Chapter 77 "Tear down the wall", aren't we more of a family?

After the return of Hong Kong in 1997, as a "special administrative region" of the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong does not need to pay taxes to the central government every year. Fundamentally speaking, this matter should be a great "good" for Hong Kong, but this topic, I After coming to Hong Kong, I seldom heard it mentioned.On the contrary, I just arrived here. On the first weekend, my husband and I went to the street to buy daily necessities. The husband said: "Remember, put some loose paper (change) in your pocket, today is the flag day in Hong Kong, otherwise, we don't have any money on hand." Small change, when the time comes, you will have to pay out big bills.”

"Packing Change", "Flag Day"?What does this mean, and what does it have to do with me? It turns out that charitable organizations in Hong Kong can take to the streets to raise funds once a year after they have applied for approval from the Social Welfare Department of the government. This kind of activity is usually only held on Saturday mornings, called "flag selling", so 52 days a year For a week, every Saturday, the streets are full of middle school students who come to do volunteer work. Each of these children will carry a money bag and several small stickers in their hands (it turned out to be a small Flag), when you see pedestrians coming over, you will be asked to "buy a flag". Stick a sticker with the name of a charity organization on your collar or chest, so that you have shown your love to the society today, and other charity organizations will let you go if they see you again.

Hong Kong's "donation culture" has a long history and high social recognition. They donate and don't think that their behavior is earth-shattering. The passion of the same heart, the fusion of the two should not produce rejection, but the Hong Kong people support the mainlanders, and the mainlanders are deeply grateful; but the mainlanders show brotherhood to the Hongkongers, I don’t know why, but the Hongkongers don’t So easily moved. On March 1, 2007, Tang Yingnian, the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong, submitted to the Legislative Council for approval in the "2007-08 Hong Kong Government Budget" because of the unexpectedly high growth of Hong Kong's economy last year. On the one hand, a series of measures to give citizens "tax relief" and "one-time feedback" include reducing salaries tax, increasing newborn baby tax allowances, reducing rates for two quarters, and reducing stamp duty on low-priced properties, etc. The proposal of "Fortune Lord" is called "Five Surprises" by the Hong Kong society. However, who knows that Tang Yingnian can take out the surplus of more than 20 billion "Daily Pai Tang" from his pocket to "share the fruits of economic prosperity with the citizens", So bold and bold, what does all this have to do with it?

Needless to say, Hong Kong people have always been good at fighting, and have always been able to work hard in the mud like old scalpers in adversity. However, Hong Kong began to "recover economically" in 2004 and "recover strongly" in 2006. The central government and the mainland What have the 1.3 billion compatriots done for them?There are mutual benefits, aid and support, and more dedication and sacrifice. A brief look back at history: In 2003, the Hong Kong government’s fiscal deficit was as high as 40.1 billion Hong Kong dollars; in 2004, it was improved, and the deficit dropped to 4 billion; in 2005, the government’s surplus began to realize 14 billion; It rose to 55.1 billion, which is why Hong Kong's "Gross Domestic Product" increased by 6.8% in 2006, and it is expected to continue to increase by 4.5% to 5.5% in 2007. From 2008 to 2011, Hong Kong's annual average Economic growth can still be maintained at a relatively high level of 4.5%.

The 1.3 billion compatriots in the Mainland tighten their belts and want to see the rapid recovery of Hong Kong's economy. This is sincere. On June 29, 2003, the central government and the Hong Kong government signed the "CEPA", followed by the specific implementation of the first to fourth phases. This "CEPA" gave Hong Kong great benefits in terms of economic and trade policies, among which In terms of trade in goods: Hong Kong’s “origin products” imported to the mainland are almost completely exempt from tariffs. Hong Kong people seldom think about this “freedom of origin”, that is, “zero tariffs”. , but what a huge impact it has on mainland manufacturers?

From February to April 2003, the unemployment rate in Hong Kong was 7.8%, while in the same period in 2006, this figure had dropped to 5.1%. By the beginning of 2007, the employed population had reached 3.5 million, a record high for six consecutive years. . In December 2006, the World Economic Development Research Institute (WIDER) of the United Nations University investigated the distribution of global wealth and found that Hong Kong's per capita net wealth (net worth per capita) had jumped to the first in the world at that time, reaching US$202,189. This figure is 10% higher than that of Luxembourg, and Switzerland and the United States are in third and fourth place.

Also in 2006, "Forbes" of the United States announced the top ten luxury houses in Asia, ranking from 2nd to 9th in Hong Kong.This year, the Hong Kong stock market is booming. The "Hang Seng Index" has been at the highest level in the past five and a half years. The stock market will continue to be bullish for 3 years. Entering the level of ordinary people, in recent years, marriages between Hong Kong and the Mainland have gradually increased. In 2005, there were 24,900 Hong Kong male citizens who applied for the "widowed old certificate" and Mainland women married in Hong Kong, while Hong Kong women married Mainland boyfriends. The number of people is also close to 5,000, which is double that of four years ago.

In 2006, 30% of the interviewed Hong Kong candidates expressed their willingness to "go north" to study in mainland universities. Why do Hong Kong children have such a willingness?Because in the mainland, the tuition and living expenses paid by students to study in universities are not only far lower than when they go to overseas universities to study, but also the parents of Hong Kong students earn local wages, but their children can enjoy and enjoy the benefits in the mainland. Mainland college students have the same tuition fees and government subsidies. According to the survey conducted by the Planning Department of the Hong Kong Government: Before the return of Hong Kong, the idea of ​​"settling in the Mainland" was unthinkable for many people in Hong Kong!However, after the reunification, it has gradually become a trend for Hong Kong people to "return to the mainland to live", and it will increase at a rate of 50% every two years.

It just so happened that my book was about to be published, and a Hong Kong friend of mine who donated a one-time donation to impoverished children in the Mainland came to my house as a guest. We talked about the current relationship between Hong Kong and the Mainland. She heard I said a lot of good things about Hong Kong, and I was a little impatient, so I interrupted: "Oh, how can I hear all the compliments from your mouth, why have you never complained to Hong Kong people?" I said: "Really? ? Well, then I will talk about you Hong Kong people right now." My friend listened attentively, and I was also welcome.But after waiting and waiting, my friend never expected that I would say the following sentence: "You Hong Kong people, the most unbelievable thing for me is that you don't know how to appreciate it!" After that, everyone was silent. After a while, my friend said With straight eyes, he nodded at me in agreement.

"Hong Kong people," I continued to confess to my friend, "if they can understand self-improvement and appreciate it, then they will be better and smarter." The frequency of her friend’s nodding continued to increase, and she said: “Yeah, you don’t need to talk about it, in fact, even I myself sometimes feel that we Hong Kong people are always complaining, complaining that the standard of living is not as good as before, complaining about the mainland and Hong Kong, just don’t think about our own. Life is much better than others, in comparison, it is not easy to hear a few words of 'thank you' and 'praise' from them."

"Never satisfied" is a major characteristic of Hong Kong people. Whether this kind of mentality is good or bad, I can't make a conclusion for a while, but a Hong Kong person should at least see the reality, what reality?That is, it has been ten years since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, and everyone can see it: which colony in the world will be healthier and more promising than Hong Kong once it returns to the embrace of its motherland?In addition, there is another sentence that I have been stuck in my throat. Since I chatted with my friends that day, I just spit it out quickly: "Hong Kong has returned to the motherland, and we have seen a win-win situation in ten years of cooperation with the mainland. , so that in the years to come, the people in the two places will stop showing embarrassment to the other, and hurry up hand in hand, work hard, and go to catch up with Japan and the United States together, how awesome will it be? This should be "Red Lantern" The line in the play: 'If we don't tear down the wall, we are one family, but if we tear down the wall, we are even more family'?!" My friend said: "Yes, decades later, when China's waist is thicker and its spirit is stronger on the world stage, China's population will not only rank first in the world, but its economic strength and comprehensive national strength will also impress the world. At that time, let’s raise our glasses again, no matter if the people sitting at the dinner table are from Hong Kong or from the mainland, everyone has a reason to drink him to get drunk and to the fullest!" What my friend said was really good, and it touched my heart.It's just a pity that there were no machines at that time.If there is a video camera and a videographer, this "conversation" between us can be transmitted back to Beijing, and CCTV may broadcast a special "personal interview". Such "casual interviews" are hard to come by. , more real, and more like sisters sitting together and "making homely chores" without restraint. isn't it?of course.