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. 這是來自莎士比亞《哈姆雷特》一句知名的對白。正如我以前解說過，它的意思就是「要生存還是毀滅」。非常悲傷的哈姆雷特發現父親被殺後，問自己這道問題。今天，我也要問財政司司長陳茂波：要給還是不給呢？我問的是他在下個月的財政預算案中，到底是否要給香港人消費券，還是他會棄之不顧（leave them in the lurch）呢？他曾暗示，但並未清楚明言不會有消費券。這實在令眾人乾着急（left people hanging）。

To leave people in the lurch是指在最需要援助或保護的時候，撇下人不管，置人於困境而不顧。To leave someone hanging是指吊某人的胃口，瞎猜你的決定。香港的經濟已經 hit a sticky patch——to hit a sticky patch是指經歷一段艱難的時期，走霉運了。因此，財政司司長暗示今年不會有消費券。許多香港人也正在經歷艱難的時期（a sticky patch），因為經濟仍然從疫情中掙扎復蘇，消費券可以幫助他們，亦有助於經濟。

亦因此，財政司司長上年給出消費券。他已經說了，現在政府沒有甚麼錢。政客們就着他應否再給消費券，意見分歧，但許多市民說他們需要它，以應付日常生活需要。到底財政司司長會是Scrooge，就是查爾斯‧狄更斯小說《聖誕頌歌》中那個守財奴的名字，還是他會慷慨解囊？

mickchug@gmail.com
Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻