Beijing city is to raise its minimum wage by 21 per cent, the second such rise in six months, amid rising inflationary pressure and growing concern over China’s widening wealth gap.

　　北京市將把該市最低工資標準上調21%，這是該市6個月內第二次上調最低工資。目前，中國的通脹壓力正不斷加大，日趨拉大的貧富差距也引起越來越多的關注。

　　The increase, which comes into effect on New Year’s day, raises the statutory minimum monthly wage in the Chinese capital to Rmb1,160 ($175) and the hourly rate to Rmb6.7. It follows a rise of 20 per cent in June.

　　此次上調將于明年元旦生效。北京市法定最低月工資將上調至1160元人民幣（合175美元），最低小時工資將上調至6.7元人民幣。此前，北京市曾在今年6月將最低工資標準調高了20%。

　　Every province and municipality in China has announced a rise in its minimum wage this year, with increases ranging from 12 per cent to Beijing’s 21 per cent.

　　今年，中國各省市均已宣布上調最低工資標準，上調幅度從12%至21%（即北京市此次的上調幅度）不等。

　　The official measure of annual consumer price inflation in China hit 5.1 per cent in November, up from 4.4 per cent in October, with food prices jumping 11.7 per cent in November from a year earlier.

　　11月份，官方給出的居民消費價格(CPI)同比增幅從10月份的4.4%升至5.1%，食品價格則同比飆升11.7%。

　　The government is worried about the disproportionate burden of rising food costs on low-income households, which spend a larger share of their income on basic necessities. It also fears that persistent price rises could stoke social unrest, as they have in the past.

　　政府擔心，不斷上漲的食品價格會讓低收入家庭背上過于沉重的負擔，因為這類家庭基本生活必需品開銷占其收入的比例更大。政府還擔心，物價持續(xù)上漲可能引發(fā)社會動蕩，就像過去曾發(fā)生過的那樣。

　　“While China’s living standards have dramatically risen over the past 30 years, the gap between rich and poor has sharply widened,” Yu Yongding, an influential former adviser to China’s central bank, wrote in an editorial last week. “With the contrast between the opulent lifestyles of the rich and the slow improvement of basic living conditions for the poor fomenting social tension, a serious backlash is brewing.”

　　中國央行一位舉足輕重的前顧問余永定上周在一篇社論文章中寫道：“雖然在過去30年中，人民的生活水平大幅提高，但逐步拉大的貧富差距也是不爭的現(xiàn)實。富人生活優(yōu)渥，窮人水生火熱，兩相對比，致使社會矛盾不斷加劇，這必將招致民眾的強烈反抗。”

　　Nationwide increases in minimum wages are part of the government’s plan to reduce income disparity and the Chinese economy’s heavy reliance on investment and promote greater consumption by middle and low-income households.

　　在全國范圍內上調最低工資，是中國政府縮小收入差距、減輕經(jīng)濟對投資的嚴重依賴、并提振中低收入家庭消費之計劃的一部分。

　　But with many businesses already being squeezed by rising input costs, wage increases come at a difficult time and are likely to lead to higher overall inflation.

　　不過，考慮到許多企業(yè)正承受著投入成本不斷上升的壓力，在這樣一個困難時期上調工資水平，很可能會推高整體通脹。

　　“In just the last three months we’ve already had to raise entry-level starting wages 60 per cent just to get people to come to a job interview,” said Jade Gray, chief executive of Gung Ho Pizza, a Beijing gourmet delivery service.

　　北京美食外賣服務公司叫板比薩(Gung Ho Pizza)的首席執(zhí)行官杰德•格雷(Jade Gray)表示：“僅在過去三個月里，我們已經(jīng)不得不把初級員工的起薪提高了60%，而這只是為了吸引求職者來面試。”

　　With its latest wage increase Beijing has the highest minimum wage in the country, just ahead of Shanghai on Rmb1,120 per month, but other cities and provinces, including the manufacturing hub of Guangdong, are eyeing further increases in the new year.

　　北京市此次上調最低工資之后，其最低工資水平已位居全國之首，名列第二的是上海市，月最低工資為1120元人民幣。不過，包括制造業(yè)中心廣東省在內的其它省市，正計劃在新的一年里進一步上調最低工資。

　　The government estimates Beijing’s minimum wage rise will benefit nearly 3m people.

　　政府估計，北京此次上調最低工資將惠及近300萬民眾。

　　In Hong Kong, legislators in November set the city’s first minimum wage at HK$28 an hour. The new wage, which takes effect in May 2011, followed months of public consultation and debate amid growing concern in the city about widening income disparities.

　　在香港，立法會今年11月出臺了該市首個最低工資標準，定為每小時28港元。這項最低工資標準將于2011年5月生效。此前，立法會曾花費數(shù)月時間就此征詢公眾意見并展開辯論。香港日趨拉大的收入差距已引起該市民眾越來越多的關注。