爭議：香港計劃改造英殖民時代郵筒

爭議：香港計劃改造英殖民時代郵筒

香港的大街小巷中散布著的街頭郵筒共有1148個。其中，仍有59個鑄鐵郵筒上保留著英國皇家標志。因為這59個郵筒是在1997年前安置的。近日香港郵局宣布，他們將會用鐵板蓋住所有的英國皇室標記，這一行為被保育團體批評為去殖民地化，摧毀街頭歷史遺跡。

測試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識：

humble 不起眼的

insignia 徽章

deem 認為

territory 領土

decolonize 去殖民化

Anger at Hong Kong plan to stamp out British symbols on postboxes（479words）

By Ben Bland in Hong Kong

The humble postbox,as much a legacy of British rule as railways and cricket,has become the latest target of Hong Kong's pro-Beijing establishment.

The Hong Kong authorities plan to cover up royal insignias on colonial-era postboxes,deeming the ciphers inappropriate. But the move is stirring another clash with activists who accuse the establishment of undermining the city's autonomy.

Campaigners are asking why it is only now,18 years after the territory was returned to China,that the Post Office wants to make the change to the remaining 59 colonial post boxes,a small fraction of the more than 1,100 in use.

“This is a very bad idea,” said Sin Wai-man,who runs a group lobbying to preserve the old postboxes. “The only reasonable conclusion we can draw is that they are trying to remove the colonial history from Hong Kong. Maybe there's some political agenda behind it,to push decolonisation in order to appease their bosses in mainland China.”

Some lawmakers have written to the head of the Post Office,asking for the decision to be reversed to protect Hong Kong's heritage.

The postboxes,which bear the Hong Kong Post Office logo,carry a range of royal ciphers including those of George V,George VI and Elizabeth II,as well as one that features the Scottish crown.

The Post Office said it was still finalising the plans and that when it blocks out the royal symbols it will “take care not to cause any damage to these insignia”.

Hong Kong was guaranteed a “high degree of autonomy” from Beijing under the one country,two systems arrangement set up following the 1997 handover.

But opposition politicians and activists fear that the city's freedoms,which are unique in authoritarian China,are coming under increasing attack from the Hong Kong government and its allies in Beijing.

They point to the government's failure to implement truly democratic elections for the chief executive and to a continuing dispute over academic freedom at Hong Kong University.Adding to activist concerns,normally reticent mainland officials have shown an increasing willingness to express their frustration with Hong Kong publicly.

Last month Chen Zuo'er,who heads a mainland think-tank on Hong Kong affairs,blamed the territory's mounting social and economic problems on what he said was a failure to decolonise.

Zhang Xiaoming,who leads Beijing's liaison office in Hong Kong,said those calling for democratic reforms failed to understand the limitations of the city's mini-constitution.Anson Chan,head of Hong Kong's civil service at the end of British rule and after handover,said Hong Kongers were not prepared to “be told to shut up and listen to what the liaison office wants”.

She added: “We can certainly do more to better understand our motherland but not at the risk of compromising the core values and defending the high degree of autonomy in one country two systems.”