雙語社評齊齊聽

英語 (足本收聽)

普通話 (足本收聽)

【明報專訊】YESTERDAY Chief Executive Donald Tsang said in the Legislative Council's question time the poor population had grown and pledged to do what would make things easier for people in the lower income bracket. When he delivered his policy address about two months ago, he did not consider poverty a problem. However, he has promised to do something about it. He has now a better understanding of the situation. But he apparently intends to give handouts instead of formulating a comprehensive policy to cure Hong Kong's maladies - poverty and a widening rich-poor gap. Unless Tsang seriously tackles the problem and prescribes the right remedy instead of just giving poor people painkillers, it will remain the case that, the more relief they get, the poorer they will become.

英語

行政長官曾蔭權昨日在立法會答問大會提到貧窮人口增加，承諾今年會推出措施，緩解低收入人士的困難。約兩個月前，曾蔭權在施政報告對貧窮問題不當一回事，現在卻承諾紓解，這是認識上有進步。不過，他的思路看來停留在派糖層次，而非以全盤綜合政策，從根本上醫治香港的貧窮和貧富懸殊惡化的社會病。如果曾蔭權不肯認真面對問題，不對症下藥，只是派止痛劑給貧窮人口，則愈扶愈貧的困局不會改變。

普通話

Handouts are only painkillers. When they are spent, pain will again be felt. In less than two years, the government has handed out more than $80 billion from the public purse. That is a huge sum. The express rail link project (over which there has been much controversy and which would generate enormous economic benefits) is costly ($66.9 billion), but not as costly as those handouts.

英語

派糖給市民，只是止痛劑，當藥力過後，市民的痛楚又會冒出來。兩年不到，政府派糖耗費超過800億元，這是一筆很大的公帑，近期朝野激烈爭持，建成後有巨大經濟效益的高鐵，所費雖然不菲（669億元），也不及派糖的多。

普通話

Tsang said yesterday, "The economy has picked up slightly, but rents have gone up. Few employees have seen their real incomes go up significantly in the past few years." Hearing that, one might think he, aware of the adverse effects of the government's wrong land policy, would seek improvement. However, he has only described the situation and pledged to provide relief. No more. That is very disappointing indeed. The economy has yet to improve, but rents have soared. Who stand to benefit? Common people have suffered rather than benefited. The government ought to come up with solutions.

英語

曾蔭權在答問大會又提到「最近經濟稍有起色，但租金又隨之上漲，不少僱員的實質收入幾年來沒有明顯增長」。聽到這裏，以為曾蔭權認識到土地政策失效的後遺症，會檢討研究，籌謀改善，不過，曾蔭權只是指出了現象，然後承諾紓困，如此而已，實在教人失望。經濟未好轉，租金卻飈升，得益的是誰？普羅市民未見其利先見其弊，政府應該拿出解決辦法來。

普通話

The government's high land premium policy is a major potential factor in social instability. We therefore again urge the government to review its land policy and resume control of land supply by resuming land auctions. It would help tackle the wide rich-poor gap and other deep-rooted contradictions to straighten the property market out.

英語

現行的高地價政策已經成為社會不穩定的主要潛在因素，因此，我們再次要求政府全面檢討和調整土地政策，重新主導土地供應，恢復拍賣土地。處理好房地產市場，就可以解決部分貧富懸殊等深層次矛盾。

普通話

Hong Kong's imbalanced industrial makeup is a main reason why more have lived in poverty. Last year Tsang dumped his theory of the financial sector's omnipotence. He has said the government will seek to increase economic diversity by developing six industries where Hong Kong has an edge. However, that would not make it much easier for poorly-educated, unskilled people (who abound in Hong Kong) to find work. More and more poorly-educated, unskilled mainlanders settle in Hong Kong, where there are fewer and fewer unskilled jobs. The mismatch between workers' skills and society's needs is a heavy burden on it. The One Way Permit scheme must be amended lest the quality of Hong Kong's population should keep quickly worsening. We believe this is a matter Tsang has to raise with the central government sooner or later.

英語

另外，本港產業政策失衡，也是造成貧窮人口增加的主要原因。由去年開始，曾蔭權調整了「金融業萬能論」的口徑，推出發展六項優勢產業，推動經濟結構多元化。但是六項優勢產業對於本港大批低學歷、低技術市民的就業、生計，幫助也不大。低技術工種愈來愈少，低學歷、低技術人口愈來愈多（內地新移民來港），人口錯配，社會須承受沉重負擔。我們認為，調節新移民來港，使本港的人口質素不致持續嚴重惡化，是曾蔭權早晚要向中央提出的事項。

普通話

Deep-rooted contradictions cannot be resolved simply by handing money out. Furthermore, poverty is not a problem of a single policy area. Only if the government takes comprehensive measures will the situation begin to improve. Poverty is not peculiar to any country or region. All governments have to deal with it. No specific exists that quickly cures a place of poverty. The first thing the government ought to do is to face the problem. It must not just give handouts that would kill pain for a while. It must make serious efforts to come up with effective policies. Only if it realistically prescribes the right remedy will there be any hope that poverty will be alleviated.

英語

深層次矛盾非派糖就可以治理和解決；另外，貧窮非單一政策範疇的問題，涉及全盤綜合政策，才有望使情况好轉。每一個國家或地區都有貧窮問題，都需要政府處理，貧窮問題也沒有特效藥可以在短期內解決，政府首要正視問題，勿再派糖止一時之痛便交差了事，必須認認真真的啟動研議政策對應，只有實事求是，對症下藥，貧窮問題才有望解決。

普通話

明報社評2010.01.15

Presented by lecturers of Hong Kong Community College, PolyU and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Mr. William Tsang

Lecturer, Hong Kong Community College, PolyU

http://www.hkcc-polyu.edu.hk/index.php?lang=eng&cms=112

袁振華博士

香港理工大學中文及雙語系講師

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