华州与卑诗省52年来首现一小时时差，西雅图华人北上温哥华须多算一小时
11月1日，华盛顿州居民像往年一样将时钟调慢1小时、重回冬令时的时候，北边的加拿大卑诗省却没有跟着调表，而是选择永久保留夏令时。华州金县西雅图市的华人居民，是最先感受到这一变化的群体之一。
这一变化意味着，52年来，卑诗省首次与南边的华州出现1小时的时差，两地此前仅在1974年因临时政策出现过约4个月的时差。对于习惯周末开车去温哥华吃中餐、逛超市的西雅图华人来说，接下来很长一段时间里，跨越美加边境不仅要过海关，还意味着手表的指针需要向前拨快1小时。这种美加不同步的局面将一直持续到2027年春天美国重新进入夏令时，届时两地的作息才会重新重合。
早在2019年夏天，卑诗省政府就针对是否永久采用夏令时展开了一项覆盖223000名居民的调查。反观华盛顿州，其实早在2019年就由州议会高票通过了类似的永久夏令时法案，但由于联邦法律的限制，单个州并没有自行决定退出冬令时的权限，导致华州的法律一直处于未能生效的状态。今年6月下旬，美国众议院高票通过了旨在全美范围内终止冬令时的《阳光保护法案》，随后在7月中旬被提交至参议院商业、科学和运输委员会审理，代表华州的国会众议员玛丽莲·斯特里克兰对此表示强烈支持，认为更长的日照时间对居民健康和户外活动至关重要。
Washington and British Columbia Fall Out of Sync for the First Time in 52 Years, Adding an Hour for Seattle Travelers to Vancouver
On November 1, as Washington State residents set their clocks back one hour to return to standard time as usual, Canada's British Columbia to the north did not follow, choosing instead to keep daylight saving time permanently. Chinese residents of Seattle, in King County, Washington, are among the first to feel the change.
The shift means that, for the first time in 52 years, British Columbia is one hour apart from Washington; the two had previously differed only for about four months in 1974 under a temporary policy. For Seattle's Chinese community, used to driving to Vancouver on weekends for Chinese food and grocery shopping, crossing the border will now mean not only customs but also moving their watches one hour ahead. The mismatch will last until the United States returns to daylight saving time in spring 2027, when the two sides' clocks realign.
British Columbia's government surveyed 223,000 residents in the summer of 2019 on making daylight time permanent. Washington State's legislature also passed a similar permanent daylight-time bill by a wide margin in 2019, but federal law does not allow a single state to opt out of standard time on its own, so Washington's law has never taken effect. In late June this year, the U.S. House passed the Sunshine Protection Act, aimed at ending standard time nationwide, and in mid-July it was referred to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Washington Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland strongly supports the bill, arguing that longer daylight hours matter for residents' health and outdoor activities.
来源：西雅图华人资讯网
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：美加边境和平拱门口岸，华盛顿州与卑诗省交界。（美国驻加拿大使馆，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons） / Photo: The Peace Arch border crossing between Washington State and British Columbia. (U.S. Embassy Canada, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
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