香港依然是一个自由社会。
今天南华早报发表了单伟建的重要论文，谈国家安全法才真正把香港从混乱和暴乱中解放了出来。我归纳如下。
（1）国家安全法是所有主权国家都有的。香港的基本法也写得很清楚。全国人大很耐心地等待了23年。也无法再等了。
（2）实施国家安全法以来的一百多天来，我们看到了什么？香港的自由未变，暴乱平息了。悲观的人们将被证明一错再错。
（3）香港一直在比欧美更开放，今天依然如此：无稅、司法体系的开放、人的流动更自由。
（4）1997年之前逃离香港、去了加拿大等国的香港人很快就回来了。香港现在有30万持加拿大护照的人。他们都是谁？香港將继续繁荣。
张化桥评论：在英语世界，对应着每一万篇批评中国的文章（有些文章有道理，有些胡说），只有大约三篇阐述中国观点的文章。而这三篇中，大约有两篇是外国人写的。中国人必须争取多发言、善于发言。单伟建的这篇文章有理有据，文字优美，有绅士风度。如果我们老是说西方国家（1）不懂中国国情、（2）搬起石头砸自己的脚，（3）必须悬崖勒马、（4）将成为千古罪人，那我们的文章无法在英语的主流媒体发表，而且根本无论说服任何人。
我们都要学好英语，入神入境。单伟建的文章不是宣传品。而宣传品的名声太差。我们必须客观、公正地说道理。（单的如下）
Hong Kong is a Free Society.
The enactment of the law has restored social stability and the freedoms that were suppressed by violent protesters
Hong Kong remains free and open, with its rule of law intact and an independent judiciary steeped in the common law tradition.
Weijian Shan，
Published: 1:00am, 20 Oct, 2020.
When the Hong Kong national security law was first adopted on June 30, there was much discussion about its impact. Some thought it would bring back social stability; others predicted a mass exodus of foreign businesses and capital and the demise of freedom. A senior Japanese executive told me some headlines in Japan declared that “Hong Kong is dead”.
Neither speculation nor debate could change the reality on the ground. October 8 marked the 100th day of the passage of the law. With that milestone behind us, it is time to take stock of the law’s effect based on what has transpired so far.
Hong Kong remains an open and free society under the rule of law. Although it is not a democracy, Hong Kong residents enjoy more political rights today than they did under British colonial rule. The city still has a chance to become a democracy, if the universal suffrage proposal, put forward by Beijing in 2014 but rejected by the opposition over the candidate nomination process, is reintroduced (see my opinion piece in the Financial Times last year).
In terms of openness, Hong Kong compares favourably with the United States, which I regard as the shining beacon of free society.
Citizens of the US and many other countries can travel, visa-free, to Hong Kong, and can obtain work visas as long as jobs are available in the city in almost any profession. Whereas the US collects taxes on imports, Hong Kong charges zero tariffs. I am not aware of another rich society that is so open.
When I publish books and media commentaries, I have found myself to be not as mindful of political correctness in Hong Kong as I am in the US.
Can people in Hong Kong criticize their government, or Beijing? They do, daily. You need to look no further than the South China Morning Post (in English) or the Apple Daily (in Chinese).
Hong Kong is blessed with an independent judiciary steeped in that greatest of British legacies, the common law system – so much so that judges still wear ridiculous-looking powdered wigs. Of the 22 justices in Hong Kong’s highest court, 16 are foreign nationals, including 14 non-Chinese judges from British Commonwealth countries.
今天南华早报发表了单伟建的重要论文，谈国家安全法才真正把香港从混乱和暴乱中解放了出来。我归纳如下。
（1）国家安全法是所有主权国家都有的。香港的基本法也写得很清楚。全国人大很耐心地等待了23年。也无法再等了。
（2）实施国家安全法以来的一百多天来，我们看到了什么？香港的自由未变，暴乱平息了。悲观的人们将被证明一错再错。
（3）香港一直在比欧美更开放，今天依然如此：无稅、司法体系的开放、人的流动更自由。
（4）1997年之前逃离香港、去了加拿大等国的香港人很快就回来了。香港现在有30万持加拿大护照的人。他们都是谁？香港將继续繁荣。
张化桥评论：在英语世界，对应着每一万篇批评中国的文章（有些文章有道理，有些胡说），只有大约三篇阐述中国观点的文章。而这三篇中，大约有两篇是外国人写的。中国人必须争取多发言、善于发言。单伟建的这篇文章有理有据，文字优美，有绅士风度。如果我们老是说西方国家（1）不懂中国国情、（2）搬起石头砸自己的脚，（3）必须悬崖勒马、（4）将成为千古罪人，那我们的文章无法在英语的主流媒体发表，而且根本无论说服任何人。
我们都要学好英语，入神入境。单伟建的文章不是宣传品。而宣传品的名声太差。我们必须客观、公正地说道理。（单的如下）
Hong Kong is a Free Society.
The enactment of the law has restored social stability and the freedoms that were suppressed by violent protesters
Hong Kong remains free and open, with its rule of law intact and an independent judiciary steeped in the common law tradition.
Weijian Shan，
Published: 1:00am, 20 Oct, 2020.
When the Hong Kong national security law was first adopted on June 30, there was much discussion about its impact. Some thought it would bring back social stability; others predicted a mass exodus of foreign businesses and capital and the demise of freedom. A senior Japanese executive told me some headlines in Japan declared that “Hong Kong is dead”.
Neither speculation nor debate could change the reality on the ground. October 8 marked the 100th day of the passage of the law. With that milestone behind us, it is time to take stock of the law’s effect based on what has transpired so far.
Hong Kong remains an open and free society under the rule of law. Although it is not a democracy, Hong Kong residents enjoy more political rights today than they did under British colonial rule. The city still has a chance to become a democracy, if the universal suffrage proposal, put forward by Beijing in 2014 but rejected by the opposition over the candidate nomination process, is reintroduced (see my opinion piece in the Financial Times last year).
In terms of openness, Hong Kong compares favourably with the United States, which I regard as the shining beacon of free society.
Citizens of the US and many other countries can travel, visa-free, to Hong Kong, and can obtain work visas as long as jobs are available in the city in almost any profession. Whereas the US collects taxes on imports, Hong Kong charges zero tariffs. I am not aware of another rich society that is so open.
When I publish books and media commentaries, I have found myself to be not as mindful of political correctness in Hong Kong as I am in the US.
Can people in Hong Kong criticize their government, or Beijing? They do, daily. You need to look no further than the South China Morning Post (in English) or the Apple Daily (in Chinese).
Hong Kong is blessed with an independent judiciary steeped in that greatest of British legacies, the common law system – so much so that judges still wear ridiculous-looking powdered wigs. Of the 22 justices in Hong Kong’s highest court, 16 are foreign nationals, including 14 non-Chinese judges from British Commonwealth countries.
