My reply to Minster Khaw on his comment "Bhutan is not the 'Shangri-la on earth'"

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1160414/1/.html#.TqGXPJgselY.facebook
Bhutan is not the 'Shangri-la on earth', says Khaw
Posted: 19 October 2011 1839 hrs

Khaw Boon Wan speaking in Parliament

SINGAPORE: The measure of happiness has been a topic of debate in Parliament over the last few days, and constant references to Bhutan have been made as well.

National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan joined the debate, saying he visited the small nation a few years ago and the romanticised version of the ancient kingdom did not fit the reality he saw there.

In his speech in Parliament on Wednesday, he said Bhutan is not the "Shangri-la on earth" that some make it out to be.

Mr Khaw said: "Most of the time, I saw unhappy people, toiling in the field, worried about the next harvest and whether there would be buyers for their products. They have studied us because Singapore is also a tiny nation, living next to big neighbours.

"We have successfully transited from third world to first, and managed to create a functioning and harmonious society for our people. In their minds, Singapore could well be the Shangri-la and they want Bhutan to emulate Singapore."

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Manpower and National Development Tan Chuan-Jin weighed in on the discussion on what some perceive to be the government's obsession with economic growth at all costs.

He said the pursuit of GDP should not be an end but a means to an end.

Mr Tan said the main preoccupation at weekly Cabinet meetings has been to provide for Singaporeans and Singapore.

He added that the government is not perfect and there are things that it can do better and it will do its utmost.

"Life cannot be whittled down into an efficient equation, however effective it may be. Not everything is an economic digit; some of the most important things in life cannot be quantified. At the end of it all, it is about us as Singaporeans, and the future we want to build for our children. And we as the government must have the courage to play our role to lead and do the right things," said Mr Tan.

- CNA /ls

“No, it is not even though we’re different, we are one. It is because we are different, we are one.” “政者正也， 子帅以正，孰敢不正”

http://www.wp.sg/2011/10/chen-show-maos-speech-debate-on-presidents-address/
Chen Show Mao’s speech (Debate on President’s Address)

Mr Speaker, Thank you, and congratulations.

Following our two elections this year, some commentators tell us that Singaporeans’ political differences are rising to the surface. Many of our leaders have expressed their concerns about the differences. They warned of divisions and called for unity. I’d like to remind us that differences are not divisions. It is the intolerance of differences that will be divisive.

I would like to quote a man who is not able to join us here today. In a newspaper interview, former Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo related what a Roman Catholic cardinal told him about the late Pope John Paul the Second. The cardinal had drafted, “Even though we’re all different because we speak different languages, we are one”. The Pope corrected him. “No, it is not even though we’re different, we are one. It is because we are different, we are one.” Mr Yeo then said, “I thought that was so profound and beautiful. In my first speech to the United Nations, I repeated that story because in the UN, it is also because we are different that we are one. To be a human being is to be different. The whole logic and driving force of biological life is diversification. An imposed unity is a false unity; it’s a contradiction in terms. To me, that is a core position, and Singapore is an expression of that core position.”

Singapore is an expression of that core position of diversity, and this must include political diversity in this day and age. Let me state quite clearly how I see myself as an opposition member of this parliament. I may challenge government policy in parliament, but I do not by definition oppose government policy. It does not mean that I do not support the government in its work. It is very simple. I am an opposition MP and will perform my role to voice alternative and opposing views in the law-making process, based on my party philosophy. But I submit to laws properly made because I believe they express the sovereign will of our people. You see, I do not believe that Parliament is just form, and no substance. I have been elected to serve in this Parliament and will do what I can to help make it work for Singapore, make it a First World Parliament after our own fashion. As an opposition MP, I am not the enemy of the government, I am a Singaporean and a patriot.

I believe that our community will come out of robust debates stronger. Not just in Parliament but in larger society as well. Social cohesion will be strengthened when we give people, including our young people, room to voice their views and grievances and participate in community affairs. This is being recognized in households and at work places around us and is affecting how they are run. There is no reason not to learn from it. But we must start from a position of difference, not a forced unity.

How do we move forward from a position of difference?

A wise Singaporean wrote to me recently on Facebook, “the key is always to set our ‘devilish’ pride aside and for both parties to communicate.” He did not mean political parties, but any two parties in a position of difference. He goes on, “The aim is not to impose one’s view over the other but to find as much common ground as possible for the good of the common objective both parties have… And yes, I have always practised this in the office and with the wife…so far so good.”

How do we expand the areas of common ground to accommodate political differences? I believe it will be best done through strengthening institutions that are non-partisan and capable of commanding the respect and allegiance of all Singaporeans in spite of their political differences. The office of the Presidency, for example. President Tan clearly intends this. In his swearing in ceremony he said, “I will strive to strengthen our common bonds and our core values that underpin our society. …Whatever your political views,… I will strive to the best of my abilities to represent you.”

The government in the addenda to the President’s address said, “The building of friendship, understanding and trust amidst increasing diversity will be supported through organisations such as the People’s Association and grassroots platforms such as the Inter-racial and Religious Confidence Circles.” We welcome this.

Let us Singaporeans take our cue from the President. Look for what Singaporeans’ different visions have in common and take our next steps in these areas of common ground. Let us ask ourselves “is there more we could do?” I believe that it would always be possible to find common ground among Singaporeans, even if it might now take greater efforts on the part of those of us here in this House. But it is possible – they call politics “the art of the possible”.

HUMAN CAPITAL

Mr Speaker

In the addenda to the President’s address, the government announced its plans to, “significantly enhance the transport infrastructure, quality and opportunities in education, healthcare and housing”. We endorse the goal. And we will hold the government to it.

We believe that Singaporeans in recent years have been underserved by enhancements in these areas. We believe that most of these enhancements are best thought of, not just as increased expenditure, but as investments in the human capital of our country, with long term benefits to our society, such as the productivity increase that the government calls our “fundamental economic challenge”. Adam Smith wrote many years ago about investments in a person, such as by the acquisition of new talents, he wrote, “such acquisition of talents always costs a real expense, which is a capital realized in his person. [but] Those talents, as they make a part of his fortune, so do they likewise that of the society to which he belongs.”

Many economists have long regarded expenditures on education and healthcare as investments in human capital. They produce income and other useful outputs for the individual over long periods of time. They also produce external benefits for the rest of society. When growing disparity in wealth suggest that more and more households may not be able to make the investments that may be needed to give their children a place at the same starting line as their cohorts, it is even more appropriate for the government to increase public investments in the human capital of our young people.

This is one of the goals the government set in the addenda to the President’s address: “Through our investment in Education, we ensure that every child, regardless of family circumstances and background, has access to opportunities.” That access to opportunities has to be meaningful and available to everyone.

Similarly, for many expenditures we make outside the areas of education and healthcare, If we just take an expanded view of the returns from these investments, we will be able to see their long-term benefits.

Take elder care for example. Our investments in this area do not just benefit our elders alone. They enhance the productivity of working family members who worry about their care. They sustain and unlock the rich social and cultural capital embodied in our elders, which enhance the efficacy of our economic capital. More importantly, taking good care of our elders who built the nation is the right thing to do in the “fair and just society” that the President wishes for Singapore. It strengthens our sense of community. It is consistent with the values that we wish to impart to our children. These are all intangible but significant returns on our investments.

This is part of our nationhood: these are the bonds that will hold us together in times of trouble.

Our social harmony needs to be sustained and cultivated, carefully ministered. We must invest in these efforts.

“People are the real wealth of a nation”, declared the United Nations’ inaugural Human Development Report over twenty years ago. “People are the real wealth of a nation,” this is especially true for our nation. Let us put our people at the center of our government policies.

Let us invest in Singaporeans. Invest in the future of Singapore.

Significant investments cannot be made all at once. In addition to fiscal discipline, we would need to watch out for inflation, for effects on our currency and competitiveness. But the investments must be made. So we should start now and engage in a long term sustainable investment pattern for the good of our people.

CONCLUSION

Mr Speaker, the Prime Minister concludes in his National Day rally speech that “ours is an improbable nation”. I cannot agree more with his call for all Singaporeans to treasure and fight for our improbable nation.

I would like to add that an improbable nation will be made more probable for future Singaporeans by the politics of possibility.

Mr Speaker, sir, I support the motion. And now in Chinese.


在今年的两次选举之后，我们许多领导人都提到团结的重要。全国人民现在必须上下一心，步伐一致地向前迈进。

他们有人认为新加坡有政治分裂，不利於团结与将来发展。但是各位想想，这分裂是怎么造成的？ 是因为社会出现了不同的声音，还是因为不能包容不同的声音才会造成分裂？

“政者正也， 子帅以正，孰敢不正”，“为政以德，譬如北辰，居其所而众星拱之”，“风行草偃”，这些都是孔子说的来形容好的执政者，意思就是，一个好的领导者，只要有信心，有正确的方向，有好的道德与能力把政绩做出来，人民自然会乐意跟著他走。不需要害怕国家分裂，强调团结。

爱国的权利不是任何一个政党可以独占的。一个党再伟大也只是国家的一部分而已，不是国家全部啊！陈独秀说过，＂党外无党，帝王思想。＂在民主社会里，有不同的意见，不同的建议，是很自然的事情。这也是好事。

其实孔子三千年前就已说过，“君子和而不同”。和谐，可却不尽相同。晏婴说过：乐团只演奏一个音符，谁听得下去？白开水上再加白开水，谁喝得下去？一个和谐的社会，不只有一种声音。而是每个人很和平的在法律的範围内发表他的看法，从事政治活动。我们不必防民如防贼。

在中国历史上最伟大的贞观之治就不是一言堂式的全民团结，就是有喜欢諌言喜欢说真话不怕被唐太宗讨厌的魏徵，才有了贞观之治。

在这国会的任期里，希望明理的执政党可以做唐太宗，而我们来做魏徵，开出太平盛世，而不是一个执政者独断，而小人唯唯诺诺的世代。

我屡次与国外的人接触，大家似乎有一种感觉，觉得新加坡守成有馀但开创不足，似乎欠缺了那创新的能力。在这全球化的竞争下，我们国家不是应该培养出更多有主见、有创造力的新一代吗？

李前总理在演说中也说了他担忧我们年轻人，生活太过安逸。可见李前总理也想过这问题。真正完整的人格、独立的精神，是不可能在一个凡事听从独大的执政党，凡事唯唯诺诺的环境下生成。我们要我们下一代有创新、有独立自主精神，就不能不在政治上、精神上给他一个自由竞争的环境。这要求及这深深的忧虑不安其实是隐藏在许多新加坡人心中，在全球化激烈的竞争下，我们的竞争力难道只能靠执政党的完全控制来达成吗？

所以我们在野党是为了国家的好，才提出建言与批判，爱国不是执政党的专利，希望我们能在各自的岗位上演好自己的角色，这样我们的国家才能有活力、创造力的向前进步。

最後我要提醒执政党除了对自己有信心以外，对国人也要有信心。但我也要感谢执政党，把新加坡建设成一个成熟的法治社会，让我们在野党，可以在一个合法的基础上与执政党并存，竞争,为人民服务。

谢谢。

Chen Show Mao’s speech (Debate on President’s Address) (Mr Chen is the member of Parliament, Aljunied Group Representation Constituency, Paya Lebar Ward)
extracted from The Workers' Party Website
阿裕尼集选区（巴耶利峇）国会议员陈硕茂先生演讲（关于总统献辞）
转载自新加坡工人党网站

厅 by bob lee

感谢林志勇先生制作录像
Special thanks to Mr Lim Chee Yong for working on the video
https://www.facebook.com/ahyong99
https://www.facebook.com/bobleeks/posts/160303374060456
=============================================
这是一组记录新加坡组屋(客厅）的照片。

从2009年开始拍摄，拍了五间组屋就停了。
而现在离开了原本的工作岗位，时间也比较灵活，
我想，也应该继续拍摄。

A series of photos of living in Singapore HDB apartments, through the portray of Living Rooms of various Singaporeans from all walks of life staying in a HDB apartment.

https://www.facebook.com/bobleeks/posts/160303374060456

李欣赏 Bob Lee
www.bobleeks.com
bob@thefatfarmer.com

===========================
Bob's work bears testimony to his passion and desire bring a subject to light. His work depict his heart’s desire to capture the minute,
the mundane and the increasingly oblivious. The outcome of this manifestation brings forth compelling images that invoke emotions and
arouses curiosity. Viewers marvel at nature’s wonder through his lens whilst questioning the core purpose of humanity.

His numerous accolades and awards, garnered both locally and interntionally bears testimony to his immaculate craft. In 2003, he
beat over 200 top photojournalists from 32 countries to clinch the top award in the Behind the Scenes category of the ClickArt: World
Photojournalists Meet. His other notable awards include the Jurors’ Choice in the Singapore Art Awards 2005, Honourable Mentions in The International Photography Awards 2007, the Gold Award in the 'Best In Feature Photography' category in the Ifra Asia Media Awards 2008, Honourable Mentions in Prix de la Photographie, Paris 2009, just to name a few.

His work extends out of an image into numerous publications and exhibitions. In 2003, Bob published his first book, Have a Little
Faith, highlighting the daily life of the Sikh and Jewish community in Singapore. The book project led to his inaugural solo exhibition held
at the Singapore History Museum in the same year. In 2004, he launched his second exhibition and publication, One Room Flat, a unique
exhibition which revealed the life of the one-room flat elderly dwellers. In 2008, Bob published his third book "ah bob baba zhouji".
The publication comprises a compilation of blog entries and photos documenting the trials and tribulations of himself, a first-time
father. In 2009 Bob launched his second solo exhibition ‘CurioCity: Photographs from My Toy Camera’ and subsequently published his 4th
publication ‘Curiocity - U and I’ in February 2010.

Albeit all these achievements, Bob has remained level-headed and continuosly groom our young generation as a lecturer teaching
Photography in Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (2005 - 2007), Ngee Ann Polytechnic (2008 - present) and Egg Story Digital Arts School (2007 - present). He also contributes, searching for budding photographers, as guest judge for photography competitions such as 2009 National Museum of Singapore "Spot & Shoot 2009 – Our Landscape", 2009 Canon Photo Marathon, 2007 North East CDC "SNAP", 2005 NUS Montage, 2005 NTUC"Vitality & Me".



关于李欣赏

欣赏善于在闲暇时静心留意身边的一草一物,用相机把幻灭世界中的光影捕捉下来，透过他敏锐的洞察力，拍摄出一幅幅充满立体情感的平面作品。市井生活中再平凡不过的人物和景象，往往透过他的镜头下呈现出不同姿态。

现年34岁的李欣赏是在十年前加入<<联合早报>>摄影组当摄影记者,间中参与创办新加坡第一份免费华文报<<我报>>，最近刚归队早报摄影组。

这些年来他囊括海内外多个奖项，最近一次是于2008年在国际报业与传媒商业科技协会（Ifra）主办的第七届亚洲媒体大奖（2008 ASIA
MEDIA AWARD)最佳特写照片组别中获得金奖；同年5月，他在新加坡报业控股的华文报集团常年新闻奖中拿下了"最佳年度新闻照片"；在2005年，他获得"菲利普·莫里斯（Philip Morris)新加坡艺术奖"中的最高荣誉－－评审大奖。在2003年"ClickArt 国际艺术新闻摄影集会 " 中
，他也击败群雄在"幕后点滴"主题中夺得首奖。新闻嗅觉敏锐的欣赏在新闻采访线上的表现也非常突出,多次获得新加坡报业控股华文报集团颁发新闻奖以示肯定。

欣赏的摄影作品多次以摄影展的方式展出，精选作品也陆续结集成书，至今他已出版四本书。他刚在2009年举行他第二场摄影个展，这项名为《方城市》的展览展出他对英国、法国、德国和西班牙四个国家、八个城市的印象与观察，同名摄影集已在2010年2月出版。他的首场个展是于2003年12月在新加坡历史博物馆举行,他当时透过这项《信是有缘》摄影展,借镜头带大众贴近、了解新加坡的锡克和犹太族群；隔年,他再接再厉,与另一同事联办《一房一世》摄影展,展示多幅记录新加坡一房式组屋老人家生活点滴的黑白照片,希望能借此引起普罗大众对这些老人家的关怀。2006年，初为人父的他在博客上写下他这名新手爸爸的心情日记，博客文章定期在《我报》刊载长达一年半，广受读者欢迎，《ah
bob 爸爸周记》也因此在2008年诞生。

欣赏从马来西亚吉隆坡林国荣创意科技学院广告设计系毕业，主修摄影，后来取得University of Western Sydney
Nepean设计系学士学位。除了透过镜头为社会纪实，他也积极跟年轻一代分享摄影心得，他曾在南洋艺术学院多媒体部门（2005-2007
Multimedia Department），数码动画公司 EggStory Academy (2007-2009) ，以及义安理工学院中文系（2008-2010）教导摄影。

extracted from http://www.bobleeks.com/biodata.php

TEDxHouston - Brené Brown

Andy Williams & Antonio Carlos Jobim - Girl From Ipanema

"Garota de Ipanema" ("The Girl from Ipanema") is a well-known bossa nova song, a worldwide hit in the mid-1960s that won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965. It was written in 1962, with music by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Portuguese lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes. English lyrics were written later by Norman Gimbel.

extracted from wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Girl_from_Ipanema

Stacey Kent - Les eaux de Mars

"Waters of March" (Portuguese: "Águas de Março") is a Brazilian song composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim. Jobim wrote both the English and Portuguese lyrics.[1] The lyrics, originally written in Portuguese, do not tell a story, but rather present a series of images that form a collage; nearly every line starts with "É..." ("[It] is...").[1] In 2001, "Águas de Março" was named as the all-time best Brazilian song in a poll of more than 200 Brazilian journalists, musicians and other artists conducted by Brazil's leading daily newspaper, Folha de São Paulo.[1]

The inspiration for "Águas de Março" comes from Rio de Janeiro's rainiest month. March is typically marked by sudden storms with heavy rains and strong winds that cause flooding in many places around the city. The lyrics and the music have a constant downward progression much like the water torrent from those rains flowing in the gutters, which typically would carry sticks, stones, bits of glass, and almost everything and anything. The orchestration creates the illusion of the constant descending of notes much like Shepard tones.

In both the Portuguese and English versions of the lyrics, "it" is a stick, a stone, a sliver of glass, a scratch, a cliff, a knot in the wood, a fish, a pin, the end of the road, and many other things, although some specific references to Brazilian culture (festa da cumeeira, garrafa de cana), flora (peroba do campo) and folklore (Matita Pereira) were intentionally omitted from the English version, perhaps with the goal of providing a more universal perspective. All these details swirling around the central metaphor of "the waters of March" can give the impression of the passing of daily life and its continual, inevitable progression towards death, just as the rains of March mark the end of a Brazilian summer. Both sets of lyrics speak of "the promise of life," perhaps allowing for other, more life-affirming interpretations, and the English contains the additional phrases "the joy in your heart" and the "promise of spring," a seasonal reference that would be more relevant to most of the English-speaking world.

When writing the English lyrics, Jobim endeavoured to avoid words with Latin roots, which resulted in the English version having more verses than the Portuguese. Nevertheless, the English version still contains some words from Latin origin, such as rhyme, promise, dismay, line, plan, rest, pain, mountain, distance and mule. Another way in which the English lyrics differ from the Portuguese is that the English version treats March from the perspective of an observer in the northern hemisphere. In this context, the waters are the "waters of defrost" in contrast to the rains referred to in the original Portuguese, marking the end of summer and the beginning of the colder season in the southern hemisphere.

The song was used by Coca-Cola for a jingle in the mid-1980s concurrent with the "Coke is it!" campaign, which ran until 1988, and was most recently the track for a 2008 British Gas advert in the UK and in Italy. In the Philippines, it was also used in the early 90s as the soundtrack for an advertising campaign for the newly developed Ayala Center.[2]

Composer-guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves[3] relates that Jobim told him that writing in this kind of stream of consciousness was his version of therapy and saved him thousands in psychoanalysis bills.

Prof. Charles A. Perrone, an authority on contemporary Brazilian popular music (Musica Popular Brasiliera -MPB), wrote about the song in his doctoral dissertation (1985), an abridged version of which was published in Brazil as Letras e Letras da MPB (1988). He notes such sources for the song as the folkloric samba-de-matuto and a classic poem of pre-Modernist Brazilian literature.

extracted from wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waters_of_March

This song in this video is in French "Les eaux de Mars".

从新闻看香港与新加坡政府和人民如何处理永久居民问题

http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp110929_001.shtml
总人口增加10万7000达518万人
我国永久居民人口首度萎缩

（2011-09-29）
● 周殊钦 报道

　　尽管本地永久居民人口自2005年来首次出现萎缩，但是由于公民人口和非居民人口继续增长，使得新加坡的总人口还是同比增加了10万7000，达518万人。

　　根据新加坡统计局昨天公布的2011年人口趋势报告，截至今年六月，新加坡公民比去年同期增加了2万6500人至326万人、永久居民则减少了9000人至53万人，而非居民人口则增加6.9％，达139万。

　　非居民包括那些持工作准证、就业准证、长期社交访问准证及学生证等在本地逗留的外国人。

　　政府自2009年起收紧移民政策的效果，明显地反映在永久居民人口过去两年的变化。永久居民人口逐年的增幅从前年的11.5％，猛减至去年的1.5％，今年更是首度出现萎缩，减至53万人，进而促使居民人口的增幅也从去年的1％，放缓至今年的0.5％。

　　居民人口是由公民人口和永久居民人口这两部分所组成。

　　然而，非居民人口却出现较去年更快速的增幅，去年非居民人口的增幅只有4.1％。这是因为我国就业市场去年增长强劲，所创造的工作机会远比本地人口所能填补的为多。

　　针对我国人口增长趋势，新加坡国立大学社会学系副教授陈恩赐注意到，人口在一年里增加超过10万人，犹如我国在一年之内出现多一个大巴窑新镇。而这对我国的基础设施和社会资源还是会造成不小的压力。

　　“除非当局有办法扩大社会资源以容纳更多的人口，民众未必容易接受政府之前所提出已收紧移民政策的说法。”

　　政治观察家、新加坡管理大学法律系助理教授陈庆文也有同样关注。他指出，调整移民政策需要时间才能见效，而一般国人也未必会去区分永久居民和非居民。

　　由于基础设施的扩建跟不上外来人口增长的速度，人们过去几年来因必须面对越来越挤迫的社会空间，而日益感到不满。不少观察家更把这个备受批评的移民政策，指为影响今年五月大选结果的重要因素之一。

　　而前内阁资政李光耀也曾透露，按照人民行动党对大选结果的分析，行动党之所以得票率下跌了6个百分点，主要是因为房屋供给不足以应付需求，以及公共交通拥挤不堪。

　　政策研究院最近公布的一项人口课题研究表明，如要维持我国劳动队伍的活力，引进新移民似乎是不可避免的选项。

　　昨天由国家人口及人才署、新加坡统计局、内政部和移民与关卡局联合发表的人口简要报告，也再次透露政府对移民政策，乃至更宏观的人口管理政策背后更深层的隐忧。

　　据报告数据显示，我国人口在每况愈下的低生育率和日渐加长的预期寿命的双重影响下，人口老龄化的趋势也越来越明显。以年满65岁者为例，这个年龄层所占居民人口的比率已从2000年的7.2％提高到9.3％。老年人口的比重不断上升，意味着全体国人将担负更高的社会经济成本。

　　这从老年人口赡养比例（old-age support ratio）的变化趋势可以看出。以公民人口而言，这个比例在2000年是9.3，去年是7.2，今年进一步下跌至7.0。换言之，在十年前，大约有超过9名年龄介于15岁至64岁的公民一起赡养一名年满65岁者，现在只剩下7名这么做。

　　此外，除了生育率继续下滑至去年的1.15，远低于2.1这个自然人口替代率，人口趋势报告还显示我国去年注册结婚的数目，自2003年以来首次下降，只有2万4363桩，比前年的2万6081桩减少了6.6％。

chuching@sph.com.sg

转载自联合早报网
http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp110929_001.shtml


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高院裁决：入境条例违反《基本法》
港十多万外佣可申请永久居留
戴庆成 (2011-10-01)

　　香港高等法院昨天裁定香港的入境条例违反《基本法》，当地超过十万名外籍女佣将有资格申请成为香港永久居民。但特区政府随即提出上诉，并向原讼法庭申请延迟执行裁决。

　　虽然这起官司未知最终会“鹿死谁手”，但连日来已引发香港民众热议，甚至演变成一场社会和政治风波。

　　香港雇主团体对法院的裁决表示失望，担心会影响社会资源分配，认为特区政府有需要寻求人大释法。但也有法律学者认为，法院对《基本法》的诠释属于高度自治范畴，无须提请人大释法。

　　这次事件，缘于一名1986年以来一直在港工作，大部分时间都在为同一个家庭服务的菲佣伊万杰琳（Evangeline Banao Vallejos）。她在2008年4月向香港入境处申请成为香港永久居民，但处方根据《入境条例》有关条文拒绝其申请。同年12月，她向人事登记处申请再度被拒，遂向人事登记审裁处提出上诉，但也于去年6月被驳回。

　　不过，港高等法院昨天裁定，《入境条例》中不把外佣在港工作归类为“通常居住”的做法，违反《基本法》第24条。换言之，居港七年的外佣有资格申请居港权。

　　判词解释，即使外佣规定要在雇主的家留宿，也不可以改变外佣是在港居住的事实，加上外佣是自愿地留港工作，也受到香港劳工法例保障有休息日、工余时间可以进修，以及享有参与娱乐、宗教及社交活动的自由，因此不应该被剔出通常居港的定义。

高院26日再开庭宣布如何实施裁决

　　香港高院将于10月26日再次开庭，宣布如何落实及实施裁决内容。

　　据港府早前估计，目前香港有30万名外籍佣工，其中11万7000人已居港逾七年。高院作出裁定后，外佣团体“亚洲外佣协调会”发言人指出，裁决体现法治胜利，反映港尊重人权。

　　发言人说：“这不只是令外佣得益，也对香港形象有裨益。第一，判决捍卫了平等待遇，公平对待外佣；第二，判决也是反对歧视，对香港形象是好事，对香港社会也是好事。”

　　菲律宾官方也欢迎香港法院有关裁决。专责佣工事务的副总统比奈认为，在海外的菲律宾佣工对当地经济有重大贡献，香港法庭的裁决肯定了这一点。

　　印度尼西亚劳工部负责海外劳务的官员则盛赞香港为印尼海外劳工的最佳工作地点之一：“我们希望这个裁决能够成为一种标杆（benchmark），其他国家都效法。”

　　然而，许多港人就担心，港府输掉官司后，目前在港工作、数以十万计的外佣恐怕都会申请在港定居，结果将对政府资源、就业市场构成前所未有的压力。

　　资深律师梁家杰则认为，入境条例判违宪不代表外佣就拥有居港权，有关申请会否成功还要看入境部门是否批准。

　　保安局局长李少光表示决定就判决提出上诉，并会向原讼法庭申请延迟执行裁决。

　　李少光指出，如果入境处现在仍处理申请，将对很多香港家庭造成严重影响；如判决最后被推翻，也可能无法挽回后果及损失，强调有关做法符合公众利益。

　　他同时强调，暂时无须改变香港的外佣输入安排，以减低对雇用外佣家庭的影响。

　　对于港府一旦再次败诉，应否提请人大释法，香港社会各界意见不一。香港家庭佣工雇主协会主席罗军典指出，希望特区政府提出上诉，甚至在终审庭未作出终极判决前，向人大提请释法。

　　前保安局局长、新民党主席叶刘淑仪则表示，最理想的方法是由香港法庭自行解决，但若港府最终败诉，无能力解决这个问题，就要由人大释法解决。

　　不过，香港大学法律学院助理教授张达明认为，法院对《基本法》的诠释属于高度自治范畴，不需要提请人大释法。

　　张达明指出，很多外佣合约期满后都会回乡，不符合《基本法》订明以港作为永久居住地，相信只有少数人符合资格。

（编辑：梁嘉芪　联合早报）

转载自联合早报网
http://www.zaobao.com.sg/photoweb/pages3/hk111001.shtml