2013年托福阅读机经背景

　THE highest court in Hong Kong has ruled that foreign domestic workers are not eligible to apply for permanent residency in the Chinese territory. The ruling ends a two-year legal battle led by Evangeline Banao Vallejos, a Filipino maid who has worked in Hong Kong for 17 years. It also has implications for around 300,000 others, mainly from the Philippines and Indonesia, who make up roughly 8% of the city’s workforce.

　　香港终审法院裁定外籍在港佣工无权申请中国领土内的永久居留权。此次裁定结束了由伊万杰琳?巴纳欧?瓦利尤斯2年前发起的对此权利的法律申诉，伊万杰琳是一名菲籍女佣，已在香港工作了17年。这项裁定也很可能涉及其他30万左右的佣工，他们主要来自菲律宾和印度尼西亚，大约占整个香港劳动力的8%。

　　A lower court had ruled that Ms Vallejos had the right to seek permanent residency, but on March 25th the Court of Final Appeal overruled it, saying that Ms Vallejos did not qualify since her domestic-helper visa stipulates that she must return home at the end of her employment. Other expatriates are allowed to obtain the status after living in the city for seven years.

　　香港下级法院曾裁定瓦利尤斯女士有权寻求永久居留权，但是在3月25日，香港终审法院驳回了这一裁定，宣布瓦利尤斯女士无资格寻求永久居留权，因为她的家庭佣工签证规定她在结束在港工作后必须返回原籍国。其他外籍人士在港生活7年后则允许获得永久居留权。

　　The ruling has split Hong Kong. Supporters of the judgment say that allowing domestic helpers to stay could lead to a huge influx that would strain the employment and housing markets and the city’s welfare system. Supporters of the maids say such fears are exaggerated, and that the decision amounts to ethnic discrimination. Hong Kong’s government had also asked the court to refer a central issue in the case to China’s legislature in Beijing, which has final oversight. By finding in the government’s favour, however, the court removed the need for such a step.

　　对于此项裁定，港民意见分歧。裁定支持者声称允许外籍佣工获得永久居留权会导致大量人口入港，这会牵制就业和房地产市场以及香港的福利制度。裁定反对者声称这种担心过于夸张，这个决定可以说是种族歧视。香港政府也曾要求法院就案件的关键提交到拥有最终解释权的中央立法机关，借此获得中央政府的支持，然而法院并没有实施该程序。

　　Having a maid has become an affordable addiction for many middle-class Hong Kong households. But the law allows foreign maids to be paid less than half the legal minimum wage, which is set at HK$28 ($3.60) per hour. A foreign domestic helper can be hired for as little as HK$3,920 a month. Ms Vallejos’s lawyer said she was “speechless but calmly resigned”. A small group of protesters gathered outside the court. “We are workers, not slaves!” they shouted.

　　香港中产阶级家庭大都喜欢雇佣一名外籍女佣，这也在他们的经济承受能力范围内。但是法律规定外籍女佣的工资为法定最低工资的一半，仅有28港币(3.6美元)/时。一个外籍佣工每月的工资仅为3920港币。瓦利尤斯女士的律师说，当时她“失望地说不出话，但是平静地接受了”。一小群抗议者在法院外聚集，喊着抗议口号“我们是工人，不是奴隶!”