2013年1月31日星期四

Baby milk controls expected within days

(Metro daily P.57 31Jan 2013) The government says it will announce measures in the next few days to tackle (著手對付) the shortage of infant formula in parts of Hong Kong.

During an Radio Television Hong Kong radio programme, the Secretary for Food and Health, Ko Wing-man, said the government would examine(檢查) ways of improving the existing hotline services of suppliers, where consumers can order formula by phone for pick-up or delivery.

He said improvements could be made in manning the phone lines. Cross-border goods traders (水貨客) have been buying baby milk formulas in bulk from Hong Kong and selling them on the mainland at a higher price, pushing up prices, leading to shortages. Local residents also blame (指責) these traders for obstructing passageways (阻塞通道) with their heavily laden trolleys.

Metro and agencies

The bear has faced off with the wolf

(Headline daily P.36 31 Jan 2013) The bear has faced off with the wolf. Who will prevail(勝出)? Hong Kong people are waiting breathlessly (屏息以待) to find out. The bear is Lew Mong-hung. That's because his name "Hung" means bear. His middle name "Mong" means dream. The media has nicknamed him Dream Bear. The wolf is Leung Chun-ying. He was nicknamed the Cunning Wolf during his chief executive election battle with Henry Tang Ying-yen, who was nicknamed the Stupid Pig. Dream Bear was a strong supporter of the Cunning Wolf during the election. But their friendship recently turned sour.

Dream Bear made a bombshell (炸彈) shocking and surprising) allegation (矢言) that the Cunning Wolf had lied about his illegal structures. Dream Bear also claimed the Cunning Wolf had broken his promise to make him an executive councillor. The Cunning Wolf rejected Dream Bear's claims as untrue. Who will triumph(勝利) in this face-off (對決)? To triumph means to win or to prevail. A face-off is a confrontation (對質), competition or angry argument. If you are breathless it means you find it hard to breathe. For example, people usually become breathless after running for a long time. But if you are waiting breathlessly, it means you are waiting with great excitement (雀躍地等待). If you keep milk for too long it will turn sour, which means it will have a bad and sharp taste. But if a friendship has turned sour it means the friendship has turned bad.

A bear is big and strong. A wolf is not as big and strong but is sly (cunning). Which is better in a face-off —— to be strong or to be cunning? Lew Mong-hung is in a strong position(處於強勢). He says he has enough scandalous information to force Leung Chun-ying to resign. But Leung has chosen not to have a war of words (舌戰) with Lew. That is a cunning move because a war of words will fan (煽動) (encourage, stir up) the scandal and Leung will have to prove Lew's allegations are untrue. Both Dream Bear and the Cunning Wolf have good connections (過從甚密) with mainland leaders. Maybe the Cunning Wolf is waiting for Beijing to order Dream Bear to shut up.

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熊要跟狼對決（faced off），誰會勝出（prevail）？香港人都屏息（breathlessly）以待，看事態發展如何。熊是劉夢熊，傳媒給他取了Dream Bear的花名。狼是指梁振英，早於特首選舉戰時他就被稱為狡猾的狼，對手唐英年則被謔稱為蠢豬。夢熊在選舉期間是狼英的忠實擁躉，但近來他們的友情卻變壞（turned sour）了。

　　夢熊投下震驚全港的炸彈（bombshell），矢言狼英在非法僭建問題上撒謊。夢熊更聲稱狼英沒有遵守承諾，給他做行政會議成員。狼英反指夢熊的指責不實。這場對決（face-off）到底誰勝（triumph）誰負？To triumph解作勝出，或作to prevail。Face-off是對質、對壘或激烈爭吵。若你感到breathless，即是你難以呼吸，例如，人們通常在長跑以後氣喘如牛（breathless），但若你在waiting breathlessly，即是說你正在雀躍地等待。要是你把牛奶放太久，它便開始變酸（sour），即是說它的味道很難喝或變質；可是一段友情turned sour，即是這段友情已經變差了。

　　熊身形巨大且強壯，狼不像熊般巨壯，卻頗奸狡（sly或cunning）。對決（face-off）時哪一方較有優勢——強壯的抑或狡詐的？劉夢熊處於強勢，他說他有足夠的黑材料，逼使梁振英辭職。但梁選擇不與劉舌戰。這是狡猾的做法，因為口水之爭會煽動（fan）醜聞，梁便得證明劉的指控是不實的。夢熊與狼英同樣跟內地領導人過從甚密。或許狼英在等北京下令夢熊閉嘴。

中譯:七刻

2013年1月30日星期三

What's up? Users protest app fee

(The Standard P.3 30 Jan 2013) The days of free use of the popular social media tool WhatsApp Messenger may be numbered.

The software developer has started informing Android phone users in Hong Kong they will have to pay 99 US cents (HK$7.72) each year if they want to continue using the application.

The fee will also apply to Blackberry, Windows and Nokia phone users. They get free service for one year, after which their credit cards will be charged the fee annually.

WhatsApp, which provides unlimited free text messaging, has long been a top-selling application in dozens of markets, including the iPhone Apps Store, Google Play for Android users and the Blackberry market.

For iPhone owners, the policy to pay 99 US cents once will remain for now, with users allowed to download the app as many times as they want for the same Apple account.

There are between 100 million and 500 million Android users, according to Google's webpage. Thousands have, since the announcement, flocked to complain on the webpage.

One Samsung Galaxy S3 owner was angry, saying the fee was discriminatory(差別對待的). "This is completely unfair, why should others enjoy the service after paying the fee once, while Android users have to renew their subscriptions(會費) every year?" Lo Yi said.

Another user complained his service was suspended (中止) even with seven days remaining before his free period expired.

"There is no problem with the fee, but why can't I send messages seven days before my subscription expires? WhatsApp is completely wrong on this business practice," said Chu Chun- kwan, who uses Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

Many others said WhatsApp may not be their future choice for communicating with friends.

They said Line, developed by Naver Japan Corp, which allows free voice calls and emoji (表情符號) messages, is an alternative (選擇) as well as WeChat (微信) of Tencent (騰訊).

WhatsApp founders Brian Acton and Jan Koum, both veterans of Yahoo and based in Santa Clara, California, have written on their blog that they are charging users because they do not want to sell ads.

Candy Chan

2013年1月27日星期日

總有一方未作出真實陳述

范太：要弄清楚有關敵我矛盾的言論

香港電台

對於政協委員劉夢熊願意以性命，證實對行政長官梁振英的指控是屬實，全國人大常委范徐麗泰說，既然劉夢熊有人證物證，應該拿出來，無謂以生命作賭博，又指這件事與會否跳樓其實無關，要弄清楚有關「敵我矛盾」的言論，是有人聽錯，還是有人說了不承認。范徐麗泰出席一項活動後表示，兩名當事人說的話完全不同，總有一方未作出真實陳述。對於梁振英說適當時候會解釋，范徐麗泰說，她無法知道何時是適當時候，只有當事人才知道。范徐麗泰又表示，事件令她看到政治比較醜陋的一面，令她感到不開心，她又形容，今次事件，好像「一朵烏雲在天空」，希望有清風吹走，事件可獲解決。

2013年1月26日星期六

（附音效檔) Poet Ye Si loses battle with cancer

Audio Clip by reader : www.zello.me/HZW
added on 13/Jan/2013 @1700 Hr

(The Standard P4 08Jan 2013) Hong Kong poet and writer Leung Ping- kwan, pictured, passed away on Saturday. He was 63.

Leung, better known as "Ye Si," had been battling(搏鬥) lung cancer since 2009.

A memorial service (悼念儀式) for the late professor will be organized by the Lingnan University's Department of Chinese, where he was chair professor of comparative literature (比較文學), and the Centre for Humanities Research (人文學科研究中心) that he headed(領導). Leung moved here from Guangdong in 1949 and began writing columns at the age of 20.

He won the Hong Kong Chinese Literature Bi-annual Prize three times and was featured as writer of the year at last year's Hong Kong book fair(當選香港書展年度作家奬).

In a statement, Lingnan University hailed (承認) Ye Si as the most important Hong Kong writer of the post-war era.

（附音效檔) CY Leung hits below the belt.

Audio Clip by reader : www.zello.me/QYW

added on 13/Jan/2013 @1700 Hr

(Headline daily P.40 10 Jan 2013) Henry Tang Ying-yen has finally broken his silence (打破緘默) about his own illegal structure and those of Leung Chun-ying, who defeated (擊敗) him in the chief executive election. He accused (指控) Leung of hitting below the belt (不公道的) because Leung had covered up (掩飾) his illegal structures during the election yet criticized (批評) Tang for his illegal basement. And Tang also accused the buildings department of double standards (雙重標準) by throwing the book at him (執法嚴苛) for his illegal basement while giving Leung an easy ride (鬆手). By breaking his silence Tang has made many people wonder if Leung had won the election under false pretenses (隱瞞事實).

There are several ways to use the expression "break silence" but used this way it means to finally talk about something you have refused to talk about before. For example, you can say: "My husband finally broke his silence by admitting he had a young mistress (情婦)." In boxing, it is against the rules to hit your opponent below the waist or belt. But the expression also means to behave very unfairly. A similar expression is "play dirty"(不公道). Tang accused Leung of being very unfair or playing dirty for criticizing him for his illegal basement.

It is double standards to use the same rules differently for different people. For example, it is double standards to use the illegal structure rules very strictly (嚴格地) against Tang but leniently (寬大地) against Leung. The expression "throw the book at someone" means to punish that person as severely as possible. The expression "give someone an easy ride" (方便某人) means to make things easy for that person. The opposite is "give someone a rough ride "(令那人路路受阻), which means to make things difficult for that person. To win under false pretenses means to win by hiding the facts, changing the facts, or by not telling the whole truth. Did Leung win the chief executive election under false pretenses? Did the buildings department use double standards by throwing the book (執法嚴苛) at Tang but giving Leung an easy ride (鬆手)? We must all decide by ourselves.

*** 唐英年終於打破緘默（broken his silence），開腔談及他自己以及梁振英的僭建事件，梁於特首選舉中擊敗了他。他指控梁於選舉期間，隱瞞自己僭建，卻批評唐的非法地庫是不公道的（hitting below the belt）。唐亦指責屋宇署雙重標準（double standards），對他的非法地庫執法嚴苛（throwing the book at him），卻對梁鬆手（easy ride）。唐打破沉默（breaking his silence），令許多人質疑梁是否透過蒙騙（false pretenses）勝出選舉。

　　習語break silence可以有幾種用法，但這裏的意思是以往拒絕談及的事情，現在終於開腔。例如，你可以說：「我的丈夫終於打破沉默（broke his silence），承認他有情婦（young mistress）。」在拳擊中，攻擊對手腰或腰帶以下（below the waist or belt）的部位是犯規的，但這個習語也解作非常不公平的行徑。類近的習語是play dirty。唐指控梁攻擊他的非法地庫是不公道或作弊（playing dirty）。

　　在同一條規例上對不同的人做法相異，就是double standards。例如就非法僭建條例，對唐執法嚴謹對梁卻寬鬆，就是雙重標準（double standards）。習語throw the book at someone就是重罰某人。Give someone an easy ride即是方便某人，反義是give someone a rough ride，令那人路路受阻。以false pretenses勝出，即是以隱瞞事實、扭曲事實或沒有和盤托出全部真相以獲勝。屋宇署是否雙重標準（double standards），重罰（throwing the book at）唐卻讓梁輕易過關（easy ride）？那就由大家自行決定了。

中譯:七刻
Michael Chugani 褚簡寧