/size][/align]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=0.875][url=https://cn.nytimes.com/china/20170630/hong-kong-china-handover/]点击查看本文中文版[/url]
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[font=georgia, &quot][size=1][font=nyt-cheltenham-sh, georgia, &quot][size=0.6875]By [url=https://www.nytimes.com/by/keith-bradsher]KEITH BRADSHER[/url][/size][/font][font=nyt-cheltenham-sh, georgia, &quot][size=0.6875]Photographs by LAM YIK FEI[/size][/font]JUNE 29, 2017[/size][/font]


[font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px][font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]HONG KONG — When [url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/hongkong/index.html?inline=nyt-geo]Hong Kong[/url] returned to Chinese rule two decades ago, the city was seen as a model of what [url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/china/index.html?inline=nyt-geo]China[/url] might one day become: prosperous, modern, international, with the broad protections of the rule of law.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]There was anxiety about how such a place could survive in authoritarian China. But even after Beijing began encroaching on this former British colony’s freedoms, its reputation as one of the best-managed cities in Asia endured.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]The trains ran on time. Crime and taxes were low. The skyline dazzled with ever taller buildings.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Those are still true. Yet as the 20th anniversary of the handover approaches on Saturday, the perception of Hong Kong as something special — a vibrant crossroads of East and West that China may want to emulate — is fading fast.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Never-ending disputes between the city’s Beijing-backed leadership and the pro-democracy opposition have crippled the government’s ability to make difficult decisions and complete important construction projects.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Caught between rival modes of rule — Beijing’s dictates and the demands of local residents — the authorities have allowed problems to fester, including an affordable-housing crisis, a troubled education system and a delayed [url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/h/high_speed_rail_projects/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier]high-speed rail[/url] line.[/size][/font]
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[font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px][font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Many say the fight over Hong Kong’s political future has paralyzed it, and perhaps doomed it to decline. As a result, the city is increasingly held up not as a model of China’s future but as a cautionary tale — for Beijing and its allies, of the perils of democracy, and for the opposition, of the perils of authoritarianism.[/size][/font]
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[color=#333333][font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px]Photo[img]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/29/world/asia/HongKongTwenty-slide-G03R/HongKongTwenty-slide-G03R-superJumbo.jpg[/img]


Vendors selling secondhand clothing and goods in Sham Shui Po, one of the city’s poorest areas.[/size][/font][/color]
[color=#333333][font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px]Photo[img]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/29/world/asia/HongKongTwenty-slide-EEH8/HongKongTwenty-slide-EEH8-superJumbo.jpg[/img]


Rush hour on the MTR, Hong Kong’s clean and efficient subway system.[/size][/font][/color]
[color=#333333][font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px]Photo[img]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/29/world/asia/HongKongTwenty-slide-NVE5/HongKongTwenty-slide-NVE5-superJumbo.jpg[/img]


A street in Sai Ying Pun, a neighborhood on the western end of Hong Kong Island.[/size][/font][/color]
[font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px][font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]“More and more, there is a sense of futility,” said Anson Chan, the second-highest official in the Hong Kong government in the years before and after the handover to Chinese rule. She blames Beijing’s interference for the city’s woes. “We have this enormous giant at our doorstep,” she said, “and the rest of the world does not seem to question whatever the enormous giant does.”[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Others spread the blame more broadly. They point to the opposition’s reluctance to compromise and policies that weaken political parties, including multiseat legislative districts that allow radical candidates to win with a minority of votes.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]“This kind of a political atmosphere will disrupt many of the initiatives that may come along,” said Anna Wu, a member of the territory’s executive council, or cabinet.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]A high-speed rail station planned for Hong Kong is a half-finished shell — years after every other major city in China has been linked by bullet trains.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Hong Kong ranks only after New York and London as a center of global finance, but it has no world-class museums. After 15 years of delays, construction of a cultural district intended to rival Lincoln Center has started, but funding from the legislature could be disrupted in the coming days.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Widespread complaints about test-obsessed schools leaving students ill equipped to compete against those in mainland China have not led to education reform. Nor has the government found a way to address simmering public anger over skyrocketing rents and housing prices.[/size][/font]
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[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Hong Kong was once known for the speed and efficiency with which it built huge planned communities with ample public housing every several years. But it has not managed to do so since Britain returned it to Chinese rule on July 1, 1997.[/size][/font]
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[color=#333333][font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px]Photo[img]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/29/world/asia/HongKongTwenty-slide-CVS4/HongKongTwenty-slide-CVS4-superJumbo.jpg[/img]


Hong Kong once built planned communities with ample public housing, including Choi Hung Estate, every few years.[/size][/font][/color]
[font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px][font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Hong Kong is still a gem in many ways, a place that is hard not to love, and for its 7.4 million residents, hard to leave.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Narrow ribbons of oceanfront skyscrapers are backed by wooded hillsides protected as country parks. Just 10 minutes uphill from the majestic Victoria Harbor and financial district are breathtaking views of the South China Sea. Steel and concrete fade into sylvan trails that wind past lakes and waterfalls, all of it not too far from the city’s cavernous and efficient airport, part of a renowned transport network of subways, buses, trams and ferries.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]But the airport was built by the British before they left. So were the institutions that really distinguish the city: the independent courts, the widely respected civil service, the freewheeling press.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Those were preserved under the “one country, two systems,” formula that promised Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy when Britain returned it to China. But they have been weakened as the Communist Party increasingly meddles in the city’s affairs, intimidating and [url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/17/world/asia/hong-kong-bookseller-lam-wing-kee.html]even abducting[/url] people seen as challenging its interests.[/size][/font]
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[color=#333333][font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px]Photo[img]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/29/world/asia/HongKongTwenty-slide-G640/HongKongTwenty-slide-G640-superJumbo.jpg[/img]


A ferry from the financial district to Lantau, the largest of Hong Kong’s outlying islands.[/size][/font][/color]
[color=#333333][font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px]Photo[img]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/29/world/asia/HongKongTwenty-slide-AS37/HongKongTwenty-slide-AS37-superJumbo.jpg[/img]


Hong Kong has emerged as the world’s third major financial center after New York and London.[/size][/font][/color]
[color=#333333][font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px]Photo[img]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/29/world/asia/HongKongTwenty-slide-T7RG/HongKongTwenty-slide-T7RG-superJumbo.jpg[/img]


On the street in Mong Kok, one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the world.[/size][/font][/color]
[font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px][font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]The Umbrella Movement [url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/15/world/asia/three-months-of-protests-end-quietly-in-hong-kong.html]demanding free elections[/url] that seized control of downtown streets for 11 weeks in late 2014 is just a distant memory. But sullen resentment of mainland China has spread as Hong Kong’s democratic evolution has stalled.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]This spring, a new chief executive for the territory, Carrie Lam, [url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/26/world/asia/hong-kong-election-carrie-lam-chief-executive.html]was selected[/url]by a committee of about 1,200 residents — mostly allies of Beijing [url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/23/world/asia/hong-kong-chief-executive-ce-election-carrie-lam-john-tsang.html]following its instructions[/url].[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Her predecessors tiptoed around tough issues, wary of both offending the Chinese leadership and provoking the public. At the same time, critics say, limited public accountability has allowed incompetence and even graft to spread among officials. The top two government officials from a previous administration have [url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/world/asia/donald-tsang-sentence-hong-kong.html]been[/url][url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/world/asia/donald-tsang-sentence-hong-kong.html]tried[/url] on [url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/24/world/asia/hong-kong-corruption-trial-sentencing.html]corruption[/url][url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/24/world/asia/hong-kong-corruption-trial-sentencing.html]charges[/url].[/size][/font]
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[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Beijing’s allies have a majority in the legislature because half the 70 seats are selected by interest groups mostly loyal to the mainland government. But the other half is elected, and lawmakers who favor greater democracy have won a majority of those seats. The result is gridlock.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]There has also been [url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/06/world/asia/hong-kong-election-china-basic-law.html]a generational shift[/url] in the pro-democracy camp. Voters have replaced older, more pragmatic politicians with younger candidates more stridently opposed to the Communist authorities and willing to engage in all-out resistance. Late last year, Beijing intervened to [url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/world/asia/china-hong-kong-sixtus-leung-yau-wai-ching-oath.html]prevent the seating of two pro-independence politicians[/url] who had altered their oath of office to protest Chinese rule.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]The legislature’s rules allow any three members to stall action for months with [url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/f/filibusters_and_debate_curbs/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier]filibusters[/url]. In the last two years, various groups in the pro-democracy camp have repeatedly used that tool as leverage, causing a backlog of legislation that has delayed even projects that are not contentious, like a cleanup plan for the harbor.[/size][/font]
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[color=#333333][font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px]Photo[img]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/29/world/asia/HongKongTwenty-slide-23LG/HongKongTwenty-slide-23LG-superJumbo.jpg[/img]


An annual candlelight vigil honoring those who were killed in the Tiananmen Square crackdown of 1989.[/size][/font][/color]
[font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px][font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Both sides agree that the city will become ungovernable without some kind of political change. But they cannot agree on what to do.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]The democrats want a clear road map to universal suffrage — which Beijing promised in 2007 “may be implemented” in 2017 — starting with direct elections for the chief executive. Only when the government is accountable to the public will it have a mandate to tackle the challenges facing the city, they say.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]But supporters of Beijing say the problem is too much democracy, not too little.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Shiu Sin-por, the departing head of the local government’s agenda-setting Central Policy Unit, said pro-Beijing lawmakers must break with tradition and get tough on filibusters.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]He also wants to eliminate civil service protections for many senior officials and put them on renewable, short-term contracts — which would make them more accountable to Beijing.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]“You have a lot of deadbeats and layabouts who drag it out until they retire,” he said. “Would elections change this? No.”[/size][/font]
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[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Mr. Shiu, a longtime power broker with close ties to the Beijing government, warned that if Hong Kong remained politically paralyzed, it could slip from the ranks of the world’s great cities and end up like Monaco, a tax haven for the wealthy with few industries beyond financial services and retail.[/size][/font]
Hong Kong Districts[img]https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/06/28/hong-kong-map/57813c5837339599aa320c0cdfcedcb26db1be22/hong-kong-map-Artboard_2.png[/img][align=center][font=nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=13px]Shenzhen[/size][/font][/align]

[align=center][font=nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=13px]CHINA[/size][/font][/align]

[align=center][font=nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=13px]CHINA[/size][/font][/align]

[align=center][font=nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=12px]Hong Kong[/size][/font][/align]

[align=center][font=nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=13px]New Territories[/size][/font][/align]

[align=right][font=nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=13px]Hong Kong[/size][/font][/align]
[align=right][font=nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=13px]International[/size][/font][/align]
[align=right][font=nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=13px]Airport[/size][/font][/align]

[align=center][font=nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=13px]Kowloon[/size][/font][/align]

[align=center][font=nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=13px]Hong Kong Island[/size][/font][/align]

[align=center][font=nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=13px]Lantau Island[/size][/font][/align]

[align=center][font=nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=13px]Lamma Island[/size][/font][/align]

[font=nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=12px]5 Miles[/size][/font]





[font=nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=0.75]
By The New York Times[/size][/font]

[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]In an interview, Mrs. Lam, who will be sworn in on Saturday, acknowledged “a certain degree of truth” in the argument that the lack of a political overhaul was making it more difficult to address issues like housing, education and infrastructure.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]But she added: “If we were to have universal suffrage tomorrow, would all these problems disappear? I don’t think so.”[/size][/font]
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[color=#333333][font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px]Photo[img]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/29/world/asia/HongKongTwenty-slide-SLOI/HongKongTwenty-slide-SLOI-superJumbo.jpg[/img]


Waiting to buy apartments. The city has some of the highest housing costs in the world.[/size][/font][/color]
[color=#333333][font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px]Photo[img]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/29/world/asia/HongKongTwenty-slide-7Q55/HongKongTwenty-slide-7Q55-superJumbo.jpg[/img]


An open-air bar at an upscale mall that faces the waterfront of Victoria Harbor.[/size][/font][/color]
[color=#333333][font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px]Photo[img]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/29/world/asia/HongKongTwenty-slide-UGFK/HongKongTwenty-slide-UGFK-superJumbo.jpg[/img]


Students visiting the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, which acts as the central bank.[/size][/font][/color]
[font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px][font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]In many ways, Hong Kong as a city has fared better than its people. Since the handover, more than one million mainland Chinese have moved here, contributing their energy and talents to the territory’s economic development. But the newcomers’ success has sometimes come at the expense of those with deeper roots.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Big international companies and banks now aggressively recruit mainland Chinese instead of local residents, who speak Cantonese instead of the Mandarin used on the mainland and who often lack the connections to win deals and thrive there.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]The language issue is a challenge for Hong Kong’s education system, which tries to teach three of them — English, as well as Mandarin and Cantonese. This produces many graduates with weaker English and Mandarin than those from the mainland’s top schools.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]But efforts to address the problem get caught in the city’s fractious politics, with suspicions that Beijing wants to undermine local identity or limit the West’s influence.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]At the same time, the government has resisted proposals to ease the culture of high-pressure testing, a source of much public dissatisfaction. Instead, it tried to introduce “patriotic” material into the curriculum, appeasing Beijing while [url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/30/world/asia/thousands-protest-chinas-curriculum-plans-for-hong-kong-schools.html]angering parents and students[/url].[/size][/font]
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[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]The influx of mainland Chinese has also contributed to a historic run-up in housing prices, making Hong Kong one of the world’s most expensive places to live. A single parking space [url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/15/world/asia/hong-kong-parking-spot-record-real-estate.html]recently sold for $664,000[/url].[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Soaring prices and rents have squeezed middle-class families and younger residents in particular, fueling resentment against the mainland Chinese who have poured money into the market. Government measures to limit speculation have not deterred those investors, many of whom are looking for a safe way to get their money out of the mainland.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]The underlying problem is limited supply. Land disputes have nearly halted plans to build big residential areas in the rural sections of northern Hong Kong.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Under a policy dating from the colonial era, families in traditional villages there are awarded long-term grants of land, producing suburban sprawl and making it difficult to put together a large parcel for development. The government could force families to sell but is worried about setting off protests, in part because the leaders of those communities have generally supported Beijing.[/size][/font]
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[color=#333333][font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px]Photo[img]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/29/world/asia/HongKongTwenty-slide-CJ5U/HongKongTwenty-slide-CJ5U-superJumbo.jpg[/img]


Rural farmland in Lo Wu, near the border between Hong Kong and mainland China.[/size][/font][/color]
[font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px][font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Plans to build elsewhere have also stalled. Efforts to rezone the fringes of country parks for apartment buildings have been blocked by environmentalists, while the government has been leery of the cost of controversial proposals by developers to subsidize land reclamation and build thousands of acres of artificial islands.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]“There’s land in Hong Kong, but what we lack is developable land,” said Anthony Cheung, the transport and housing secretary, noting that everyone wanted more housing but no one wanted it built next door. “We still need to seek local community support.”[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Gaining such support is difficult, though, given deep distrust of the government. Lawsuits by neighborhoods and environmental groups have delayed a range of infrastructure projects that require much less land than housing developments.[/size][/font]
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There is almost no developable land left in Hong Kong.[/size][/font][/color]
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Large sections of the city are protected from development as country parks.[/size][/font][/color]
[color=#333333][font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px]Photo[img]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/29/world/asia/HongKongTwenty-slide-DZK5/HongKongTwenty-slide-DZK5-superJumbo.jpg[/img]


Wong Tat Ming, 63, in his “coffin apartment,” which measures just four by six feet.[/size][/font][/color]
[font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px][font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]The planned high-speed rail line, for example, is being built underground the entire 16 miles to the border partly because of the political challenge of obtaining land. That has driven up the project’s cost many times over. Even the tunneling effort required the removal of a village of scarcely 100 people, though, and democracy activists joined them in protests that slowed the initiative.[/size][/font]
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[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]The proposed deployment of Chinese immigration officers at the downtown rail station under construction is also contentious. Critics are objecting to an expanded mainland security presence in the heart of the city. They point to several recent cases in which Chinese officers appeared to abduct people — [url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/07/business/international/in-china-books-that-make-money-and-enemies.html]booksellers peddling salacious tales[/url] about mainland officials, or a [url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/10/world/asia/xiao-jianhua-hong-kong-disappearance.html]tycoon with rare insight[/url] into the finances of the Communist Party elite — and whisk them to the mainland without legal authority.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]“It will be used as an excuse to create a serious loophole to allow mainland officers to implement mainland laws in Hong Kong’s territory,” said Eddie Chu, a pro-democracy member of the legislature.[/size][/font]
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Hong Kong’s free press faces the corrosive effects of intervention from the authoritarian Chinese mainland.[/size][/font][/color]
[color=#333333][font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px]Photo[img]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/29/world/asia/HongKongTwenty-slide-P6XP/HongKongTwenty-slide-P6XP-superJumbo.jpg[/img]


A large Chinese flag on display on an electronic billboard in the Tsim Sha Tsui area.[/size][/font][/color]
[color=#333333][font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px]Photo[img]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/29/world/asia/HongKongTwenty-slide-R7AQ/HongKongTwenty-slide-R7AQ-superJumbo.jpg[/img]


Joshua Wong, right, a student leader of the Umbrella Movement.[/size][/font][/color]
[font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px][font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]As the political wrangling in Hong Kong is drawn out, some people are leaving. One popular destination is Taiwan, a flourishing Chinese democracy with more affordable real estate and news outlets that have not been cowed by Beijing, as many of those in Hong Kong have.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Pat Yeung, 43, an entrepreneur, said she moved to Taiwan this summer after a friend emigrated to get her children out of the high-pressure schools, and after she met another couple who relocated in search of cheaper housing.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]In Hong Kong, with its relentless business competition and darkening political climate, Ms. Yeung said, “the pressure is too, too much.”[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Three years ago, Beijing presented Hong Kong with [url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/01/world/asia/hong-kong-elections.html]a pro[/url][url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/01/world/asia/hong-kong-elections.html]posal[/url] to allow residents to elect the chief executive, but only from a slate of candidates approved by a nomination committee under its control. The pro-democracy forces rejected the offer, holding out for free elections without such a limit, and Beijing’s refusal to budge prompted the Umbrella Movement protests.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]It was a pivotal moment for Hong Kong, with all sides letting a chance at compromise slip by and digging in for what has been a prolonged stalemate.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]The pro-democracy camp’s biggest mistake may have been believing that President Xi Jinping, who at the time had been in office for almost two years, intended to guide China toward a more pluralistic future.[/size][/font]
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[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Martin Lee, the founding chairman of the Democratic Party, said that he harbored such hopes because he had met Mr. Xi’s father, a senior Communist leader considered more open-minded than most of Mao’s generals.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Others noted Mr. Xi’s record as a leader in the eastern provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang, where he adopted a moderate tone while trying to attract Hong Kong investors, said Joseph Cheng, another longtime democracy advocate.[/size][/font]
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[color=#333333][font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px]Photo[img]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/29/world/asia/HongKongTwenty-slide-K51Q/HongKongTwenty-slide-K51Q-superJumbo.jpg[/img]


The double-decker trams, built by the British, have trundled across Hong Kong Island since 1904.[/size][/font][/color]
[color=#333333][font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px]Photo[img]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/29/world/asia/HongKongTwenty-slide-72WH/HongKongTwenty-slide-72WH-superJumbo.jpg[/img]


The neon signs that have lit the city for decades are slowly being replaced by LED lighting.[/size][/font][/color]
[color=#333333][font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px]Photo[img]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/29/world/asia/HongKongTwenty-slide-F23S/HongKongTwenty-slide-F23S-superJumbo.jpg[/img]


A man exercising near an area popularly known as Instagram Pier.[/size][/font][/color]
[font=nyt-cheltenham, georgia, &quot][size=16px][font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Zhang Dejiang, a member of the powerful Politburo Standing Committee, took the lead on policy toward Hong Kong, and some wondered at the time if his hard-line stance reflected Mr. Xi’s views.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]But there is little doubt now that Mr. Xi calls the shots. After nearly five years in power, he has proved to be a committed authoritarian who considers political liberalization a threat.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]There seems little hope that Beijing will make Hong Kong an offer better than the one it put forward three years ago. Jasper Tsang, the recently retired president of the legislature and a longtime ally of Beijing, said the attitudes of the Chinese leadership toward the city had hardened.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]“People are telling me there won’t be a second chance,” he said.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]Last month, Mr. Zhang visited Macau, the former Portuguese colony that is now a Chinese gambling hub, and praised it in terms that suggested he saw it as a model for Hong Kong.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]People here were stunned because Macau has a reputation for obsequious obedience to Beijing as well as chronic corruption, organized crime and limited tolerance for labor unions and other independent organizations.[/size][/font]
[font=georgia, &quot][size=1.0625]The worry now is that Mr. Xi may share that vision of Hong Kong’s future. “If the idea came from him,” Mr. Lee said, “we are finished.”[/size][/font]
[font=nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=0.875]Follow Keith Bradsher on Twitter @KeithBradsher[/size][/font]

[font=nyt-franklin, arial, helvetica, sans-serif][size=0.6875]A version of this article appears in print on June 30, 2017, on Page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Once a Model, Hong Kong Stumbles . [url=http://www.nytreprints.com/]Order Reprints[/url][color=#cccccc]|[/color] [url=http://www.nytimes.com/pages/todayspaper/index.html]Today's Paper[/url][color=#cccccc]|[/color][url=http://www.nytimes.com/subscriptions/Multiproduct/lp839RF.html?campaignId=48JQY]Subscribe[/url][/size][/font]


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