Michael Chugani 褚简宁 - 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.
＊＊＊＊＊

上星期我收到本专栏一位长期读者的电邮，这位读者对于香港现时发生的事，十分率直的（candid）表达自己的想法（speaking his mind）。To be candid就是坦诚、真实的，尤其在讨论一些敏感议题之时。若你speak your mind，意即你坦言直说心底话或内心真正的想法。这位读者率直地（candidly）告诉我，香港不再是值得记挂的城市，他说若我不再回港，他完全明白。他坦言直说（spoke his mind）香港——这个我出生的地方——已因为特首林郑月娥而变得像地狱一样。

对于他的率直（candidness），我并不意外，因为他长久以来恒常读我的专栏，也不时写电邮给我。他说香港的许多灾祸（woes）得归咎于林郑月娥，我也不感到意外。Woe在这里是指问题、困扰或灾难。Out of sight,out of mind是个流行的英文格言，它的意思是若你不能再见到一个地方或一个人，自自然然便容易忘却那地或那人。我离开香港到美国已超过七个月，但对我来说，却绝非眼不见，心不念（out of sight,out of mind），香港仍然时刻在我心头。

我每天留意香港的新闻，因此当那位读者说，香港的灾祸（woes）都要归咎于林郑月娥，我并不惊讶。香港遭遇诸般祸患（woes）：有一大部份的人口感染Omicron病毒，政府因应疫情勒令许多公司停业很长的时间，令它们一直蚀钱。香港人也受够了围封与隔离检疫措施。因着政府处理疫情手法差劣，又或基于政治原因，许多人都已离港。见到香港弄得如斯田地，令我煞是忧伤，但我将来仍然会短暂回港去看望亲友。
中译：七刻
Michael Chugani 褚简宁