【新唐人2013年04月10日訊】週一,享年87歲的英國前首相撒切爾夫人中風去世。她雖已離開政壇多年,但許多香港人卻不能忘記:31年前,她摔倒在北京人民大會堂前的一幕。這一摔,掀起了中、英兩方針對香港前途問題談判的序幕。1984年,撒切爾夫人簽下中英聯合聲明﹔1997年,香港由英國交到中共手上。撒切爾夫人是否對得起港人?各路評說不一。
1982年,撒切爾夫人訪華,她向中共前領導人鄧小平提出以「主權換取治權」,也就是1997年後,由英國人繼續管理香港。但被鄧小平拒絕。
經過中、英雙方多次談判,直到1984年,英方願意交出香港主權,當年底,撒切爾夫人與時任中共總理趙紫陽在北京簽署《中英聯合聲明》。
2007年,香港回歸10週年,撒切爾夫人在「英國廣播公司」的訪問中說,交還香港令她感到「悲傷」。
撒切爾夫人在香港問題上是否對得起港人?各界褒貶不一。
香港《開放》雜誌總編輯金鐘認為,撒切爾夫人是一位了不起的政治家,她在香港的一國兩制和民主自由方面都付出了心血。
香港《開放》雜誌總編輯金鐘:「香港回歸到中國,按照法定的正式名稱應該叫做香港主權回歸,實際上香港主權回歸,香港治權是沒有回歸的,香港最後管制的權力是港人治港,而不是交給共產黨來統治,所以我想,今天香港的一國兩制,香港的自由和正在發展中的民主,都同撒切爾夫人,她任英國首相期間的處理香港問題上的努力和貢獻分不開。」
不過,「一國兩制」、「港人治港」50年不變,早已成了中共「黨人治港」。
香港回歸近16年來,還沒有實現一人一票普選,港人被國民教育洗腦,影藝圈「被和諧」、正體字變成簡體字等等,導致數十萬港人多次走上街頭抗爭。上個月中旬,香港媒體推出民調,有92%的人支持香港重新回歸英國管制。
而香港《信報》專欄作家王岸然在「臉書」上狠批撒切爾夫人,說她是今天香港人受苦的源頭。他說,1979年,撒切爾修改國藉法,將享有英藉的港人貶為外國人﹔「六四」後,撒切爾又一口拒絕「港人居英權」。
有「推特」網友認為:「撒切爾夫人本來可以名垂青史,可惜最後晚節不保,把香港出賣給了黑幫,被永遠釘在了歷史的恥辱柱上。」
時事評論員劉銳紹則批評,英國在談判期間,只將香港作為籌碼來與中共討價還價,是在為英國爭取最大利益。
而香港作家、自由撰稿人張成覺指出,評判一個人應該結合歷史條件,不能脫離現實去苛責歷史人物。
香港作家和自由撰稿人張成覺:「居英權畢竟沒甚麼實際意義,香港人獲得居英權,未必去英國,他只是要一個保險,但是從英國民眾這個角度,你一下來一、兩百萬人,那就是一種災難。」
至於說撒切爾夫人向中共妥協,張成覺認為是不可避免的趨勢,因為當時英國已經沒有了抗衡中共的力量。
張成覺:「應該肯定撒切爾夫人她是一個很堅定的,堅持自由主義,反對共產主義的這麼一個歷史人物,並且她為埋葬蘇聯東歐集團做出了極大的貢獻,說他是為了英國人的利益,那有甚麼奇怪的,作為國家領導人,首先要維護本國民眾的利益,這是無可非議的。」
撒切爾夫人是英國歷史上唯一的女首相,她在1979年5月出任首相,1983年6月連任,1990年11月辭職,曾與美國總統里根聯手反共。在內政方面,撒切爾夫人將國家由福利主義困境中解救出來,影響遍及英聯邦先進國家及香港。
採訪編輯/李韻 後製/鍾元
How Hong Kong People View Margaret Thatcher’s Death
On Monday, Margaret Thatcher, the former British
Prime Minister, died of a stroke at the age of 87.
Although she left the political arena several years ago,
many Hong Kong people cannot forget how she fell down
the steps of the Great Hall in Beijing, 31 years ago.
Her very fall set off the negotiations for
the future of Hong Kong.
In 1984, Margaret Thatcher signed the
Sino-British Joint Declaration.
It stated that Hong Kong would be handed over to
the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1997,
Did Margaret Thatcher treat the people of
Hong Kong fairly and justly?
Let’s hear the views and comments from diverse sources.
In 1982, when Margaret Thatcher visited China,
she proposed “sovereignty in exchange for the right to rule”
to Deng Xiaoping, the former CCP leader.
But, Deng declined her offer.
After several rounds of negotiations until 1984, the British
agreed to surrender its sovereignty over Hong Kong to China.
At the end of 1984, Thatcher signed the Sino-British Joint
Declaration with the Chinese leader Zhao Ziyang in Beijing.
Mrs. Thatcher said in a BBC interview that
she was saddened by the returning of Hong Kong.
Was Thatcher fair to the people of Hong Kong?
Opinions are mixed – from all walks of life.
Jin Zhong, editor-in-Chief of the “Open" magazine,
said that Margaret Thatcher was a great politician,
and she made a great contribution to one country-two
systems, democracy, and freedom in Hong Kong.
Jin Zhong:"It actually should be returning the
sovereignty over Hong Kong in accordance with the statutory official name.
In reality, the sovereignty over Hong Kong
has been returned, but not the right to rule.
The right to rule comes from the people of
Hong Kong, not from the CCP.
I believe that Hong Kong’s one country-two systems,
freedom and democracy process are inseparable from
Margaret Thatcher’s efforts and contribution.”
However, the principles of “one country, two systems",
and “Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong" for 50 years,
have already turned into the CCP’s
“partisan ruling of Hong Kong".
After 16 years, not even one person has been elected
by one person, one vote;
people in Hong Kong have been brainwashed;
and simplified characters replace traditional characters.
These issues made hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong
People take their protests to the streets in March.
According to a poll, Hong Kong media reported that
92% of Hong Kong people support the return of Hong Kong to the UK.
Wang Anran, columnist of the Hong Kong Economic Journal,
criticized Thatcher on Face Book, lamenting that
she is the source of Hong Kong people’s suffering today.
Having had British nationality as citizens;
In 1979, Thatcher modified the nationality law,
and Hong Kong people with a British nationality
would not be considered British citizens.
After the Tiananmen incident in 1989,
Thatcher refused to grant Hong Kong people rights
to reside in the UK.
A Twitter user: “Margaret Thatcher could have
gone down gloriously in history,
but unfortunately her actions in later years were
immoral — selling Hong Kong to the tyrants.
She will be nailed on the shame cross of history forever.”
Liu Ruishao, political commentator said that
during the negotiations with China,
Hong Kong was only a bargaining chip for the British
in order to gain the best interests for themselves.
Zhang Chengjue, independent Hong Kong writer,
points out that
judging a person should follow historical conditions,
we cannot divorce historical characters from reality.
Zhang Chengjue:
“Residency in the UK was not significant.
People from Hong Kong want a UK residency as insurance.
They may not go or live in Great Britain.
However, for the citizens of England, it would be
a disaster if one or two million refugees suddenly flooded in from Hong Kong.”
Regarding Margaret Thatcher making a compromise to the CCP,
Zhang believes that that was an inevitable trend because
the UK could no longer confront the power of the CCP.
Zhang Chengjue: “We should confirm that
Margaret Thatcher was a very significant historical figure.
She adhered to liberty and opposed communism.
She made a great contribution to the collapse of
the Soviet Union and the Eastern Europe Block.
If her actions were for the interests of the UK,
that was nothing odd.
As a leader of the country, she must first safeguard
the interests of its people, which should be beyond reproach.”
Margaret Thatcher is the only female Prime Minister
in British history.
She became Prime Minister in May 1979, was re-elected
in June 1983, and resigned in November 1990.
She teamed up with U.S. President Ronald Reagan
to fight against Communists.
In domestic affairs, Margaret Thatcher saved
the country from the ravages of socialism.
That greatly impacted many Commonwealth
countries and Hong Kong.