又中又英｜Dynamic Zero Policy - Michael Chugani 褚简宁

It saddens me to see Hong Kong's fifth wave of the pandemic, caused by Omicron, spread so exponentially. There are thousands of cases daily and many deaths, including children. Hong Kong was riding high just several months ago when it had zero cases for over 80 days. It seemed like the city had controlled the coronavirus. Now hospitals are so full they can no longer accept patients. Many who have tested positive for the virus are waiting to enter hospitals or isolation facilities. The word "exponentially" means to increase more and more quickly. If you are riding high it means you are very successful. Hong Kong was riding high, or successful, last year in controlling the pandemic.

But it is no longer riding high. Even though Omicron has infected thousands and killed many, Hong Kong still wants to keep its dynamic zero policy. It is a mainland term that even Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor could not explain when asked by reporters, yet she insisted on keeping the policy. It means to let life continue as normal but lock down entire cities once there is an outbreak. Will Hong Kong lock down an entire city? Forget about it. Even top government officials have said it is not possible. Locking down an entire city as the mainland often does cannot work in Hong Kong. How will the government provide daily meals for over seven million people in high-rise buildings?

The expression "forget about it" originated in New York where I now live. New York people say "Fuhgeddaboudit". This is not a real word but a New York slang word that sounds like "forget about it". There are several meanings and pronunciations for this expression. In this case it means forget about locking down Hong Kong. You can hear my pronunciation on Popnews. Unlike mainland China, which can use authoritarian rule to lock down cities, Hong Kong people live in overcrowded high-rise buildings where feeding people during mainland-style lockdowns is impossible.
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见到Omicron在香港引起的第五波疫情，呈几何级数地（exponentially）扩散，令我很难过。香港现在每天有数以千计的确诊及许多死亡个案，当中也有小童病逝。才不过几个月前，香港还是很成功（riding high），有超过八十天零确诊，当时看来这个城市已能控制到新冠肺炎疫情。可到现在，医院爆满得未能再接受新病患，许多新冠病毒检测呈阳性的人都在等着入院或等进隔离中心。Exponentially是指以倍数地增加。若你是riding high，即是指你大获成功、得意洋洋。香港上年在控制疫情上是 riding high，相当成功。

不过，香港不再控疫成功（riding high），即使Omicron已感染数以千计的人，也导致许多人死亡，香港仍然想继续其动态清零（dynamic zero）政策。这是一个内地用词，即使特首林郑月娥被记者问及这个词时，也不能解释清楚，她却坚持继续这个措施。这意味着生活如常，一旦爆发疫情，就要封闭所有城市。香港会封闭整个城市吗？算了吧！（Forget about it.）就连政府高官也说这是不可能的。像内地常做的那样去封锁整个城市，在香港是行不通的。政府如何为全港高楼大厦内住逾七百万人提供每日三餐？

习语 "forget about it" 来自我现居的纽约，纽约人会说成 "Fuhgeddaboudit"，这当然不是真正的字，只是一个纽约俚语，跟 "forget about it" 发音很相近。这个习语有几个意思跟几个发音，在这里是指忘了香港封城这回事吧，想都不用想了。你可以在Popnews上听到我的读音。香港不像中国内地可以用专制管治去封城，香港人住在密集挤逼的高楼大厦内，要在内地式封城期间送餐养活这许多人，根本办不到。中译：七刻

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Michael Chugani 褚简宁