香洲开埠:清季创设“无税口岸”的尝试

Xiangzhou as a Commercial Port:the Qing s Trial of a Tax-free Port

清宣统年间,广东香洲开埠通商。香洲商埠不仅是由商民自主创办的中国第一个“民办”商埠,且为近代中国唯一经朝廷谕批的“无税口岸”,洵属创举。香洲开埠带有抵制澳门扩展界址、挽回利权的民族主义色彩。围绕香洲是否免税,有关各方曾展开激烈论争。开埠初期商埠建设曾取得一定成绩。但因未能充分虑及自然条件限制,加之制度设计上的严重缺陷,商埠运作很快陷入困境。而商埠主持人改变运作方向,从初期禁赌到公开弛禁赌搏,试图以此作为与“赌城”澳门竞争的手段,结果适得其反,导致商埠彻底败落。

During the Xuantong Reign(1909-1912)of the Qing dynasty,Xiangzhou,Guangdong,opened up as a commercial port,marking the beginning of China s non-governmental and customs-free port approved by the Qing court.In a certain sense,the launch of the Xiangzhou Port was a nationalist action against the expansion of Macao,and there had been heated debates on whether it should be customs-free.At first the port was running well,but the limit of its natural condition and defect in institutional design quickly brought about many problems.In particular,the change of policy,from prohibiting gambling to lifting the ban publicly in order to compete against Macao,led to unexpected consequence,accelerating the failure of the port.