虽然在‘一国两制’政策下香港和中国是名义上“一国”的，这两个领土之间的差别很大。我一走下了飞机就发现北京和香港的许多明显区别—从湿乎乎的气候到盖住山丘的郁郁葱葱的植物，再到人们都说广东话。
可是毫无疑问最值得注意的区别是许多白色摊子设在市中心。站着在这些摊子的人当众主张民主以及鼓励过路人来签署一份主张民主的请愿书。我在北京住了一年，这个时期中一个当众主张民主的人我也没遇到，我佩服这些敢于主张民主的人。我很快地发现香港人为香港人独立的身份感到很自豪。我用普通话跟出租司机说话的时候，他愤怒地告诉我他认为香港和 ‘蒙昧’的大陆截然不同。
我坐船去澳门 —中国的拉斯维加斯。在那儿盘桓一天游览了各处名胜。澳门的葡萄牙历史的痕迹还残留着—尤其在漂亮的古老市中心—但是历史遗产是在某种程度上被巨大的娱乐场黯然失色的。花里胡哨的庞大娱乐场的营业额比拉斯维加斯的多五倍。最大的娱乐场叫 ‘The Venetian’。因为里面有3000多个老虎机，这家娱乐场本身变得 旅游景点。娱乐场的内部看起来和威尼斯一样。你要坐贡多拉船横渡运河河网来进去娱乐场。毫无疑问这是我一辈子最奇怪，最荒唐的经历之一， 娱乐场的豪华和铺张让我啧啧称奇。大部分玩着在娱乐场的人是中国大陆人。这个经历一定展示 巨富中国人的消费文化。
澳门和香港有很多共同之处 — 两个都名义上 属于中国，可是两个领土的独立足够得选择和中国不同的发展道路。值得注意的是是否将来中国政府会维持现状或者会决定加强对香港和澳门独立的控制来让这两个领土和中国大陆的关系更密切。
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
Hong Kong and Macau
While supposedly in the same state under the Chinese government’s “One country, two systems” policy, Hong Kong and China could not be more different. As soon as I stepped off the plane the contrasts between Hong Kong and Beijing became very apparent – from the sticky humid heat, the lush green of the surrounding hills and of course, the multitude of voices speaking unintelligible Cantonese.
The most poignant difference, however, is the white stalls scattered in the central area collecting signatures for pro-democracy petitions. Having lived in Beijing for almost a year without encountering any trace of resistance or support for democracy, I can only admire the bravery of those daring to champion democratic change.
I soon discovered that Hong Kongers are fiercely proud of this separate identity. When I tried speaking to a taxi driver in Mandarin, he angrily informed me in English that Hong Kong is separate to the ‘uncivilised’ Chinese mainland.
I took a short boat ride to go on a day trip to Macau – the Las Vegas of China. While signs of Macau’s colonial Portugese heritage still remain in the old town, with pretty villas and beautiful mosaic pavements, the vast casinos have somewhat eclipsed the historical heritage. These gargantuan structures with gaudy gold exteriors have roughly 5 times the annual turnover than those in Las Vegas. The largest of the casinos – The Venetian – is an attraction in itself with over 3000 slot machines. Designed to resemble Venice, you enter the casino by gondola on a network of canals. I’ve never experienced anything quite like it, the luxury and extravagance is other worldly and the sheer number of mainland Chinese in the casino offers an interesting glimpse into the culture of new Chinese wealth.
Macau and Hong Kong have much in common – both are nominally a part of China, but have maintained a degree of independence to take different, and hugely prosperous paths. It will be interesting to see if the government pushes for further integration with the mainland in the next few years, or allows them to maintain the status quo.
