高鐵與造橋項目背后，香港的擔(dān)憂與疑慮

HONG KONG — After months of debate and political discord, passengers started boarding high-speed trains at a new station in Hong Kong on Sunday morning, the formal launch of a multibillion-dollar transportation link that will tie the former British colony more closely to the rest of China.

香港——經(jīng)過數(shù)月的辯論和政治紛爭，周日早上開始，香港的乘客開始從一個新車站登上高鐵列車，這條造價數(shù)十億美元的交通線路正式推出，將香港這個前英國殖民地和中國其他地區(qū)更緊密地聯(lián)系起來。

Another project, the world’s longest sea bridge, is expected to open later this year. Like the train station, it is both an impressive engineering feat and a source of controversy. It will span the mouth of the Pearl River, linking Hong Kong with the mainland city of Zhuhai and the former Portuguese colony of Macau, the world’s biggest gambling hub.

還有一個項目是世界上最長的跨海大橋，預(yù)計將在今年晚些時候投入使用。像那座火車站一樣，它既是令人印象深刻的工程壯舉，又是爭議之源。它橫跨珠江口，將香港與大陸城市珠海和前葡萄牙殖民地、世界上最大的賭博中心澳門連接起來。

Hong Kong officials say the projects are critical to economic development and will speed the movement of goods and people through the region, which the Chinese government wants to bind more tightly together. But many residents are concerned about what a Greater Bay Area, as China calls its vision of a more closely knit Pearl River Delta region, will mean for the city’s unique identity.

香港官員表示，這些項目對經(jīng)濟發(fā)展至關(guān)重要，并將加快貨物和人員通過香港的速度，中國政府希望將該地區(qū)更緊密地聯(lián)系在一起。但是，許多居民都擔(dān)心，粵港澳大灣區(qū)，即中國所稱的珠江三角洲地區(qū)聯(lián)系更加緊密的前景，對這個城市的獨特身份將會意味著什么。

Large-scale building projects, like the highway that linked Hong Kong with Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, in the 1990s, helped secure the region’s status as a global manufacturing center. But analysts say the benefits of the latest projects are less clear, and some suspect that China’s desire to tighten its hold on Hong Kong trumped other concerns.

1990年代的許多大型建筑項目，如連接香港與廣東省省會廣州的高速公路，確保了該地區(qū)作為全球制造業(yè)中心的地位。但分析人士表示，最新項目的好處不太明顯，有些人懷疑中國希望收緊對香港的控制，這是最大的顧慮。

“I think it was obvious from the beginning that most likely political considerations were at least as important as economic reasons,” said Willy Lam, an adjunct professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong.

“我認(rèn)為從一開始就很明顯，最有可能的是，政治因素至少與經(jīng)濟原因一樣重要，”香港中文大學(xué)客座教授林和立(Willy Lam)說。

Both projects have seen delays, cost overruns and other complications. Environmentalists fear the bridge will hasten the extinction of endangered Chinese white dolphins. At least 10 workers have been killed in accidents during its construction, and 19 people face criminal charges in Hong Kong over faked concrete quality tests, which have raised questions about the structure’s integrity and required costly reexaminations.

兩個項目都經(jīng)歷了延誤、成本超支和其他復(fù)雜情況。環(huán)保主義者擔(dān)心這座橋?qū)⒓铀贋l臨滅絕的中華白海豚走向消亡。在施工期間，至少有10名工人在事故中喪生，19人因偽造混凝土質(zhì)量測試而在香港面臨刑事指控，該測試引起了對大橋可靠性的質(zhì)疑，并需要進行昂貴的復(fù)檢。

The high-speed rail station, which cost $10.8 billion, has been deeply contentious in Hong Kong because it will host Chinese officers who will enforce mainland laws in part of the terminal.

高鐵站耗資108億美元，在香港引起了極大爭議，因為它將有中國官員入駐，在車站的一部分執(zhí)行大陸法律。

Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese control in 1997, operates its own laws under a model called “one country, two systems,” with more robust protections for individual rights than in mainland China. It maintains a border with Guangdong Province, but allowing mainland officers in the new station has, in a sense, moved the border south.

香港于1997年回歸中國控制，以“一國兩制”的模式執(zhí)行自己的法律，對個人權(quán)利的保護比中國大陸更有力。它與廣東省之間的邊界得以保持，但是，允許內(nèi)地官員進駐新站，在某種意義上等于將這個邊境南移。

Pro-democracy politicians, legal scholars and activists say that represents a further erosion of Hong Kong’s unique position within China.

親民主派政治人士、法律學(xué)者和活動人士表示，這進一步侵蝕了香港在中國的獨特地位。

“Both of these projects represent the physical connection between Hong Kong and mainland China,” said Victoria Hui, an associate professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame. “Of course the train station in particular goes all the way into the heart of Hong Kong with Chinese jurisdiction.”

“這兩個項目都代表了香港與中國大陸之間的物理聯(lián)系，”圣母大學(xué)(University of Notre Dame)政治學(xué)副教授許田波(Victoria Hui)表示。“當(dāng)然，特別是火車站，它將中國的司法權(quán)一直延伸到香港中心。”

Such concerns were inflamed this month when the mainland-controlled section of the terminus was handed over to Chinese officials in a brief, late-night ceremony, with no local news media invited. Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, denied any intent to keep the event a secret.

本月，大陸控制的車站部分在一個深夜舉行的簡短儀式上移交給中國官員，沒有邀請當(dāng)?shù)氐男侣劽襟w，令這些顧慮進一步激化，香港首席行政長官林鄭月娥否認(rèn)有意將此事件保密。

Ms. Lam was also forced to explain why some mainland officers would work overnight, despite promises they would return to Guangdong when the station closed each evening, and why the station had an additional basement level that had not been disclosed to the public.

林鄭月娥還不得不解釋為什么雖然內(nèi)地官員承諾會在每天晚上車站關(guān)閉時返回廣東，但還是有一些人在夜間工作，以及為什么車站還有一個未向公眾披露的額外地下室層。

The new rail line has been billed as cutting travel time to Guangzhou to 48 minutes from over two hours, though trains stopping at stations in between will take longer. The line will also allow passengers from Hong Kong to connect to 38 long-haul destinations on China’s national high-speed rail network, including Beijing and Shanghai.

據(jù)稱，新的鐵路線將香港到廣州的行程時間從兩個多小時縮短到48分鐘，盡管在中間站?？康臅r間要延長。該路線還讓來自香港的乘客同中國國家高鐵網(wǎng)的38個長途目的地(包括北京和上海)連接起來。

But some potential passengers have balked at the service’s baggage limits, as well as ticket prices that offer little or no discount to flying.

但一些可能乘坐該列車的人因為車上對行李的限制和票價而止步不前，票價與機票相比基本上沒什么優(yōu)惠。

“I don’t think there will be any benefit to me,” said Ling Chiang, 28, a commercial photographer who travels to the mainland about once a month for work. He goes to Guangzhou by train but said he would probably stick with air travel for more distant mainland destinations.

“對我來說沒有任何好處，”28歲的商業(yè)攝影師蔣凌(音)表示，他每個月會因為工作前往大陸一次。他會乘坐火車前往廣州，但表示去大陸更遠的地方的話，可能還是會選擇坐飛機。

“Why waste time when the price is about the same?” he said.

“價格基本上一樣的話，為什么要浪費時間?”他表示。

The Hong Kong government estimated in 2015 that more than 109,000 passengers would take the train every day, but this year it lowered the forecast to 80,000. Still, Frank Chan, Hong Kong’s secretary for transportation and housing, said he was confident that the project would be profitable from the start.

據(jù)香港政府2015年的估計，超過10.9萬人會每天乘坐該車，但今年，香港政府將預(yù)估數(shù)字調(diào)低至8萬人。但香港政府運輸及房屋局局長陳帆還是表示，他有信心該項目能從一開始就實現(xiàn)盈利。

Both projects represent some of China’s biggest national infrastructure undertakings of the past decade. The high-speed rail system, which began 10 years ago, is the world’s largest, with more than 15,000 miles of track. The county has also built hundreds of dazzling bridges that set records for length and height.

兩個項目都是中國在過去10年最大的國家基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施項目的代表。10年前開始的高鐵系統(tǒng)如今規(guī)模為世界上最大的，通車?yán)锍坛^1.5萬英里(約合2.5萬公里)。該國還建造了數(shù)以百計令人頭暈?zāi)垦５臉蛄?，它們無論在長度和高度都創(chuàng)下世界紀(jì)錄。

As with the express trains to the mainland, expectations for the 34-mile bridge-and-tunnel project linking Hong Kong to the western side of the Pearl River have been scaled back. A 2008 forecast anticipated 172,000 daily passenger trips by 2030, but the government this year lowered the figure to 126,000.

就像通往大陸的高鐵列車一樣，外界對這個全長34英里(約合55公里)，連接香港和珠江西岸的大橋隧道項目的預(yù)期已經(jīng)有所降低。一項2008年的預(yù)測估計到2030年前，每日客運量達到17.2萬人次，但政府今年已經(jīng)將該數(shù)字調(diào)低至12.6萬人次。

One reason is that the manufacturing center of Shenzhen, which was cut out of the original plan, is building its own new bridge about 20 miles to the north. The span will connect with the city of Zhongshan and is expected to open in 2023.

一個原因是深圳這個原本沒有被納入計劃的制造業(yè)中心正在以北約20英里(約合32公里)的地方，建造自己的新橋。大橋?qū)⑦B接中山市，預(yù)計2023年通車。

“This is a competitor to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge,” said Yang Chun, a professor of geography at Hong Kong Baptist University. “Obviously it will dilute the transportation volume, because they are parallel.”

“這是對港珠澳大橋的競爭，”香港浸會大學(xué)地理系教授楊春。“很明顯它會減少運量，因為二者是平行的”。

The Shenzhen-Zhongshan bridge will be entirely within mainland China, meaning users won’t have to go through the border controls maintained by Hong Kong and Macau. They also won’t have to switch from driving on the right side of the road, which is used in the mainland, to the left, the side used in both former colonies.

深中大橋整體完全在中國大陸境內(nèi)，這意味著使用者不用經(jīng)過由香港和澳門的邊境管制。他們也不用從大陸通行的道路右邊駕駛轉(zhuǎn)換至兩個前殖民地使用的左邊駕駛。

The 14-mile main span of the bridge cost $7 billion, of which the Hong Kong government will pay about $1.3 billion. Hong Kong spent an additional $13.7 billion to build connecting roads, tunnels and an artificial island for its border-crossing facilities. The drive between Hong Kong and Macau is expected to take about 45 minutes — far shorter than the current four hours to drive overland, but not much less than the hour or so it takes to go by ferry.

這座主跨度為14英里(約合23公里)的大橋耗資70億美元，香港政府將承擔(dān)其中的13億美元。為打造連接大橋的道路、隧道及為其跨境設(shè)施而設(shè)立的人工島，香港還另外花費了137億美元。香港和澳門之間的通車時間預(yù)計為45分鐘——比目前經(jīng)由陸路4小時車程要短不少，但與1小時左右的輪渡相比，并沒有縮短多少時間。

More doubts about the bridge project were raised in April. Photos of an artificial island where a four-mile tunnel emerges near Hong Kong’s side of the river seemed to show that concrete tetrapods, structures meant to protect the island from erosion, had drifted away. The bridge authority said they were working as intended, but some engineers were unconvinced.

四月，外界對這個大橋項目提出了更多疑問。香港一側(cè)附近，有一個4英里(約合6公里)長的隧道出口所在的人工島，當(dāng)時有照片顯示，意在保護人工島不受侵蝕的消波塊被沖走。大橋管理方表示，它們完全滿足相關(guān)設(shè)計要求，但一些工程師不怎么信服。

When Typhoon Mangkut blew through the region last week, some of the bridge’s detractors in Hong Kong expressed hope that the structure would be washed away. But as Hong Kong cleaned up, it was still standing, apparently unharmed.

當(dāng)上周，臺風(fēng)“山竹”刮過該地區(qū)時，香港一些這座大橋的批評者希望它會被沖走。但隨著香港清理干凈，大橋仍屹立不倒，明顯沒有受到任何破壞。