又中又英︳To give or not to give

To be or not to be. This famous quote is from Hamlet by William Shakespeare. As I explained before, it means to live or to die. A very sad Hamlet asked himself this after he found out his father had been murdered. Today, I will ask Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po this: To give or not to give. I am asking if he will again give consumption vouchers to Hong Kong people in next month’s budget or will he leave them in the lurch. He has hinted but has not said clearly that there will be no consumption vouchers. This has left people hanging.

To leave people in the lurch means to leave them without help or protection when it is most needed. To leave someone hanging means to keep that person guessing for your decision. Hong Kong’s economy has hit a sticky patch. To hit a sticky patch means to go through a difficult period. That’s the reason why the financial secretary has hinted there will be no consumption vouchers this year. Many Hong Kong people are going through a sticky patch too because the economy is still recovering from the pandemic. Consumption vouchers can help them as well as the economy.

That was why the financial secretary gave consumption vouchers last year. He has said the government does not have as much money now. Politicians are divided over whether he should give consumption vouchers again, but many ordinary people say they need it for basic needs. Will the financial secretary be a Scrooge, the name of a miser in the Charles Dickens novel A Christmas Carol? Or will he open his wallet?

To be or not to be. 这是来自莎士比亚《哈姆雷特》一句知名的对白。正如我以前解说过，它的意思就是“要生存还是毁灭”。非常悲伤的哈姆雷特发现父亲被杀后，问自己这道问题。今天，我也要问财政司司长陈茂波：要给还是不给呢？我问的是他在下个月的财政预算案中，到底是否要给香港人消费券，还是他会弃之不顾（leave them in the lurch）呢？他曾暗示，但并未清楚明言不会有消费券。这实在令众人干着急（left people hanging）。

To leave people in the lurch是指在最需要援助或保护的时候，撇下人不管，置人于困境而不顾。To leave someone hanging是指吊某人的胃口，瞎猜你的决定。香港的经济已经 hit a sticky patch——to hit a sticky patch是指经历一段艰难的时期，走霉运了。因此，财政司司长暗示今年不会有消费券。许多香港人也正在经历艰难的时期（a sticky patch），因为经济仍然从疫情中挣扎复苏，消费券可以帮助他们，亦有助于经济。

亦因此，财政司司长上年给出消费券。他已经说了，现在政府没有什么钱。政客们就着他应否再给消费券，意见分歧，但许多市民说他们需要它，以应付日常生活需要。到底财政司司长会是Scrooge，就是查尔斯‧狄更斯小说《圣诞颂歌》中那个守财奴的名字，还是他会慷慨解囊？

mickchug@gmail.com
Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻