措辭與翻譯 : 自由經濟意識形態在香港的傳播 = Rhetoric and Translation : The Dissemination of Free Market Ideology in Hong Kong

"Free market", "free trade" and "private property right" are said to account for the economic success of capitalism in general, and that of Hong Kong in particular. Though not backed by sufficient empirical evidence, these claims are alive and well in the local Chinese media. This paper investigates how and why these claims are perpetuated in Hong Kong through the translation and rhetorical strategies of local economists within the context of Hong Kong 's historical experience. Adopting the concept of "domestication" introduced by L. Venuti and the approach to economic rhetoric developed by D. McCloskey, this paper analyzes local "economic prose." It reviews the strategies adopted by local economists to translate Western economic writing into Chinese, as well as their rhetorical strategies -- the use of metaphors, the charm of historical precedents and authority, and the appeal to simplicity and common sense. This paper also argues that the favourable background for the translation of Western economic ideology -- as an antithesis to communism -- involves the particular geopolitical and historical conditions of Hong Kong, which have made the speard of negative perceptions of communist China easier to accomplish