（本文轉載自《南華早報》，如對翻譯有疑問請評論，並於每日一句中講解）
If Taiwan is Hong Kong’s past, Guangzhou is our future
如果臺灣是香港的過去，廣州就是我們的未來
- The mainland city impresses with its buzzing centre, clean streetside air and a people full of optimism and drive. More than Taiwan, which in many ways has stood still in time, Guangzhou should be the growth model for Hong Kong.
這座大陸城市以其喧鬧的中心、乾淨的街邊空氣和充滿樂觀和動力的人們給人留下了深刻的印象。廣州應該成為香港的增長模式，而不是臺灣，因為臺灣在很多方面都處於停滯狀態。
Back-to-back trips I recently made to Guangzhou and Taiwan fromHong Kongwere like taking a crystal ball and gazing into the future. There are those in this city who look to one or the other as the way forward and such people are often labelled as either patriotic or pro-democracy. But if it’s growth and development we’re talking about, love of the nation and politics shouldn’t come into play. Even from a few days of exposure to each, it’s obvious that the mainland is the sensible direction.
最近我從香港到廣州和臺灣的背靠背旅行，就像是拿著水晶球，凝視著未來。在這座城市裡，有些人把其中一種（廣州或臺灣）視為前進的道路，這些人常常被貼上愛國或支持民主的標籤。但是，如果我們談論的是增長和發展，那麼對國家和政治的熱愛就不應該發揮作用。即使是幾天的接觸，很明顯，中國大陸是明智的方向。
I had not been to either for years. Both had obviously moved forward, but the pace of development was markedly different. Guangzhou was bustling and vibrant, its Tianhe business and commercial district literally streets ahead of anything Hong Kong has to offer. Taiwan was, as all my previous trips have seemed, like stepping into the past; Taipei and Taichung were like looking into a mirror of Hong Kong a decade or more ago.
我好幾年沒去過這兩個地方了。兩者顯然都取得了進展，但發展速度明顯不同。廣州熙熙攘攘、生機勃勃，它的天河商業區名副其實地領先於香港所能提供的任何東西。就像我以前所有的旅行一樣，臺灣就像是走進了過去，臺北和臺中就像是十多年前香港的一面鏡子。
You can’t help but be impressed by Tianhe’s scale, its footpaths as wide as a square, shopping malls bigger and offering more choice than Hong Kong’s, office towers seemingly so close, but long walks away.
天河的規模給你留下了深刻的印象，它的人行道像廣場一樣寬，購物中心比香港的購物中心更大，提供了更多的選擇，辦公大樓看上去那麼近，但卻需要走很遠。
The streetside air is noticeably cleaner as well; at the time of writing, mid-afternoon on a weekday, the reading for PM2.5 microscopic particulate matter in Tianhe is 21, considered good, and in Hong Kong’s Central business district, 65, which is moderate (for reference, in Taipei, it’s 55; Shanghai, 87; and Tokyo, 80).
街邊的空氣也明顯更清潔；在撰寫本報告時，在工作日的下午三時左右，天河的PM2.5微觀顆粒物的讀數為21，被認為良好，而在香港的中央商務區，PM2.5的讀數為65，中等(臺北為55；上海為87；東京為80)。
There’s good reason for that. Most of the buses and cars on Guangzhou’s roads are electric, the result of a dedicated policy on the mainland to eradicate pollution and meet climate change goals, while Hong Kong’s government seemingly has little resolve to make roadside air more healthy by encouraging or forcing vehicle owners to switch from petrol and diesel.
這是有充分理由的。廣州道路上的大多數公共汽車和小轎車都是電動的，這是內地根治汙染、實現氣候變化目標的一項專項政策的結果，而香港政府
似乎沒有什麼決心通過鼓勵或迫使車主更換汽油和柴油來改善路邊空氣健康。
The pace of life is noticeably slower in Taiwanese cities than Hong Kong or Guangzhou. There’s no rush about business transactions or service in restaurants and definitely no
pushing and shoving on the subway, as happens in Guangzhou. But the streets are generally unpleasant, the noise from scooters is deafening and fumes from their exhausts and those from antiquated public buses, choking. Footpaths are a nightmare for the unfamiliar, often being uneven, narrowed with vendors and hawkers, and, due to parking shortages, blocked by vehicles.臺灣城市的生活節奏明顯慢於香港或廣州。餐館裡的商業交易或服務並不匆忙，在地鐵上也絕對不會像廣州那樣推來推去。但街道通常是令人不快的，摩托車發出的噪音震耳欲聾，廢氣和陳舊的公共汽車產生的煙霧令人窒息。對於不熟悉的人來說，人行道是一場噩夢，通常是
不平坦的，狹窄的攤販和小販，而且由於泊車短缺，被機動車堵得水洩不通。
But it is the mindsets of citizens that determines progress and on that score, Guangzhou is the most optimistic, forward-looking and positive. To my mind, Hong Kong since its return to Chinese rule has largely stagnated, major infrastructure projects aside, authorities being
reticent to upturn policies for fear of a misstep and criticism.但是，決定進步的是公民的心態，在這一點上，廣州是最樂觀、最有遠見和最積極的。在我看來，自迴歸中國以來，香港基本上停滯不前，大型基礎設施項目被擱置，當局出於擔心失策和批評而不願改變政策。
Coupled with the fixation of some citizens to ensuring the “one country, two systems” idea has a literal meaning – that, what stood as of July 1, 1997, remains absolutely unchanged for half a century – there’s bound to be a sense of the city crawling forward rather than sprinting.
再加上一些公民執著於確保“一國兩制”的構想具有字面意義-1997年7月1日的情況在半個世紀內保持絕對不變-
必然會有一種城市向前爬行而不是疾馳的感覺。
The Symphony of Lights laser show for tourists on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront would seem a metaphor for what’s wrong: it was cool when it began in 2004, but it’s now seriously lame and in need of a revamp.
在尖沙咀海旁為遊客舉辦的“燈光交響曲”(SymphonyofLights)激光展覽似乎是對問題的一種隱喻：2004年開始的時候，它很酷，但現在它真的很遜，需要改進。
Nor should we be embracing Taiwanese thinking, which is largely insular. The island’s people seem oblivious to a world beyond their shores and the mainland is seen more as a threat than an opportunity. A forecast annual GDP growth rate of 2.27 per cent in 2019 is a result, compared to Guangzhou’s 6-6.5 per cent and the government prediction for Hong Kong of between 2 and 3 per cent.
我們也不應該接受臺灣人的思想，因為這種思想在很大程度上是與世隔絕的。島上的人民似乎對他們以外的世界漠不關心，而大陸更多地被看作是一種威脅，而不是一種機會。預計2019年的GDP年增長率為2.27%，而廣州為6%至6.5%，香港政府的預測為2%至3%。
Our vision decides our future and that requires energy, drive and will to improve. My observation is that it’s lacking in Hong Kong and dormant in Taiwan, yet in full thrust across the border, particularly in Guangzhou. If we need inspiration on which direction to take, it’s plainly on show, a mere 110km northwest of Hong Kong.
我們的願景決定了我們的未來，這需要精力、動力和改善的意志。我的觀察是，它在香港是缺乏的，在臺灣是處於休眠狀態的，但在邊境，特別是在廣州，它卻是全速推進的。如果我們需要從哪個方向得到靈感，很明顯，它就在香港西北110公里處。
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