President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor after she was sworn in as the fifth-term Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on July 1, 2017.
2017年7月1日,慶祝香港回歸祖國20周年大會(huì)暨香港特別行政區(qū)第五屆政府就職典禮在香港會(huì)展中心隆重舉行。中共中央總書記、國家主席、中央軍委主席習(xí)近平監(jiān)誓香港特別行政區(qū)第五任行政長官林鄭月娥宣誓就職后,與她握手祝賀。
Hong Kong is associated with the many memorable and remarkable moments in my more than 30-year career as a photojournalist. In the past two decades, since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, I've had several occasions to observe the city from up-close. While certain things seem to have remained unchanged, such as following the "one country, two systems" principle, some others have moved forward in keeping with the city's evolution into a modern, global metropolis.
I visited Hong Kong for the first time in June 1997. I witnessed the historic moment on the night of June 30, 1997, and recorded it on my film camera, capturing the ceremony at the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison's Central Barracks. On July 1, I was busy covering various events to mark the establishment of the HKSAR. I carried a telephoto lens and an aluminum ladder on my shoulder, running around all across the city. For a while I parked myself in front of the government headquarters and then stood in a queue at the old site of the Legislative Council. I also went to the stock exchange in Central.
In the next two and a half years I covered several important events in Hong Kong. I was sent here to capture the stock market crash during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and again to photograph the impact of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress' interpretation of Hong Kong's Basic Law regarding the right of abode case in 1999. I covered the outbreak of bird flu and many other breaking news and social events in the city.
I was transferred back to the Chinese mainland in 2000 but Hong Kong was never far from my mind.
Now I am back in the city, camera in hand, wandering around, revisiting the places I had last seen 17 years ago.
The old LegCo building, which now houses the Court of Final Appeal, is still popular with the Filipino domestic workers for their weekend gatherings. I saw more free newspapers at MTR stations but fewer newspaper stands at the Star Ferry Pier. While many new stocks have arrived in the market, the trading hall is smaller than before with fewer traders visible in action. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index has climbed from 16,000-something points two decades ago to 25,000 points today.
The Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping's promise that the dancing and horse racing will continue in Hong Kong after 1997, under the "one country, two system" principle and the Hong Kong Basic Law, seems to have been honored.
And did I forget to add that many people I met on the street this time spoke fluent Mandarin?
Hong Kong today is indeed a city full of extraordinary vitality. Its current prosperity and optimism is owed to its international outlook, high energy, determination and competitive spirit.
作為一名攝影記者,我有幸用影像見證了香港回歸祖國20年的不平凡。從1997年6月持公務(wù)護(hù)照進(jìn)入香港,到7月1日零時(shí)用膠片相機(jī)在添馬艦軍營見證中英雙方防務(wù)事務(wù)交接;從當(dāng)年扛著長鏡頭、鋁梯與當(dāng)?shù)孛襟w記者一起在特區(qū)政府門前、立法會(huì)和聯(lián)交所等排隊(duì)占位,到隨后的兩年半中報(bào)道亞洲金融危機(jī)中的港股暴跌、各界就“居港權(quán)”問題要求人大釋法、禽流感暴發(fā)以及力所能及的突發(fā)、民生相關(guān)拍攝;從2000年被調(diào)回內(nèi)地后十幾年對(duì)香港的持續(xù)關(guān)注,到今天重回故地……香港,在我30多年的新聞攝影職業(yè)生涯中,是一段滿懷情感、獨(dú)特難忘的經(jīng)歷和記憶。
這幾天來,我背著相機(jī)尋訪、重溫當(dāng)年走過的地方。香港在《基本法》“一國兩制”的框架下,港人治港高度自治,馬照跑、舞照跳、股照炒……特區(qū)政府有了氣派的大廈,立法會(huì)舊址廊道仍然是菲傭們周末休閑聚會(huì)的熱選;聯(lián)交所隔三岔五就會(huì)有新股上市,交易大廳面積變小了,現(xiàn)場(chǎng)交易員也寥寥無幾,但恒生指數(shù)從我離開時(shí)的1萬6千點(diǎn)已經(jīng)攀升到今天的2萬5千多點(diǎn);地鐵口路面上免費(fèi)派發(fā)的報(bào)紙多了,而天星小輪碼頭的報(bào)攤報(bào)紙的位置卻越來越不醒目了。對(duì)了,出去詢路問事,會(huì)說“國語”的人越來越多,調(diào)兒也越來越標(biāo)準(zhǔn)了。
香港是個(gè)充滿魅力的城市,既國際又多元、既競(jìng)爭又包容。它背靠著祖國,活力洋溢,充滿著希望!