又中又英 | Chicken Feet | 褚简宁

　　During my time as a journalist in Washington in the 1990s, I wrote a news article about chicken feet. A senior executive of a Virginia poultry company visited Hong Kong where he saw people eating chicken feet in dim sum restaurants. Chicken farming is a huge industry in Virginia, but most Americans don't eat chicken feet. They get grossed out by the look and taste of chicken feet. If you get grossed out by something, it means you get disgusted by it. Years ago, I mistakenly ate sliced chicken feet in a Thai salad. It tasted icky. I spat it out.

　　If something tastes icky, it means it tastes unpleasant or disgusting. The word "yucky" has a similar meaning. US farmers sell chicken feet at very low cost to companies which turn them into food for pets and chickens. The executive who saw people eating chicken feet in Hong Kong realized his company could make far more money exporting the chicken feet to Hong Kong and China. The export of chicken feet to Asia has since become big business for American poultry companies. But US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs war with China has seriously affected America's chicken feet exports.

　　After Trump imposed very high tariffs on Chinese goods entering the US, China imposed tit for tat tariffs on US goods entering mainland China. The expression "tit for tat" means doing something identical to what others have done to you. China's tariffs against US goods entering the Chinese market includes poultry, which means chicken feet too. This makes American chicken feet too expensive in China. Hong Kong has not imposed tit for tat tariffs on US goods. This means Hong Kong people can still enjoy American chicken feet!

　　1990年代我在华盛顿当记者的时期，写过一篇关于鸡脚的新闻报道。维珍尼亚州一间家禽公司的一个高级行政人员来到香港，在茶楼看到人们在吃凤爪。在维珍尼亚州，养鸡业是个庞大的产业，但大部分美国人都不会吃鸡脚。他们对于鸡脚的外形和味道感到grossed out——若你get grossed out by something，意即你对某事物感恶心、作呕。许多年前，我在一个泰式沙律中误吃了切成薄片的鸡脚，它吃着是黏糊糊的（tasted icky），我不禁吐了出来。

　　若某物tastes icky，意即它的味道令人厌恶、作呕。Yucky一字的意思也相近。美国养鸡户以非常低廉的价钱把鸡脚卖给某些公司，将之转做给宠物和鸡吃的食物。当那名行政人员见到香港人吃鸡脚时，便知道他的公司若把鸡脚出口到香港和中国内地，可以赚更多的钱。自此，外销给亚洲的鸡脚便成为美国家禽企业的一项大生意。然而，美国总统当劳．特朗普的关税贸易战，已大大影响到美国鸡脚的出口。

　　在特朗普向进口美国的中国货品征收非常高的关税后，中国也向进口中国内地的美国货品征收tit for tat的关税——习语tit for tat就是以牙还牙、针锋相对的还击。中国对美国进口中国市场的货物的关税，也包括家禽，亦即包括鸡脚。这就令中国的美国鸡脚变得太昂贵了。香港并未向美国货物实施以牙还牙式（tit for tat）的关税，意即香港人还可以大吃特吃美国鸡脚！

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻