Michael Chugani 褚簡寧 - Candidness｜又中又英

Last week I received an email from a regular reader of this column. The reader was very candid in speaking his mind about what’s happening in Hong Kong. To be candid means to be honest and truthful, especially in discussing something sensitive. If you speak your mind, it means you say honestly and truthfully what you think about something. The reader candidly told me Hong Kong is no longer a city worth remembering. He said he would fully understand if I never returned again. He spoke his mind in saying Hong Kong, my birthplace, has become like hell because of Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

I was not surprised by his candidness because he has been a regular reader for a long time and often emails me. I was also not surprised when he said Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is to blame for Hong Kong’s many woes. The word “woe” used this way means problem, difficulty, or misfortune. Out of sight, out of mind is a popular English saying. It means if you can no longer see a place or person, it is easy to forget that place or person. I left Hong Kong for the US more than seven months ago but for me it is not out of sight, out of mind. Hong Kong is still very much in my mind.

I follow Hong Kong news every day. That’s why I was not surprised when the reader said Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was to blame for Hong Kong’s woes. Hong Kong has many woes. The Omicron virus has infected a large part of the population. Many businesses are losing money because the government has ordered them to shut for a long time due to the pandemic. Hong Kong people are fed up with lockdowns and quarantine rules. Many have left because of the government’s bad handling of the pandemic or for political reasons. It saddens me to see Hong Kong become like this but I will still return for short visits to see relatives and friends.
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上星期我收到本專欄一位長期讀者的電郵，這位讀者對於香港現時發生的事，十分率直的（candid）表達自己的想法（speaking his mind）。To be candid就是坦誠、真實的，尤其在討論一些敏感議題之時。若你speak your mind，意即你坦言直說心底話或內心真正的想法。這位讀者率直地（candidly）告訴我，香港不再是值得記掛的城市，他說若我不再回港，他完全明白。他坦言直說（spoke his mind）香港——這個我出生的地方——已因為特首林鄭月娥而變得像地獄一樣。

對於他的率直（candidness），我並不意外，因為他長久以來恆常讀我的專欄，也不時寫電郵給我。他說香港的許多災禍（woes）得歸咎於林鄭月娥，我也不感到意外。Woe在這裏是指問題、困擾或災難。Out of sight,out of mind是個流行的英文格言，它的意思是若你不能再見到一個地方或一個人，自自然然便容易忘卻那地或那人。我離開香港到美國已超過七個月，但對我來說，卻絕非眼不見，心不念（out of sight,out of mind），香港仍然時刻在我心頭。

我每天留意香港的新聞，因此當那位讀者說，香港的災禍（woes）都要歸咎於林鄭月娥，我並不驚訝。香港遭遇諸般禍患（woes）：有一大部份的人口感染Omicron病毒，政府因應疫情勒令許多公司停業很長的時間，令它們一直蝕錢。香港人也受夠了圍封與隔離檢疫措施。因着政府處理疫情手法差劣，又或基於政治原因，許多人都已離港。見到香港弄得如斯田地，令我煞是憂傷，但我將來仍然會短暫回港去看望親友。
中譯：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧