又中又英 | Better Safe Than Sorry | 褚简宁

　　You're damned if you do, damned if you don't. This idiom means a person will be criticized whatever decision that person makes. Supposing you are a top government official who must decide if you should shut the airport because of information of a possible terrorist attack. If you decide to shut the airport and there is no terrorist attack, you will be criticized by angry passengers who missed their flights. But if you keep the airport open and terrorists using remote control bombs kill many people, you will be angrily criticized by the public. You are damned if you do, damned if you don't.

　　Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki faced a similar, although less serious, predicament, last week. He had to decide if he should suspend schools because weather forecasts had warned of extreme rainstorms. He decided to suspend schools to keep students safe. He said it was better to be safe than sorry. The proverb "better safe than sorry" means it's better to take precautions even if it seems unnecessary than to risk harm or regret later. Parents sharply criticized him when severe rainstorms did not affect Hong Kong. Some people misunderstand the proverb "better safe than sorry".

　　It doesn't mean something bad must happen if you decide to be safe than sorry. It is also a precaution in case something bad happens but does not. I think the Chief Secretary made the right decision. Climate change has made it very difficult to forecast violent weather. Texas forecasters did not predict the recent rainstorms and floods which killed over 130 people. The Hong Kong Observatory did not predict the 2023 rainstorms and floods, the city's worst in more than a century.

　　You're damned if you do, damned if you don't. 这句成语的意思是，无论一个人做甚么决定，都会被批评。假设你是一个政府高官，因着收到一个可能会发生恐怖袭击的消息，你必须决定是否要关闭机场。若你决定关闭机场，而最终并无恐袭，你就会被那些因为错过飞机航班的愤怒乘客所批评；但若你容让机场继续开放，而恐怖分子用遥距控制炸弹杀了许多人，你就会被公众愤怒地抨击。你做也不是，不做也不是，两边都不讨好（damned if you do, damned if you don't）。

　　政务司司长陈国基上星期就面对一个近似，但没那么严重的困境。因为天气预报提醒可能会出现极端天气，他需要决定是否停课，保障学生安全。他说那是better to be safe than sorry——谚语better safe than sorry是指「小心驶得万年船」，即使那防范看起来是多余、不必要的，但也比去冒危害的风险又或事后才后悔要来得好。最终香港并未受狂风暴雨所影响，家长们猛烈地批评他。有些人误解了better safe than sorry这一谚语。

　　它的意思并非说，若你决定了有备无患（safe than sorry），坏事就一定会发生。这也是一个以防万一坏事会发生但并无发生的预防措施。我认为政务司司长做了正确的决定。气候转变导致很难预报恶劣天气。德州的天气预报员也未能预测最近导致超过130人身亡的暴雨和水浸。香港天文台也预测不了2023年的暴雨和水浸，是这个城市超过一世纪以来最恶劣的天气。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻