667 權力與服事

女王96歲逝世, 不少人在懷念, 因為見證著我們成長年代的終結。

女王出生時大英帝國已在衰落之中。第一次世界大戰後, 英國決定讓所有殖民獨立, 成立了英聯邦體制。二次大戰後, 各獨立國以不同政體加入, 女王成為家長的角色。在文化、教育、經濟、醫療及國際合作不同領域上, 英聯邦都發揮了一定影響力。我相信這正是女王受尊重的原因, 不是因為她是一位君主, 而是她演繹了君主作為僕人的意義。

中國的君主, 也稱為天子, 由天所命定。長期的封建統治, 因為沒有法治及民治, 令到中國人建立了對權力的崇拜。在中國, 一幅與國家領導人的合照, 可以讓很多人相信你會有特權或影響力。在澳洲的中國人, 不少也積極地與議員或政要等合照, 以為可以提升自己的身份。其實, 這反映了不少中國人對權力的崇拜。

其實女王擁有的權力是有限的。1215年英王約翰簽署的大憲章, 由貴族及宗教領袖限制了王權。到今天, 英國國王被稱為虛君, 就是說國家管治權已交給人民選出來的首相。 國王象徵著權力, 通過任命人民選出的首相, 代表國家權力和平轉移。平時,國王成為了團結國民的核心, 令到國民不需要效忠權力的擁有者, 也同時令到執政的人要記得, 雖然自己是人民選出來的領袖, 但同時也是人民的公僕。這權, 擁有權力者才不容易腐化。

是的, 不少獨裁者都是由人民選出來, 曾幾何時都得過人民的支持和擁戴。納粹德國的希特拉及義大利的墨索里尼都是接是通過民主選舉來執政, 然後通過立法使自己成為擁有絕對權力的統治者。西方國家多以限制統治者的任期來防止權力長期在一個人手中, 中國共產黨也曾嘗試限制國家領袖任期最多只有十年。

澳洲上一任總理莫里森, 在大流行期間認為要秘密取得行使5個部長職責的權力要任命自己兼任這些部長的職責。事件引來社會極大迴響, 相信會是莫里森管治的一個令人無法接納的決定, 正正就是權力集中在一個人身上引致。

聖經也強調君王的管治權柄是源於神, 而不是屬於君王自己, 就是說明當人相信自己擁有比別的人有更多權力時, 管治就很容易變成奴役。女王的一生, 提醒了世界, 只有權力代表者成為服務國民的象徵, 她才能得到國民的認同和支持。

周偉文 社長

Power and Serving

The Queen passed away at the age of 96. Many of us in remembrance of her being part of growing up.

The Queen was born whilst Britain was on the decline. The Commonwealth was formed as Britain allowed her colonies to become independent after the WWI. After WWII the Queen became the guardian of these independent countries in different forms. The Commonwealth has been playing a role in terms of culture, education, economy, health and international cooperation. This has made the Queen respectable, not because she is the head of the monarchy, but because she was serving in the name of a master.

The Emperor in China was meant to be appointed by the heaven. The prolonged conservative governance of China in the absence of legal and democratic input has made Chinese corrupted with power. In China, a photo shot with a national leader could make people feel that you are privileged with power. Chinese in Australia also seek opportunities to get close with political figures for raising self-esteem. This reflects their misconception of power.

Actually the Queen has very limited power. In 1215 King John signed the Magna Carta where the royal rights were contained by the nobles and religious leaders. To date the British King does not has any power to rule, with the democratically elected Prime Minister in place. The King signifies power, his appointment of the PM is the transfer of his power in effect. The King serves as the centre of all nationals; hence the people do not need to serve the one in power who instead should be the one serving the public who elected him into power. By this, the power and the one in power will not get corrupted in time.

Truly there have been dictators who had been elected and supported by the people. Both Hitler of Nazi Germany and then Mussolini in Italy were elected into power; they made themselves totalitarians through their own legislative changes. Western countries usually put a limit on the serving years a single ruler can hold, Communist China had also made 10 years as the cap.

Australian ex-PM Morrison had unnoticeably appointed himself five ministerial authorities during the pandemic. Public opinions regarded that centralisation of power as unacceptable.

The Bible tells an Emperor’s power comes from God to remind people in power that people under his rule do not belong to him in total. The Queen’s life also reminds the world that the figure of power can only get support from the people because she has been serving her people.

Mr. Raymond Chow, Publisher