富裕的鳄鱼之岛：大开曼

Ｊｏｎ　Ｓｔｅｌｌｉｎｇ

编者按:提到开曼群岛,大家首先想到的就是鳄鱼和海龟,而现在的开曼群岛已经蜕变成世界著名的金融中心和避税天堂,这颗加勒比海上的明珠愈发迷人,吸引着越来越多的眼光。当然,烈日炎炎,吹着清新的夏日海风,坐在沙滩上看海龟,这种场景的确令人心动不已,那本期我们就一起去看看盛夏中的大开曼,它散发的又是怎样一种风情呢?

There is an interesting phenomenon that comes over people when you tell them youre flying off to the Cayman Islands. They become extremely polite, a large glacial grin will appear on their faces with perhaps a barely audible, lucky you, squeezed through gritted teeth. Yes, the Cayman Islands are really just one of those places that you dont want to hear about other people visiting. Its a place you want to be travelling to yourself and preferably relocating to permanently!

当你告诉别人你打算飞往开曼群岛时人们就会出现一种很有趣的现象。他们会变得异常彬彬有礼,咧着嘴在脸上扯出一个冰冷的笑容,或许你能听见从咬紧的牙关中迸出的“真是幸运啊你”!没错,有那么几个地方你永远不想听见别人将要前去旅游,开曼岛就是其中之一。那是个你希望自己能够前去一游,并且非常适宜永远驻留的地方。

With the plane on its final approach to Owen Roberts Airport a sudden sea of craning heads erupted, trying to take in everything visible through the small windows and, though Id seen it a million times, I still couldnt resist contorting my body from the aisle seat to catch the view. The deep blue waters were as stunningly inviting as ever and the sigh from my fellow passengers couldnt help but induce a proud little smile on my face. The desire to immediately make your way to the beach and avoid the hassle of immigration is palatable and if Eric had stopped elbowing me in the arm to point out something every second I might have felt more sympathetic. Ok, I have to own up to something; you see, Im not strictly a tourist, Grand Cayman used to be my home and that quick residents line, well I can use it. Unfair isnt it? Eric Mclaughlin, a good friend of mine from University days, was taking a well-deserved vacation and having put me up in Oregon a bunch of times it was my turn to return the favor.

当飞机快要到达欧文•罗伯茨国际机场时很多人都突然抬起了头,想通过狭小的飞机窗户将视线范围内的美景收纳眼中,尽管已经见过无数次了,我还是忍不住将身体从走廊座位上扭转过来欣赏这醉人的风景。深蓝色的海水依旧美得惊心动魄,同行乘客无法抑制的惊叹声让我露出一丝自豪的微笑。我也觉得立即前往海滩躲开移民检查站的骚扰是个不错的主意,如果埃里克不每一秒用手肘碰碰我然后指向某物的话,我会更支持这种想法。好吧,我必须要坦白一些事;你知道,我并不是一名严格意义上的游客,大开曼曾经是我的故乡,所以(在移民检查站)我可以使用当地居民的快速通道而不是游客通道。不公平是吗?埃里克•麦克罗林是我大学时候的好友,现在正在享受理所当然的假期,他曾经在俄勒冈州招待过我一段时日,现在是我回请的时候了。

Grand Cayman is one of those interesting colonial legacies. First discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1503, its present name comes thanks to the later arrival of English explorer Sir Francis Drake who named them after the regions term for the alligator (caiman). Local folklore has it that he saw the large iguanas in the sand and brilliantly mistook them for alligators. Its not very likely but its a nice story all the same and just one of the many local legends that you will find scattered throughout the islands that gives it a certain mystique. There were no indigenous islanders on Grand Cayman and its earliest population can be traced to the late 17th century with a mix of British soldiers, passing sailors and Jamaican slaves. This blending of culture is still reflected in the islands today; with a population of around 55,000 people only half are Caymanian with the rest drawn from all corners of the globe, happily no slaves. In fact Grand Cayman is the richest island in the Caribbean with a GDP per capita amongst the top 15. This is helped by its status as a tax haven with the title of the 5th largest financial center in the world, very impressive indeed for such a small island!

大开曼是极具殖民地传奇的岛屿之一。1503年克里斯托弗•哥伦布首次发现该群岛,而它现在的名字也源于英国航海家弗朗西斯•德雷克根据岛上的短吻鳄(凯门鳄)而将其命名为开曼群岛。民间则传说这位航海家将沙滩上巨大的鬣鳞蜥误认为短吻鳄了。这种说法好像不太可能,但仍然是一个有意思的小故事,它是遍布岛屿每一个角落的无数传说之一,为开曼群岛平添了几分神秘的色彩。大开曼没有本土居民,它早期的人口要追溯到十七世纪晚期,那时这里杂居着英国士兵、过往水手和牙买加奴隶。今时今日,这种混合文化在岛上依旧很鲜明,五万五千名居民中只有将近一半是开曼人,其他的都来自于世界各个角落,值得高兴的是没有奴隶。实际上大开曼是加勒比海最富裕的岛屿,人均国民生产总值名列全球前十五。这要归功于它被称为“避税天堂”以及世界上第五大金融中心,对于这样一个小岛来说是非常惊人的成就。

The warm wall of air that hits you as you leave the plane was like an old handshake for me welcoming me home. Eric however managed to stumble out the entrance and succeeded in stamping on my Achilles heel, Im guessing helped by the combination of air, the distractingly good looking stewardess and the rum punch. We were lucky and passed through customs fairly quickly with our bags intact, which was no small thing; the indirect flight via Miami can leave your bag arriving on a later flight as I know too often from experience!

一踏出飞机,迎面袭来的暖风像是在用古老的仪式欢迎我回归故里。我想也许是这里清新的空气、令人惊艳的空姐,还有上好的老姆酒(让人迷醉的缘故),埃里克踉踉跄跄地走到出口处,却不小心踩在我的“阿喀琉斯”脚踝上,真是疼啊。(不过)很幸运,我们顺利通过了海关,大件的行李也完好无损。我非常了解,按过去的经验,从迈阿密转机一般都会延误行李的到达时间。

With the Jeeps keys delivered by a family friend, it was a quick ride to the Beachcomber Resort where Id rented an apartment some months before with some work colleagues right on the famous 7 Mile Beach (which is actually 5.5 miles long; I guess it just wasnt as catchy a name). Driving in the Caribbean is an interesting affair that tends to not involve using any of the cars mirrors and near constant use of the horn. Grand Cayman is no exception; overtaking from five cars back on a blind bend here is an art form. Over the next week we would pass a number of cars that hadnt quite managed it, though fortunately there were no fatalities.

从一个亲友那拿了吉普车的钥匙,我们很快就到达了冲浪度假村,几个月前我和几个同事正好前往著名的七英里海滩(实际上是5.5英里长,我猜是由于作为一个名字并不好记),就顺便在这里预租了公寓。在加勒比海地区驾驶非常有趣,你几乎不用使用倒车镜,只要一直按喇叭就好。大开曼也不例外,在急转弯处赶超五辆车是一种行为艺术。在接下来的一个星期里我们看到几辆车因超车而发生意外,幸运的是没有人员伤亡。

Taking it easy to recover from our jet lag that night we just walked the 200 yards to the beach bar and embraced the culture of taking it easy Caribbean style. This involved our drinks a couple of comfortable hammock, the ever-present beautiful girls in bikinis walking past and, of course, the beach. Eric was busy chatting to the local barmaid so I was happy to drift away to sleep with the sound of the rolling surf in the background and a sunset to die for staring me in the face, a perfect start to the vacation.

好好休息倒时差后,晚上我们步行了200码就来到了海滩酒吧,感受着加勒比海的独特休闲文化氛围。这里为我们提供了很多饮料、舒适的吊床,穿着比基尼的养眼美女在眼前走来走去,当然,还有美丽的海滩。埃里克忙着和当地的女服务员聊天,我乐得独自随着身后海浪拍岸的轰鸣声慢慢入睡,而醉人的夕阳也近在眼前,好一个完美开始的假期。

The next day, with only slight hangovers, we drove into the capital Georgetown to grab lunch in one of the many little cafe bars running along the coast and planned our itinerary for the day whilst enjoying the local conch chowder. Westbay, our first stop, brought us to the famous Turtle Farm. Turtles of all sizes are reared in huge pools and there is even the chance to hold the smallest ones if you are fortunate - which can also get you surprisingly wet. Have you ever slapped your hand down on a pool of water? Well holding the turtle just out of the water gives you four times the result multiple times as he flaps his legs; lesson learned. A number of turtles are released into the wild every year, while the rest will sadly end up being someones meal. This might not be popular with everybody but it does mean the species are not hunted for their meat and allows for the recovery of the wild population. Continuing on from the farm things got even better and we went to Hell! Not the biblical place though, it's a jagged formation about the size of a football pitch made of ironshore. Ironshore is a type of rock that is razor sharp and will turn you into a human pincushion if you have the misfortune to fall on it, so you can only stand on a platform overlooking it. Its easy to imagine why it was called Hell as with the sun beating down and no shelter around, it takes little effort to evoke images of brimstone and fire worthy of Dante himself.

第二天醒来有点宿醉后的不适,我们驱车前往首府乔治敦,在沿岸的众多小咖啡馆里选一家解决午饭,一边享受当地的贝螺杂烩一边商量当天的行程。我们在第一站Westbay见到了著名的海龟农场。巨大的池塘中饲养着各种大小的海龟,运气好的话你甚至能抓住那些小海龟——这也会把你弄得全身湿透。你有没有试过在一池子水里挥掌?在海龟不停地挥动腿时,牢牢抓住它并迅速浮出水面,不然就会溅起更多的水花,这是我学到的一课。每年有很多海龟被放回野外,剩下的就很不幸地要葬身于人腹。大家对这种做法颇有微词,但这意味着人类饲养野生动物并不仅仅是为了猎食,也有助于恢复野生动物数量。从农场出来后情况还真是越来越好了,我们要前往“地狱”。这可不是圣经上的那个地狱,而是一处参差嶙峋的地方,约莫足球场大小,由ironshore岩堆积而成。实际上ironshore是一种状似剃须刀的岩石,如果你不幸掉了下去那么你就会成为人肉针垫,因此你只能站在平台上远眺。在太阳光直射过来时很容易联想到为什么这里会被称为地狱了,四周没有任何遮蔽物,很轻易就能联想到但丁所描述的硫磺和火焰。

A new day arrived and after an obligatory morning swim, a trip to Eden Rock was on the cards as Eric was a new convert to scuba diving and for the budget diver its perfect. With some beautiful coral outcrops and plenty of sea life just right off the shore, no boat trip is needed so it's easy on the wallet and has everything you could possibly want. It was a bit crowded at first thanks to the hoards of cruise ship passengers disgorged from their ships but it soon quietened down as we made our way deeper and the scene came alive. Schools of fish so used to humans that they thought nothing of trying to eat my hair were not exactly what I had hoped for but Eric and a couple of other divers were more than happy to laugh away into their regulators. That aside the peace and tranquility that eventually came over me nestled under the sea away from the distractions and noise of modern life was terribly seductive. So it proved to be a good thing that Eric gave me the signal to surface as I had stupidly forgotten to check my oxygen. A terrible novice mistake to make that can easily prove fatal if you dont have a good buddy system working. We climbed the steep step ladder ashore carrying with us some of that quiet all divers find beneath the waves, alas all too quickly lost to the 5pm traffic jam.

新的一天来临,在每天例行的晨泳后,我们计划着去伊甸石,埃里克最近新迷上了水肺潜水,很适合预算有限的潜水者。海岸边有很多美丽的珊瑚岩和水生物。由于不需要乘船,所以不用花钱就能轻松得到你想要的。由于很多乘客从观光船上跳入水中,最初有点吵,但很快就安静下来了,我们不断下沉,四周的景色也越来越鲜活。这里的鱼群已经对人类见怪不怪,所以并没有像我预期的那样来咬我的头发,而埃里克和其他的潜水者们都在呼吸调节器中无声地大笑(因为带着调节器所以听不见声音)。这种宁静最终征服了我,在海底远离现代都市的喧嚣是一种巨大的诱惑。事实证明我很幸运,在我愚蠢地忘记检查供氧系统时埃里克示意我浮上去。这是一个新手易犯的致命错误,如果你没有一个好的双人同行制就非常危险。我们带着所有潜水者在海浪下所寻到的宁静顺着陡峭的台阶爬上海岸,不幸的是我们碰上了5点的交通堵塞。

Stingray City is one of the most well-known spots in the Caymans. It's a large sand bank in the sea just north of the island where the coral white sands glow from a mere couple of feet below the surface and stingrays gather to feed. We caught our boat from the Hyatts Marina and along with our fellow passengers listened to the entertaining patter of the captain as we cast off. Arriving at the sandbank with expectations high we were not disappointed at the sight of at least 20 stingrays of all sizes swarming around some snorkelers already there. It was a very weird sensation having squid hovered up from my hands by these gentle creatures whose barbed tails could seriously harm me should they choose. I was extra careful to not stand on them as they glided along the sand, not such an easy task with them bumping into me searching for squid.

魟鱼城,也叫魔鬼鱼城,是开曼岛最出名的景点之一。它是海上的一个大沙洲,岛屿北边海面几英尺以下的珊瑚白砂闪闪发光,魟鱼在那里集中觅食。我们从凯悦码头乘船,船一出发,船长热情洋溢的欢迎词就传入我们和同行游客的耳中。到达沙洲后景色果然不负所望,已经在水下的潜水者身边至少围绕着二十多种不同大小的魟鱼。它们将墨鱼逼得直往我手里钻,感觉很怪异,这些优雅的小生物尾巴上的倒刺可能会刺伤我。魟鱼在沙滩上游动时我非常小心不要踩到它们,这可不是件容易的事情,我在找墨鱼的时候总会无意撞上它们。

It seemed appropriate that the last day we spent swimming with some new friends we had made the day before at Rum Point. Sitting under the casuarinas trees Eric turned towards one of the girls and in reply to how his holiday in Cayman went he spoke for all of us with I think I could live here.

在朗姆岬我们结识了很多新朋友,看来和他们一起游泳度过最后一天假期再合适不过。坐在木麻黄树下,埃里克转向其中一个美女,当被问到在开曼度假感觉怎样时,他说“我觉得完全可以在这里定居”,这道出了我们所有人的心声。

Notes

1. come over

意为“在上空经过;顺便来访;从远处来;被理解并完全接受;逐渐变得;突然感到”。

例句:You really must come over sometime and have dinner with us.

你确实应该找个时间过来,跟我们一起吃顿饭。

The sky came over dark as a thick cloud passed before the sun.

乌云蔽日,天色一时昏暗起来。

2. own up

意为“完全坦白、供认”。

例句:I advise you to own up at once.

我劝你立即坦白。

3. Achilles heel

意为“致命伤”,典故出自荷马史诗《伊利亚特》(The Iliad)。特洛伊战争中,希腊联军阵营最骁勇善战的一支军队Myrmidons是由阿喀琉斯率领的。阿喀琉斯的母亲Thetis是海中女神,天神Zeus和海神Poseidon倾慕于她,可是都不敢要她,因为命运注定她所生的儿子会比父亲更厉害。最后她下嫁凡人Peleus国王,生下阿喀琉斯之后,抱着他来到Styx河边泡水,使他刀枪不入。可是因为手捏着他的后脚跟没泡到水,因而成了唯一的弱点。阿喀琉斯杀死Hector后,被特洛伊城的Paris王子一箭射中后脚跟而阵亡。后人即以Achilles' heel表示“致命伤、最大的弱点”。文中作者是用来形容埃里克将他的脚后跟踩得很疼。

4. blind bend

意为“隐蔽弯道、急弯”。这里的blind指的是a bend on a road that is dangerous because you can not see cars coming around it(因为你无法看见车辆驶来而变得危险的马路弯道)。

5. jet lag

意为“飞行时差反应、时差感”,这是由于不同地区的时间差所造成的身心不适。

例句:I always get bad jet lag when I travel.

我每次旅行都很难适应时差。

6. stare in the face

意为“盯视、直视;就在眼前(身旁);显而易见”。

例句:It's not polite to stare somebody in the face.

盯着人的脸看是不礼貌的。

Ruin stared him in the face.

他面临破产。

The contradiction stared them in the face.

这矛盾明显地摆在他们面前。

7. Continuing on from the farm things got even better and we went to Hell!

这句话是一种自我嘲讽,是一种幽默的表达方式。因为Hell(地狱)是大开曼的一个景点,作者觉得从海龟农场出来后就前往地狱,听起来很可怕,实际上是一件非常有意思的事情,所以他说“从农场出来后情况还真是越来越好了,我们要前往‘地狱”。

8. on the cards

意为“可能”。

例句:An early general election is certainly on the cards.

早日举行大选确有可能。

9. scuba diving

意为“水肺潜水”。Scuba这个词在中文里就是水肺,是一种帮助人在水下呼吸的设备。潜水是近年来日渐流行,而水肺潜水则是其中的一种,看似刺激又充满挑战,是一项有益健康的大众化运动。

例句:You see I know very little about scuba diving.

你知道的,我对水肺潜水了解不多。

Links

1. Brief Information about Cayman

开曼知多少

开曼群岛是位于加勒比海西北部的英国殖民地。由大开曼、小开曼和开曼布拉克3个岛屿组成,面积259平方千米。人口41934人(2002),黑人占25%,白人占20%,44%为混血种人。英语为官方语言和通用语。居民多信奉基督教。

官方语言:英语 。

首都:乔治敦,位于大开曼岛的西海岸,是开曼群岛最大的城市,南美的圭亚那首都也叫乔治敦,二者英文拼法相同,但前者是两个词,后者是一个词。

货币:开曼元(KYD)。

气候:大开曼岛约有1/2是沼泽地。属热带气候,年平均气温24-30℃,年降水量1200毫米。

教育:公立学校对5～16岁学生实行免费义务教育。

2. World Financial Center

世界金融中心

很难想象这个当时满是海龟的加勒比海荒岛,有一天竟会成为全球五大金融中心之一,更以“避税天堂”、“洗钱重镇”扬名于世。若不是新闻热炒陈水扁家族洗钱,台湾民众可能从未听过开曼群岛,更不知它在国际金融业的“地位”。

发展

1503年哥伦布发现开曼群岛岛。1670年根据《马德里斯科条约》,开曼群岛归英国统治,但在1959年前的280年间,群岛实际上为当时的英国殖民地牙买加的属地,由牙买加总督全权管辖。1962年牙买加独立后,群岛才单独成为英国直辖殖民地,由英女王任命的总督行使管辖权。

经济

金融服务和旅游业是开曼群岛的两大经济支柱。政府对于持续把开曼群岛发展成为一个离岸金融中心给予很大支持。开曼群岛的名声和受欢迎程度在日趋增强,特别在亚洲地区,因其是香港证券交易所仅有的两个获准上市的离岸法区之一。开曼群岛目前在世界上是仅次于纽约、伦敦、东京和香港的第五大金融中心,到1997年6月,世界50家大银行中有47家在岛上设有分支机构。到1999年6月,在岛上注册的公司有4.1万多家,银行和信托机构590家,保险公司475家。全球排名前50大银行,八成相中开曼,多在乔治城设据点;相对于6万人口,开曼号称全球金融业密度最高地区。

原因

全球金融业所以趋之若鹜,固然与开曼金融基础建设健全、提供优质金融服务有关,更关键的是开曼有诱人的“境外金融”操作空间与利基:在开曼设立境外公司规范与限制极少、隐密性及安全性极高、没有公司税、资本利得税、所得税、财产税等,几乎是无税之地。这些特性与利益使开曼成为境外金融乐土,全球各大公司争相用为“避税港”,但恶果也接踵而来,利用开曼不法洗钱也日益猖獗。七大工业国首创的国际防制洗钱组织金融行动小组(FATF)、经济合作暨发展组织(OECD),都曾威胁要将开曼列入不法洗钱黑名单,开曼一度上榜;美财政部发布报告,公开严批开曼防制洗钱“极端无能”。

受到国际压力,开曼开始“改革”金融法规,承诺增加金融运作透明度与信息交换,以配合反洗钱行动,金融规范自2000年后修正,但“境外金融”中心名声丝毫未减。

3. Lost Tax Haven

失陷的“避税天堂”

从“查税风暴”到立法限制,伴随着避税天堂对国际金融与经济秩序负面影响的日益加剧,国际社会已经很难容忍离岸金融中心完全游离于监管之外,对离岸金融中心的国际监管呼声日渐强烈。在前不久的伦敦G20峰会上,各国领导人已经同意对拒不合作的避税天堂联合采取行动。美国政府也将推行《禁止利用税收天堂避税法案》,该法案将开曼群岛、瑞士、百慕大、巴哈马、英属维尔京群岛等在内的34个国家或地区列入离岸秘密司法管辖区,并对在此避税的美国公司和公民实施严厉的惩罚。

虽然欧洲大批“避税天堂”作出让步,愿意配合外国打击逃税,但分析认为,短期内要想消除“避税天堂”并不容易。

因为国际避税本身并不违法,通过法律途径限制“避税天堂”的说法受到法律界人士质疑。专家认为,“避税天堂”的形成根源在于各国税法的不一致或者缺漏。而且,是否参加有关的税收协定、如何制订税法是由各国自主决定,其他国家或组织无权干涉,因此,各国税法的协调一致并不简单。

虽然许多国家都在对外税收协定中规定了相关合作条款,但由于涉及利益矛盾,合作并不充分,而且各国不愿意在本国执行外国的税法。有经济学家认为,美国即将出台的《禁止利用税收天堂避税法案》虽然是单方面措施,对外国约束力有限,但如果其他国家跟进效仿,构成国际合作体系,未来就可以对“避税天堂”给予沉重打击。