就实论事 | “狮子山精神”历久弥新

你是否听过《狮子山下》这首粤语老歌？这首歌把老一辈港人迎难而上的韧性和决心唱得淋漓尽致。歌曲问世43年，歌中所唱的“狮子山精神”历久弥新，支撑着香港度过金融危机、社会动荡、公共疫情等难关。游子虽已归家，但仍少不了牵挂。每当香港需要援助，中央政府一直是那最坚强的后盾。明天是香港特别行政区成立25周年的日子，本期《就实论事》带你重温狮子山下那些光阴与欢笑。

Welcome to Reality Check.

There is a song called "Below the Lion Rock. " Sung by the Cantopop star Roman Tam in the late 1970s, it describes the spirit of an older Hong Kong generation who battled against hardships and transformed Hong Kong into a prosperous city.

欢迎来到《就实论事》。

有一首歌叫做《狮子山下》，是上个世纪70年代末由粤语流行歌手罗文演唱的。它描述了老一辈香港人迎难而上，将香港打造成一个繁荣都市的精神。

The song has touched many. And the term "Lion Rock Spirit" is often used to describe the determination and resilience of the local people.

That spirit has stood the test of time: Over the past 25 years, Hong Kong has weathered tremendous challenges, including the Asian financial crisis, the SARS epidemic, the Great Recession, and violent unrest, which started in 2019, right before the COVID-19 pandemic turned the whole world upside down. 

这首歌感动了很多人，"狮子山精神" 也常被用来描述香港人的决心和韧性，这种精神经受住了时间的考验。

在过去的25年里，香港经受住了许多巨大的挑战：包括亚洲金融危机、非典疫情、国际金融危机和2019年的暴乱，紧接着，新冠疫情又让整个世界乱成一团。

There have been some dark moments. But still, the city has grown significantly. 

Its per capita GDP doubled, from less than 25,000 to nearly 50,000 USD. It is consistently ranked as one of the most competitive economies in the world. The average daily turnover of the spot stock market grew over 10 times. The average male and female resident can live some 6 years and 5 and half years longer, respectively, one of the highest life expectancies in the world.

香港有过至暗时刻。但是，这个城市的成长显而易见。

香港人均国内生产总值翻了一番，从不到25000美元增加到近50000美元；香港连续多年被评为全球最具竞争力的地区之一；香港交易所现货股票市场日均成交金额增长了逾十倍；男性和女性居民的平均寿命也分别增长了6年和5年，香港是世界上最长寿的地区之一。

But this cutting edge has not come easily.

这些优势来之不易。

Besides being the logistical engine of the city, the central government has been a bedrock of support that the city can turn to whenever a crisis strikes. During the Asian financial crisis, which broke out in 1998, then Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji promised that the central government would protect Hong Kong from the financial crisis "at all costs." 

除了为香港提供后勤保障，中央政府一直是香港的坚强后盾，不管风吹浪打。

1998年亚洲金融危机爆发，时任国家总理朱镕基承诺，中央政府将“不惜一切代价”维护香港的繁荣稳定。

Beijing unequivocally supported the Hong Kong dollar's link to the U.S. dollar and offered the use of the mainland's foreign reserves, if required. 

中央政府毫不动摇地支持港币与美元的联系汇率制，并提出在必要时可动用国家外汇储备。

When SARS hit in 2003, the mainland promptly sent free medical supplies. A team of 200 nurses was especially trained and put on standby for the city, despite the mainland's own need to fight the virus. An economic agreement was later signed between the two sides to help the city's economy recover.

2003年非典疫情肆虐香港，中央政府及时无偿地提供医疗用品。中央政府还抽调200名护士集中训练，时刻准备驰援香港，尽管内地同样亟需抗击病毒。之后，内地和香港还签署经贸合作协议助力香港经济复苏。

When the Great Recession spread to Hong Kong in 2008, the central government vowed, "anything that is in the fundamental interests of the country and Hong Kong, favorable to the region's social, economic and political development and conducive to Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability, would get full support from the central government." A series of policies and measures was rolled out, which helped stabilize the situation.

2008年，当国际金融危机波及到香港时，中央承诺，“凡是有利于保障国家和港人的根本利益，有利于香港社会、经济、政治协调发展，有利于保持香港长期繁荣稳定的事，中央都会不遗余力地给予支持。”中央政府还推出了一系列政策和措施帮助香港稳定局势。

And when the most brutal wave of the COVID-19 pandemic struck earlier this year, the central government acted swiftly to respond to the call. A medical team of nearly 400 professionals from 25 mainland medical institutions was sent to the city. Mobile cabins for patients and a makeshift emergency hospital were constructed with the help of the central government. Hundreds of millions of testing kits and masks, together with other medical supplies, were dispatched. 

今年年初最猛烈的一波新冠疫情来袭时，中央政府迅速响应，采取行动，派出来自25所内地医疗机构近400人的医疗队伍援港抗疫，还帮助香港修建方舱医院，中央援港应急医院项目也已顺利竣工，数以亿计的抗原检测试剂包和口罩等医疗用品运抵香港。

And the list goes on.

这样的例子不胜枚举。

It would be unfair, however, to say Hong Kong is always and only on the receiving end.

Since its return, the city has become an ever more important gateway of financial services for the mainland. It has been the mainland's largest source of inbound direct investments and the largest outbound investment destination. It is the world's largest offshore Renminbi business center, handling over 70 percent of the total share.

As of April 2022, over 1,300 mainland enterprises were publicly-listed in Hong Kong. 

然而，说香港一直只是受益方也不公平。回归以来，这座城市已成为连接内地和国际金融市场越来越重要的门户。香港是内地最大的外来直接投资来源地，也是内地最大的境外投资目的地。香港是全球最大的离岸人民币业务中心，全球逾七成离岸人民币支付款额经香港处理。

截至2022年4月，1300多家内地企业在港上市。

The city's rich heritage in entertainment and arts has made a unique contribution to the entertainment industry in China.

The latest example is the movie "The Battle at Lake Changjin," released last September. Set during the Korean War, the movie has become the second-highest-grossing film of 2021 worldwide and the highest-grossing Chinese film of all time.

And two of the three directors of this film are from Hong Kong.

香港在娱乐和艺术方面的优势也为中国娱乐产业做出了独特的贡献。

比如去年9月上映的电影《长津湖》，这部以朝鲜战争为背景的电影获得了2021年全球票房第二和中国影史票房冠军的佳绩。

这部电影的三位导演中，有两位都来自香港。

25 years under Chinese rule is very short, compared to 150 years under British colonial rule. Ups and downs are inevitable.

But those who bet against Hong Kong will keep being proven wrong well into the future.

Because it's in the interest of China to keep Hong Kong special and relevant.

And with the hard work of all those who love this place, Hong Kong will continue to shine.

Happy birthday, Hong Kong SAR!

与英国对香港150年殖民统治相比，回归以来的25年是短暂的，波折起伏在所难免。

但下注香港会输的人将会不断被现实打脸。

因为，保持香港的特色和地位符合中国的利益。

在热爱这片土地的所有人的努力下，香港将继续绽放光芒。

生日快乐，香港特别行政区！

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