China Toughens Restrictions on Internet Use - NYTimes.com by Keith Bradsher

2012-12-28

HONG KONG — The Chinese government issued new rules on Friday requiring Internet users to provide their real names to service providers, while assigning Internet companies greater responsibility for deleting forbidden postings and reporting them to the authorities.

The decision came as government censors have sharply stepped up restrictions on China’s international Internet traffic in recent weeks. The restrictions are making it harder for businesses to protect commercial secrets and for individuals to view overseas Web sites that the Chinese Communist Party deems politically sensitive.

The new regulations, issued by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, allow Internet users to continue to adopt pseudonyms for their online postings, but only if they first provide their real names to service providers, a measure that could chill some of the vibrant discourse on the country’s Twitter-like microblogs. The authorities periodically detain and even jail Internet users for politically sensitive comments, such as calls for a multiparty democracy or accusations of impropriety by local officials.

Any entity providing Internet access, including over fixed-line or mobile phones, “should when signing agreements with users or confirming provision of services, demand that users provide true information about their identities,” the committee ordered.

In recent weeks, Internet users in China have exposed a series of sexual and financial scandals that have led to the resignations or dismissals of at least 10 local officials. International news media have also published a series of reports in recent months on the accumulation of wealth by the family members of China’s leaders, and some Web sites carrying such reports, including Bloomberg’s and the English- and Chinese-language sites of The New York Times, have been assiduously blocked, while Internet comments about them have been swiftly deleted.

The regulations issued Friday build on a series of similar administrative guidelines and municipal rules issued over the past year. China’s mostly private Internet service providers have been slow to comply with them, fearing the reactions of their customers. The committee’s decision has much greater legal force, and puts far more pressure on Chinese Internet providers to comply more quickly and more comprehensively, Internet specialists said.

In what appeared to be an effort to make the decision more palatable to the Chinese public, the committee also included a mandate for businesses in China to be more cautious in gathering and protecting electronic data.

“Nowadays on the Internet there are very serious problems with citizens’ personal electronic information being recklessly collected, used without approval, illegally disclosed, and even traded and sold,” Li Fei, a deputy director of the committee’s legislative affairs panel, said on Friday at a news conference in Beijing. “There are also a large number of cases of invasive attacks on information systems to steal personal electronic information, as well as lawbreaking on the Internet through swindles and through defaming and slandering others.”

Mr. Li denied that the government was seeking to prevent the exposure of corruption.

“When citizens exercise these rights according to the law, no organization or individual can use any reason or excuse to interfere, and cannot suppress them or exact revenge,” he said. “At the same time, when citizens exercise their rights, including through use of the Internet, they should stay within the bounds of the Constitution and the laws, and must not harm the legitimate rights and interests of the state, society, the collective or of other citizens.”

A spokesman for the National People’s Congress said that 145 members of the committee voted in favor of the new rules, with 5 abstaining and 1 voting against them.

The requirement for real names appeared to be aimed particularly at cellphone companies and other providers of mobile Internet access. At the news conference, an official from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Zhao Zhiguo, said that nearly all fixed-line services now had real-name registration, but that only about 70 percent of mobile phones were registered under real names.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/29/world/asia/china-toughens-restrictions-on-internet-use.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/B/Bradsher,%20Keith?ref=keithbradsher&pagewanted=print

Chinglish by Michael Chugani

2012-12-27

My recent columns about the government treating pedestrians badly have struck a chord with readers. The columns have stoked the anger of many readers. They are continuing to send e-mails saying they agree with me. I wrote in my last two columns that the government cares more about vehicles than pedestrians. I said vehicle drivers behave as if they have more rights than pedestrians. Drivers don't stop for pedestrians even at pedestrian crossings without traffic lights. They even use their car horns to honk at pedestrians who try to cross. In other developed societies drivers must stop for pedestrians, especially at crossings without traffic lights. I once asked the police if vehicles must stop for people at crossings without traffic lights or if pedestrians must wait for vehicles. The police spokesman gave me a gibberish reply.

        W hen something strikes a chord it means people agree with it or approve of it. For example, the government's measures to cool the property market have struck a chord with many people except property developers. The word stoke can be used in different ways. To stoke anger means to stir up or feed anger. C.Y. Leung's unclear explanations of his illegal structures stoked the anger of many people. To stoke a fire means to add coal or other fuel to a fire. When something is gibberish it means it makes no sense or is nonsensical.

        One reader noted that drivers honk for no reason. I have noticed that too. What is the point of honking if you are stuck in traffic? It is useless to honk at the vehicles in front if there is a traffic jam. They can't move even if you honk a million times. Drivers are supposed to honk only when there is a danger to pedestrians or other vehicles. But Hong Kong's drivers honk for no reason, just like on the mainland. Drivers in developed societies don't do that. It just proves that Hong Kong is not really the "world city" that the government insists we are.

        ***

        我近日一些專欄，寫到政府對行人很差，引起讀者的共鳴（struck a chord），挑起了許多讀者的怒火（stoked the anger）。他們陸續傳來電郵，對我的說法深表認同。我在上兩個專欄中提及，政府關心汽車多於行人。我說，駕車人士表現得好像他們比行人有更多權利。在沒有交通燈的斑馬線前，司機也不會停車禮讓行人，甚至會響號警示要過馬路的行人。在其他的已發展社會，司機必須停車禮讓行人，尤其在沒有交通燈的斑馬線。我曾經問過警察，在沒有交通燈的斑馬線前，汽車是否必須停車，抑或是行人讓路予汽車？警方的發言人回應時卻在亂說一通（gibberish）。

        當某事strikes a chord即是人們很同意或者很贊同，例如，政府壓抑地產市場的措施，令許多人產生共鳴（struck a chord），除了地產商。Stoke這個字可以有不同的用法，To stoke anger即是去挑起怒火。梁振英對其非法僭建的含糊解釋，就惹起了不少人的憤怒（stoked the anger）。To stoke a fire是加入炭或其他燃料去燒火。說某事是gibberish即是指它不成理或毫無意義。

        有一位讀者指出，司機們總是沒緣由地響號，我也留意得到。當你在車龍中，你響號又有何用？塞車時，響號警示前面的車輛是毫無作用的。你響號一百萬次，它們還是寸步難移。駕車人士應該只在行人或其他汽車有危險時才響號。但香港司機像內地的一樣，總是無緣無故地響號。在已發展的社會，司機並不會這樣做。這只能證明，香港並不是政府所強調的甚麼「國際都會」。

        mickchug@gmail.com

        中譯：七刻

        Michael Chugani褚簡寧

In Ireland, Carbon Taxes Pay Off - NYTimes.com by Elizabeth Rosenthal

2012-12-27

DUBLIN — Over the last three years, with its economy in tatters, Ireland embraced a novel strategy to help reduce its staggering deficit: charging households and businesses for the environmental damage they cause.

The government imposed taxes on most of the fossil fuels used by homes, offices, vehicles and farms, based on each fuel’s carbon dioxide emissions, a move that immediately drove up prices for oil, natural gas and kerosene. Household trash is weighed at the curb, and residents are billed for anything that is not being recycled.

The Irish now pay purchase taxes on new cars and yearly registration fees that rise steeply in proportion to the vehicle’s emissions.

Environmentally and economically, the new taxes have delivered results. Long one of Europe’s highest per-capita producers of greenhouse gases, with levels nearing those of the United States, Ireland has seen its emissions drop more than 15 percent since 2008.

Although much of that decline can be attributed to a recession, changes in behavior also played a major role, experts say, noting that the country’s emissions dropped 6.7 percent in 2011 even as the economy grew slightly.

“We are not saints like those Scandinavians — we were lapping up fossil fuels, buying bigger cars and homes, very American,” said Eamon Ryan, who was Ireland’s energy minister from 2007 to 2011. “We just set up a price signal that raised significant revenue and changed behavior. Now, we’re smashing through the environmental targets we set for ourselves.”

By contrast, carbon taxes are viewed as politically toxic in the United States. Republican leaders in Congress have pledged to block any proposal for such a tax, and President Obama has not advocated one, although the idea has drawn support from economists of varying ideologies.

Yet when the Irish were faced with new environmental taxes, they quickly shifted to greener fuels and cars and began recycling with fervor. Automakers like Mercedes found ways to make powerful cars with an emissions rating as low as tinier Nissans. With less trash, landfills closed. And as fossil fuels became more costly, renewable energy sources became more competitive, allowing Ireland’s wind power industry to thrive.

Even more significantly, revenue from environmental taxes has played a crucial role in helping Ireland reduce a daunting deficit by several billion euros each year.

The three-year-old carbon tax has raised nearly one billion euros ($1.3 billion) over all, including 400 million euros in 2012. That provided the Irish government with 25 percent of the 1.6 billion euros in new tax revenue it needed to narrow its budget gap this year and avert a rise in income tax rates.

The International Monetary Fund, which oversees the rescue plan, recently suggested that Ireland should “expand the well-designed carbon tax” and its automobile taxes to generate even more money.

Although first proposed by the Green Party, the environmental taxes enjoy the support of all major political parties “because it puts a lot of money on the table,” said Frank Convery, an economist at University College Dublin. The bailout plan for 2013 requires Ireland to embrace a mix of new tax revenues and spending cuts.

Not everyone is happy. The prices of basic commodities like gasoline and heating oil have risen 5 to 10 percent. This is particularly hard on the poor, although the government has provided subsidies for low-income families to better insulate homes, for example. And industries complain that the higher prices have made it harder for them to compete outside Ireland.

“Prices just keep going up, and a lot of people think it’s a scam,” said Imelda Lyons, 45, as she filled her car at a gas station here. “You call it a carbon tax, but what good is being done with it to help the environment?”

The coalition government that enacted the taxes was voted out of office last year. “Just imagine President Obama saying in the debate, ‘I’ve got this great idea, but it’s going to increase your gasoline price,’ ” said Mr. Ryan, who lost his seat in the last election and now leads the Green Party. “People didn’t exactly cheer us on.”

A recent report estimated that a modest carbon tax in the United States that increased incrementally over time could generate about $1.25 trillion in revenue from 2012 to 2022, reducing the 10-year deficit by 50 percent, based on projections from the Congressional Budget Office.

“I think most economists — on the right and the left — think a carbon tax is a good idea,” said Aparna Mathur, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative research group that held a daylong seminar on carbon taxes in November. Some economists estimate that a carbon tax could raise $400 billion annually in the United States, she said. But the issue remains a nonstarter in the American political arena. even though Gilbert Metcalf, the Obama administration’s deputy assistant Treasury secretary for environment and energy, long promoted carbon taxes as a Tufts University economist.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a conservative advocacy group, has even filed a Freedom of Information suit seeking the release of Treasury Department e-mails containing the word “carbon” to make sure that nothing is in the works. Like many other economists, Dr. Metcalf has argued that carbon taxation is preferable to government regulation or cap-and-trade systems because it sets a straightforward price on greenhouse gas emissions and is relatively hard to evade.

Although carbon taxes in some ways disproportionately affect the poor — who are less able to buy new, more efficient cars, for example — such taxes do heavily penalize the wealthy, who consume far more. As with “sin taxes” on cigarettes, the taxes also alleviate some of the societal costs of pollution.

For several years, the European Commission has encouraged debt-ridden members of the European Union to embrace environmental taxes, saying that its economists have concluded they have “a less detrimental macroeconomic impact” than new income taxes or corporate taxes.

“Europeans don’t like taxes either,” said Connie Hedegaard, the European commissioner for climate action. “But this is good for the environment, and also good for our competitiveness.”

Some of Europe’s strongest economies, like Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands, have taxed carbon dioxide emissions since the early 1990s, and Japan and Australia have introduced them more recently.

Ireland took the plunge after its economy collapsed in 2008 as a result of loose credit policies that created a real estate bubble; in one year, tax revenues fell 25 percent. With a huge bailout in 2010 by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, Ireland’s deficit soared to 11.9 percent of its gross domestic product, or over 30 percent with all loans factored in.

The environmental taxes work in concert with austerity measures like reduced welfare payments and higher fees for health care that are expected to save 2.2 billion euros this year. The carbon tax is levied on fossil fuels when they enter the country and is then passed on to consumers at the point of purchase. The automobile sales tax, which ranges from 14 to 36 percent of a car’s market price depending on its emissions, is simply folded into the sticker price.

That sent manufacturers racing to reduce emissions. Automakers like Mercedes and Volvo began making cars with high-efficiency diesel engines that shut off rather than idle when they stop, for example. “For manufacturers it’s all, ‘How low you can get?’ ” said Donal Duggan, a brand manager at an MSL showroom near central Dublin.

Other emissions taxes on cars, including the annual car registration fee, or road tax, are billed directly to customers, potentially adding thousands to annual operating costs. Ninety percent of new car sales last year were in the two lowest-emission tiers.

The taxes on garbage had an immediate impact. In Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County in southeastern Dublin, each home’s “black bin” for garbage headed to the landfill is weighed at pickup to calculate quarterly charges. Green bins for recyclables are emptied free of charge.

“There was a big furor initially, but now everything I throw out, I think, ‘How could I recycle this?’ ” said Tara Brown, a mother of three.

Of course, new environmental taxes bring new pain. Gas, always expensive in Europe, sells here for about $8 a gallon, around 20 percent more than in 2009 because of tightening market supplies and the new tax.

Still, Dr. Convery, the economist, is encouraging the government to raise carbon tax rates for 2013, declaring, “You don’t want to waste a good crisis to do what we should be doing anyway.”

......

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/28/science/earth/in-ireland-carbon-taxes-pay-off.html?ref=elisabethrosenthal&pagewanted=print

Chinese investment means opportunity for U.S. workers - The Washington Post by John Pomfret

2012-12-27

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/chinese-investment-means-opportunity-for-us-workers/2012/12/27/e1cca33e-4938-11e2-ad54-580638ede391_print.html

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末日沒來，末世依然 / 論盡中港台 by 岑逸飛

27 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

　　有關「末日預言」，由來已久，層出不窮，可追溯到西元970年3月25日，一些術士的「末日預言」引起西方長達30年的恐慌。1843年北美農夫米勒(William Miller)聲稱在《聖經》發現「末日」時間——— 1843年3月21日至1844年3月21日之間某日。1891年後期聖徒運動始創人史密斯(Joseph Smith)聲稱，從「上帝」處獲悉「耶穌」將在1891年回到世界，導致「末日」的善惡大戰。1910年一名天文學家通過光譜分析，發現彗星「尾巴」包含致命氣體「氰」，故當年哈雷彗星掠過地球時，也曾引發恐慌。1982年電視福音傳道者羅伯森(Pat Robertson)在電視節目《700俱樂部》警告觀眾在1982年底，上帝將審判世界。 　　

 

　　另外，「千禧恐懼」也曾席捲西方人心，當年篤信預言家諾查丹馬斯(Nostradamus)的《諸世紀》(Centuries)預言詩，提到1999年7月恐怖大王將從天而降，到2000年1月1日，又有很多人擔心電腦會帶來末日」，「千年蟲」令全人類驚慌。2000年5月5日，作家諾納(Richard Noone)出版《2000年5月5日，冰:終極災難》的書聲稱，南極冰層將在2000年5月5日變成3哩厚，在這一天地球將「冰冷地死亡」。到2008年秋季，牧師溫蘭(Ronald Weinland)出版《2008年：上帝的最後見證》的書，指美國會倒塌。

 

　　在近一、兩年，有數不清的，不論東方或西方，古代或現代的預言，都把所有箭頭指向2012年12月21日是末日，於是開始準備防空洞、救生衣和儲備糧，而末日的形式是地震或海嘯，或各種天災，也有可能是外星人來到地球拯救人類。結果12月21日安然渡過，在此之前，有關這個末日預言的信息已在網絡泛濫，這說法又與瑪雅長曆法的最後一天聯繫，言之者鑿鑿，除了有《2012》電影外，還有網站和書籍，據說2012年上半年已有超過175本關於世界末日書籍在銷售。

 

　　西方堅信「2012末日論」的人，數不在少，可能受基督信仰的影響，很多人對「末日」、「大審判」深信不疑。《新約˙聖經》的《啟示錄》，據說是耶穌門徒約翰所寫，以誇大的想像力描述末日的悲苦情景。不過在香港，相信末日的不多，雖然傳媒也有報導，但港人實事求是，只顧發財，12月21日前毫無末日氣氛，無人在超市搶購，把末日視作開玩笑，或商業炒作。反而在內地，湖北、四川、福建、陜西、雲南等地，皆有人在公共場合散布末日論，藉此斂財。四川民眾更相信地球會連續黑暗三天三夜，瘋狂搶購白蠟燭和火柴，造成蠟燭脫銷。

 

　　雖然歷來的末日預言都已被一一戳破，無一成真，但末日沒來，不表示末日永不會出現。大科學家霍金也說，末日必來，卻在二百年後。然而二百年太久，如今末日沒來，末世依然，有如佛學說的末法時代，佛法衰落，社會動蕩不安，道德淪喪，而對末日的恐懼，成為自然環境惡化的反映，也是人類對科技充滿懷疑的表現。末世的末日，有如一顆定時炸彈，只不知會在何時爆炸，雖然末日在12月21日沒有到來，說不定在後天就會到來，人不是上帝，誰知道答案呢﹖

 

　　這次的末日未兌現，但末日的預言不滅，因為它的存在，等於在時刻提醒世人，人與人的關係，人與自然的關係，都已是千瘡百孔，需要我們認真改善。
＿＿

China Begins Longest Bullet Train Service - NYTimes.com by Keith Bradsher

2012-12-26

HONG KONG — China began service Wednesday morning on the world’s longest high-speed rail line, covering a distance in eight hours that is about equal to that from New York to Key West, Fla., or from London across Europe to Belgrade, Serbia.

Trains traveling 300 kilometers, or 186 miles, an hour, began regular service between Beijing and Guangzhou, the main metropolis in southeastern China. Older trains still in service on a parallel rail line take 21 hours; Amtrak trains from New York to Miami, a shorter distance, still take nearly 30 hours.

Completion of the Beijing-Guangzhou route — roughly 1,200 miles — is the latest sign that China has resumed rapid construction on one of the world’s largest and most ambitious infrastructure projects, a network of four north-south routes and four east-west routes that span the country.

Lavish spending on the project has helped jump-start the Chinese economy twice: in 2009, during the global financial crisis, and again this autumn, after a brief but sharp economic slowdown over the summer.

The hiring of as many as 100,000 workers for each line has kept a lid on unemployment as private-sector construction has slowed because of limits on real estate speculation. The national network has helped to reduce air pollution in Chinese cities and helped to curb demand for imported diesel fuel by freeing capacity on older rail lines for goods to be carried by freight trains instead of heavily polluting, costlier trucks.

But the high-speed rail system has also been controversial in China. Debt to finance the construction has reached nearly 4 trillion renminbi, or $640 billion, making it one of the most visible reasons total debt has been surging as a share of economic output in China, and is approaching levels in the West.

Each passenger car taken off the older, slower rail lines makes room for three freight cars because passenger trains have to move so quickly that they force freight trains to stop frequently. But although the high-speed trains have played a big role in allowing sharp increases in freight shipments, the Ministry of Railways has not yet figured out a way to charge large freight shippers, many of them politically influential state-owned enterprises, for part of the cost of the high-speed lines, which haul only passengers.

The high-speed trains are also considerably more expensive than the heavily subsidized older passenger trains. A second-class seat on the new bullet trains from Beijing to Guangzhou costs 865 renminbi ($139) one way, compared with 426 renminbi ($68) for the cheapest bunk on one of the older trains, which also have narrow, uncomfortable seats for as little as 251 renminbi ($40).

Worries about the high-speed network peaked in July 2011, when one high-speed train plowed into the back of another near Wenzhou in southeastern China, killing 40 people.

A subsequent investigation blamed flawed signaling equipment for the crash. China had been operating high-speed trains at 350 kilometers an hour (about 218 m.ph.), and it cut the top speed to the current rate in response to that crash.

The crash crystallized worries about the haste with which China has built its high-speed rail system. The first line, from Beijing to Tianjin, opened a week before the 2008 Olympics; a little more than four years later, the country now has 9,349 kilometers, or 5,809 miles, of high-speed lines.

China’s aviation system has a good international reputation for safety, and its occasional deadly crashes have not attracted nearly as much attention. Transportation safety experts attribute the public’s fascination with the Wenzhou crash partly to the novelty of the system and partly to a distrust among many Chinese of what is perceived as a homegrown technology, in contrast with the Boeing and Airbus jets flown by Chinese airlines.

Japanese rail executives have complained, however, that the Chinese technology is mostly copied from them, an accusation that Chinese rail executives have strenuously denied.

The main alternative to trains for most Chinese lies in the country’s roads, which have a grim reputation by international standards. Periodic crashes of intercity buses kill dozens of people at a time, while crashes of private cars are frequent in a country where four-fifths of new cars are sold to first-time buyers, often with scant driving experience.

Flights between Beijing and Guangzhou take about three hours and 15 minutes. But air travelers in China need to arrive at least an hour before a flight, compared with 20 minutes for high-speed trains, and the airports tend to be farther from the centers of cities than the high-speed train stations.

Land acquisition is the toughest part of building high-speed rail lines in the West, because the tracks need to be almost perfectly straight, and it has been an issue in China as well. Although local and provincial governments have forced owners to sell land for the tracks themselves, there have been disputes over suddenly valuable land near rail stations, with the result that surprisingly few stores and other commercial venues have sprung up around some high-speed stations used by tens of thousands of travelers every day.

Zhao Xiangfeng, a farmer in Henan Province, said a plan to build a mini-mall on his and six other farmers’ land near a station had been shelved indefinitely after he and three of the other farmers refused to lease the land for any price close to what the village leadership offered. He said he worried that local leaders might try stronger tactics on the farmers to force them to lease the land and revive the project.

The 664-mile southern segment of the new high-speed rail line, from Guangzhou as far as Wuhan, has been open for nearly three years. The trains, which come every four to 12 minutes, are often packed, which could limit the number of seats available for travel to Beijing.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/27/business/global/worlds-longest-high-speed-rail-line-opens-in-china.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/B/Bradsher,%20Keith?ref=keithbradsher&pagewanted=print

Signs of Changes Taking Hold in Electronics Factories in China - NYTimes.com by Keith Bradsher

2012-12-26

CHENGDU, China — One day last summer, Pu Xiaolan was halfway through a shift inspecting iPad cases when she received a beige wooden chair with white stripes and a high, sturdy back.

At first, Ms. Pu wondered if someone had made a mistake. But when her bosses walked by, they just nodded curtly. So Ms. Pu gently sat down and leaned back. Her body relaxed.

The rumors were true.

When Ms. Pu was hired at this Foxconn plant a year earlier, she received a short, green plastic stool that left her unsupported back so sore that she could barely sleep at night. Eventually, she was promoted to a wooden chair, but the backrest was much too small to lean against. The managers of this 164,000-employee factory, she surmised, believed that comfort encouraged sloth.

But in March, unbeknown to Ms. Pu, a critical meeting had occurred between Foxconn’s top executives and a high-ranking Apple official. The companies had committed themselves to a series of wide-ranging reforms. Foxconn, China’s largest private employer, pledged to sharply curtail workers’ hours and significantly increase wages — reforms that, if fully carried out next year as planned, could create a ripple effect that benefits tens of millions of workers across the electronics industry, employment experts say.

Other reforms were more personal. Protective foam sprouted on low stairwell ceilings inside factories. Automatic shut-off devices appeared on whirring machines. Ms. Pu got her chair. This autumn, she even heard that some workers had received cushioned seats.

The changes also extend to California, where Apple is based. Apple, the electronics industry’s behemoth, in the last year has tripled its corporate social responsibility staff, has re-evaluated how it works with manufacturers, has asked competitors to help curb excessive overtime in China and has reached out to advocacy groups it once rebuffed.

Executives at companies like Hewlett-Packard and Intel say those shifts have convinced many electronics companies that they must also overhaul how they interact with foreign plants and workers — often at a cost to their bottom lines, though, analysts say, probably not so much as to affect consumer prices. As Apple and Foxconn became fodder for “Saturday Night Live” and questions during presidential debates, device designers and manufacturers concluded the industry’s reputation was at risk.

“The days of easy globalization are done,” said an Apple executive who, like many people interviewed for this article, requested anonymity because of confidentiality agreements. “We know that we have to get into the muck now.”

Even with these reforms, chronic problems remain. Many laborers still work illegal overtime and some employees’ safety remains at risk, according to interviews and reports published by advocacy organizations.

But the shifts under way in China may prove as transformative to global manufacturing as the iPhone was to consumer technology, say officials at over a dozen electronics companies, worker advocates and even longtime factory critics.

“This is on the front burner for everyone now,” said Gary Niekerk, a director of corporate social responsibility at Intel, which manufactures semiconductors in China. No one inside Intel “wants to end up in a factory that treats people badly, that ends up on the front page.”

The durability of many transformations, however, depends on where Apple, Foxconn and overseas workers go from here. Interviews with more than 70 Foxconn employees in multiple cities indicate a shift among the people on iPad and iPhone assembly lines. The once-anonymous millions assembling the world’s devices are drawing lessons from the changes occurring around them.

As summer turned to autumn and then winter, Ms. Pu began to sign up for Foxconn’s newly offered courses in knitting and sketching. At 25 and unmarried, she already felt old. But she decided that she should view her high-backed chair as a sign. China’s migrant workers are, in a sense, the nation’s boldest risk-takers, transforming entire industries by leaving their villages for far-off factories to power a manufacturing engine that spans the globe.

Ms. Pu had always felt brave, and as this year progressed and conditions inside her factory improved, she became convinced that a better life was within reach. Her parents had told her that she was free to choose any husband, as long as he was from Sichuan. Then she found someone who seemed ideal, except that he came from another province.

Reclining in her new seat, she decided to ignore her family’s demands, she said. The couple are seeing each other.

“There was a change this year,” she said. “I’m realizing my value.”

An Inspector’s Push

“This is a disgrace!” shouted Terry Gou, founder and chairman of Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics manufacturer and Apple’s most important industrial partner.

......

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/27/business/signs-of-changes-taking-hold-in-electronics-factories-in-china.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/B/Bradsher,%20Keith?ref=keithbradsher&pagewanted=print

Chinglish by Michael Chugani

2012-12-20

I want to write about pedestrians again today. I hope you don't mind. Pedestrians in Hong Kong get a raw deal. They are treated like trash by drivers and government officials. Most sidewalks (pavements in British English) for pedestrians are narrow so the government can have more space to build wider roads for vehicles. Traffic lights give pedestrians only a few seconds to cross busy roads but give vehicles over two minutes. Drivers behave as if they have more rights than pedestrians. The police behave in the same way.

        L ast year the police gave me a penalty ticket for crossing Des Voeux Road Central during a red light. Vehicles often block pedestrian crossings during a green light for pedestrians. This means people have to walk around the vehicles. But the police never ticket (used as a verb) drivers for doing that. The American slang expression "raw deal" means unfair treatment. You are getting a raw deal if your wife forces you to eat a lousy dinner she cooked but goes out to an expensive restaurant herself. To be treated like trash means to be treated like rubbish or very badly.

        In the US, where I have lived for many years, pedestrians have the right of way. This means drivers stop to let people cross roads where there are no traffic lights or where there are pedestrian crossings without traffic lights. But Hong Kong drivers never stop for people, even at pedestrian crossings without traffic lights. Last week I saw an elderly woman who looked about 80 trying to cross Arbuthnot Road in Central. She was at a pedestrian crossing without traffic lights. Not a single driver stopped for her. When she finally reached halfway across the road she had to suddenly stop because a taxi, which was going very fast, didn't stop for her. She was so frightened by the speeding (going very fast) taxi. Hong Kong is supposed to be a developed society but it treats pedestrians in an uncivilized way.

        ＊ ＊＊

        我今天又想談一談行人了，希望你不會介意。香港的行人得到的是不公平的對待（raw deal）。他們被駕車人士和政府視如敝屣（treated like trash）。大部份的行人路（sidewalks，或英式英語的pavements）都很狹窄，政府便可以留更多空間去建闊路給車輛。交通燈只給行人幾秒時間過繁忙的道路，給汽車的時間卻是兩分鐘有多。駕車人士的姿態好像他們比行人有更多的權利，警察的態度亦如是。

        上年警察因為我在德輔道中衝紅燈而賞了我一張罰款告票。當行人綠燈亮着時，汽車卻不時擋着斑馬線，那即是說行人得繞過車輛。但警察卻從不票控（ticket，當動詞用）這樣做的司機。美國俚語raw deal即是不公平的對待。要是你太太迫你吃她煮的難吃晚餐，自己卻去了高級餐廳，那就是raw deal了。To be treated like trash即是被視作垃圾一樣，或被惡待。

        我在美國住了多年，那裏的行人有道路優先使用權（right of way），即是說，在沒有交通燈的地方或行人斑馬線，司機會停車讓行人先過。但香港的司機卻從不讓路，即使在沒有交通燈的行人斑馬線。上星期我在中環，見有一位年約八十歲的老婆婆在橫過亞畢諾道。她在沒有交通燈的行人斑馬線，但沒有任何一個司機停車讓她。當她終於過了馬路的一半時她要停下來了，因為有輛的士直闖過來，絲毫沒有要停的意思，她被那輛急速的（speeding）的士嚇呆了。香港本該是已發展的城市，但行人的待遇卻跟文明沾不上邊。mickchug@gmail.com

        中譯:七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

地溝油事件令人震驚 / 論盡中港台 by 岑逸飛

20 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

　　香港食物安全中心近日在十多個不同地點抽取39個食用油樣本進行調查，結果發現21個樣本含致癌物苯並〔a〕芘（Benzo〔a〕pyrene），當中4個超標。2個來自屯門一間糧油供應商樣本，超出國家標準（每公斤10微克）及歐盟標準（每公斤2微克）﹔另2個來自葵涌一間油行樣本，超出歐盟標準。

 

　　食用油含有苯並[a]芘這種致癌物質，一般所謂「地溝油」，香港也有稱為「坑渠油」，是指從廢棄食物或殘渣提煉出的油。苯並[a]芘其實是多環芳香族碳氫化合物(簡稱PAHs)的家族成員，它存在於環境中，如汽車廢氣、山火及火山爆發等，也可在燒烤或煮濃的食物，或食油經過多次翻炸後出現。

 

　　地溝油不一定是貶詞，它若經過妥善回收和加工，可以有很高的利用價值，例如重製成生物燃料、肥皂和航空煤油等化工產品。地溝油成為問題，在於它成為食用油，會破壞食客的白血球和消化道黏膜，引起食物中毒，甚至致癌。而且摻有地溝油的食用油，其外觀與普通食用油無異，也無明顯的異嗅，常用的檢驗方法無法鑒別，所以食客很易上當。

 

　　近年內地的不法之徒，從餐館或飯店等下水道或掏地溝回收，將已經使用過的廢棄油進行重新加工處理，將地溝油當食用油，引起輿論關注，被認為最具中國社會主義特色，因為在全球只有中國大陸才會使用地溝油，而且是唯一由民間發明的東西。其實據說地溝油在台灣也有，但不叫「地溝油」，而是叫「餿水油」，分別在於地溝油是從下水道而來，而餿水油則是從餿水桶回收而已。如今更想不到地溝油也出現於香港，情況令人震驚。

 

　　中國專家在2010年曾聲稱，地溝油佔全中國大陸市場的十分之一，當中包括街邊攤檔和高級餐館，用於炮製各式食物，如油條、羊肉串、水煮魚、麻辣火鍋等，食客根本不知道用來炮製食物的食油有毒。這項推斷基於全國一年的動、植物油消費總量大約是2250萬噸，實際生產食用動植物油只有不到2000萬噸，因而算出每年返回餐桌的地溝油有200萬到300萬噸。

 

　　估計中國要徹底禁絶地溝油進入食用油銷售渠道，可能還需要 10年左右時間，因為中國在餐廚垃圾處理上，長期處於無政府狀態，給部份不法商販提供了灰色産業空間。事實上，不管是地溝油，或是坑渠油，或是餿水油，都屬於「黑心油」。

 

　　人性貪婪，故「黑心油」很難杜絕，這已不只是食油污染，而是道德污染。在內地，掏地溝油的人，據說一個月可賺萬多元人民幣，難怪吸引力極大。

 

　　香港也出現地溝油事件，是否說明香港的道德底線，已日漸走向下坡﹖立法會食物安全及環境衞生事務委員會主席梁家傑已批評，政府監管食用油問題屬「後知後覺」，今年2月生效的食物追蹤機制，規定食物進口商及分銷商要記錄相關資料，初步證據顯示存有問題，巡查也有不足之處。委員會將於下月三日召開特別會議，要求政府交代。地溝油事件可說是敗壞香港道德的星星之火，政府責無旁貸，要徹底使它早日撲滅，不要燎原!

 

Chinglish by Michael Chugani

2012-12-18

I received quite a few e-mails from readers regarding my column last week about traffic lights. They all agreed that traffic lights do not give enough time for pedestrians to cross busy roads. As I said last week, the traffic lights on Queen's Road Central at the bottom of D'Aguilar Street give pedestrians only a few seconds to cross. Vehicles are given over two minutes. This is preposterous (ridiculous, absurd). Why should vehicles be considered more important than pedestrians? Vehicles pollute the air. Pedestrians do not. Walking is healthy. But Transport officials bend over backwards to make things easy for vehicles.

        O ne reader pointed out that even the government's TV notices ask pedestrians to watch out for vehicles. Why don't the notices ask drivers to watch out for pedestrians? Vehicles can run over and kill pedestrians. Pedestrians cannot do that to vehicle drivers. I am sure most of you, not just quite a few, would agree with this. Don't be confused with the expression "quite a few." A few means several, or not many. But "quite a few" means many, or more than just a few, but not too many ! The expression "bend over backwards" means to try very hard to please others.

        Assistant Transport Commissioner Leung Tak-fai also e-mailed me about last week's column. He admitted his department had only increased the pedestrian green light during the lunch rush hour from 13 seconds to 23 seconds but not the evening rush hour following my column last May. He said the evening rush hour green light has now also been increased to 23 seconds. But why didn't he do that last May too? Why did he have to wait till I wrote another column? It is common sense that if the green light doesn't last long enough for pedestrians during the lunch hour, it also doesn't last long enough for them during the evening rush hour. As I explained before, the expression "if you pay peanuts you get monkeys" means if you pay a low salary you can only hire stupid people. Hong Kong government officials are not paid peanuts but they don't even know how to use their common sense.

        ***

        自我上星期在專欄中寫過有關交通燈的問題後，便收到好些（quite a few）讀者的電郵。他們都認同，交通燈的時間根本不夠行人橫過繁忙的街道。我上星期提及，皇后大道中近德己立街交界的燈位，只給行人幾秒鐘過馬路，汽車卻有足足兩分鐘的時間。這是十分可笑的（preposterous）。為甚麼汽車會比行人重要？汽車污染空氣，行人卻不會。走路也很健康。但運輸署的官員卻百般討好（bend over backwards）駕車人士，讓他們路路暢通。

        一位讀者指出，即使政府的電視宣傳片也會叫行人留心汽車。為甚麼他們不提醒司機留心行人？汽車可以撞斃路人，但行人卻不能危害到駕車人士。我肯定你們大部份人，而不只是好一些人（quite a few），都會認同我的說法。請不要混淆quite a few這個習語。a few指有些，或不多；但quite a few則解很多，或比「有些」為多，但又不是非常多！習語bend over backwards解作阿諛奉承。

        運輸署助理署長梁德輝也寄了封電郵給我，回應上星期的專欄。他承認自五月的專欄刊出後，他的部門只將午膳繁忙時間的行人綠燈，由十三秒加至二十三秒。他說現在傍晚時份的綠燈，也會增加至二十三秒。但為甚麼他五月的時候不這樣做？為甚麼他非要等到我寫另一篇專欄的時候才動手？如果午膳時間的行人綠燈不夠時間，傍晚時份都一定不夠，這是常識嘛！我以往也曾解釋過，習語if you pay peanuts you get monkeys的意思是，你付低薪，只能聘請到蠢人。香港政府官員可不是支着「花生」般的低薪，卻連常識都欠奉。

        mickchug@gmail.com

        中譯:七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

Chinglish by Michael Chugani

2012-12-13

Have you noticed how much faster Leung Chun-ying has aged in just six months as chief executive? He looks listless (tired and lacking energy) and some of his hair has turned white. But he shouldn't worry too much. His hair is still not yet salt and pepper. He has more black hair than white. But I am sure the pressure of his work will turn his hair salt and pepper soon. If someone has salt and pepper hair it means he has a mixture of black and white (or gray) hair. Movie star George Clooney has salt and pepper hair. US president Barack Obama has salt and pepper hair too.

        W hen Obama was first elected president he looked young and energetic. But he aged rapidly (very quickly) during his four years in the White House. Bill Clinton also aged very rapidly as president. I wonder what C.Y. Leung will look like when he finishes his five years as chief executive. Will he still have a full head of hair like he does now? A full head of hair is an expression that means a lot of hair. Most men start losing their hair as they grow old but some lucky ones do not. C.Y. Leung is among the lucky ones. He still has a full head of hair even though he is 58 years old. “Longhair” Leung Kwok-hung is 56 but still has a full head of hair.

        Most US presidents age very rapidly because of their heavy responsibilities. But the late Ronald Reagan did not. He took things easy, which means he relaxed and did not work too hard. He did not like to carry the world on his shoulders. The expression “carry the world on your shoulders” means feeling like you have to deal with all the problems of the world. Reagan knew how to delegate (pass on) responsibilities to subordinates (people who work under him). If C.Y. Leung doesn’t want his hair to turn all white, like Bill Clinton, I suggest he take things easy. Or he could copy mainland leaders, who color their hair black to look young.

        ***

        你可有留意到，梁振英任特首六個月以來，快速衰老了多少？他顯得非常倦怠（listless），也開始有白髮了。但他不用太擔心，他的頭髮還未至於黑白相間（salt and pepper），他的黑髮還是比白髮多。但我敢肯定，他的工作壓力一定很快令他的頭髮變得黑中帶白（salt and pepper）。若有人擁有salt and pepper hair即是說他的頭髮黑白（或灰髮）夾雜。電影明星佐治古尼就有一頭灰髮（salt and pepper）。美國總統奧巴馬的頭髮也是灰灰的（salt and pepper）。

        當奧巴馬首度當選總統時，他看起來年輕而充滿活力。可是在白宮打滾了四年，他很快（rapidly）就衰老了。克林頓當總統時也是衰老得很快（rapidly）。我很好奇到底梁振英當了五年特首後，會變成怎個模樣。他仍可以像現在一樣有濃密的頭髮（full head of hair）嗎？Full head of hair就是有許多頭髮。有好些男人年老時，會開始掉髮，也有些幸運兒倖免於難。梁振英是幸運兒之一。他已經五十八歲，但仍然有很多頭髮（full head of hair）。「長毛」梁國雄也五十六歲了，還是有濃密的長髮（full head of hair）。

        許多美國總統衰老得很快（rapidly），因為他們承擔着沉重的責任。但已去世的朗奴列根則不然。他做人輕鬆自在（took things easy），從不過度操勞，不喜歡把全世界的重擔都扛在肩上（carry the world on your shoulders）。習語carry the world on your shoulders意思是去處理全世界的問題。列根懂得將職責委派（delegate）給下屬（subordinates）。如果梁振英不想自己像克林頓一樣，頭髮全部變白，我建議他從容處事（take things easy）。或者像中國領導人一樣，把頭髮染黑，讓自己看來年輕一點。

        mickchug@gmail.com

        中譯:七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

議事堂上的《孫子兵法》 / 論盡中港台 by 岑逸飛

13 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

　　港府推出每月2,200元的長者生活津貼，但堅持長者需作資產申報，資產限額為18萬6 千港元。本欄已曾發表《長者也要棺材本》，指出這個資產上限太低，而政府的態度，則是決不作絲毫讓步，要硬闖立法會財務委員會通過撥款申請。

 

　　自十月以來，有關這個爭議引起廣泛討論，不僅政府上下齊來說項，更有扶貧界的社會福利學者挺身護航。

 

　　港府對這項措施的立場堅決，其苦衷可以理解，因為這項津貼是以稅收作為資金來源，長遠根本不能持續。這項津貼若不設審查，每年額外開支可達136億港元，現時通過審查，每年額外開支僅為62億港元，預計40萬名長者會受惠。

 

　　反對者則認為政府這項政策並不高瞻遠矚，表面上是扶貧，實際上只能濟燃眉之急，無法照顧2030至2040年香港人口老齡化高峰期的安老需要，因為長者福利制度若全靠稅收支撐，資助水平會受制於經濟變化，且長貧難顧，除非趁這5年工作人口的年輕人比例尚不算太低，推行由政府、僱主及僱員三方供款的全民退休保障制度，資金來源穩定，才是根本之計。

 

　　任何爭議，誰是誰非，總是見仁見智。現時的「長者津貼」，顯然是治標不是治本，但長遠政策，恐怕也要從長計議。而梁振英政府急於通過這個計劃，一來要符合他競選所作政綱的承諾﹔二來畢竟也有四十萬長者受惠，多少會提高這個政府的聲望。而在議事堂上，政府與反對派議員的刀來劍往，猶如在戰場上決一勝負，已不是對錯的爭辯，而是兵法上的策略運用。

 

　　《孫子兵法》講「兵者，詭道也」，所以孫子教人總是以「正兵」合戰，用「奇兵」取勝，出奇才能制勝。講白一點，一般的作戰原則，通常不是靠正面廝殺取勝，而是靠巧妙的戰術運用來智取。列陣對敵、明攻為正，突擊、偷襲為奇。作戰必須有「正奇」變化，要「以正合，以奇勝」，才能戰勝敵人。

 

　　這次反對派議員為要求政府撤銷申報，在審議「長者津貼」事項時展開「拉布」。只是「拉布」策略在議會用得太多，已無新意，一點也不「奇」，對方早有準備。反而勞工及福利局局長張建宗顯然熟讀《孫子兵法》和《三十六計》，在財務委員會會議前數分鐘以奇兵突擊，提交「補充文件」，剔除用作長者生活津貼的25億港元撥款，只申請開設90個新職位處理長者生活津貼的撥款，這可說是用新瓶裝上了舊酒，且是《三十六計》中第一計的「瞞天過海」。結果那些反對派議員可能因「拉布」太久而有倦意，對所提交的文件既沒有看清楚，質疑有關撥款時得不到正面回答又不再窮追猛打，加上不熟讀兵法，完全不知對方偷襲，掉以輕心，表決時糊�糊塗便通過了該份文件。

 

　　雖然事後反對派議員大罵政府採用欺詐手段，「可惡」、「無恥」，可是戰場無父子，誰叫你輕敵﹖打敗了仗便要認輸，何況一切按照議事程序進行，當局自然是「過了海便是神仙」，議員倒不如怪責自己為甚麼表決時沒有三思，罪無可恕，以後要吸取教訓了!

 

Chinglish by Michael Chugani

2012-12-11

have been suckered by the Transport Department. An assistant commissioner, Leung Tak-fai, duped me into believing his department gives equal importance to the smooth flow of pedestrians and vehicles. I wrote in my column last April that Hong Kong's traffic lights drove me up the wall. Pedestrians always have to wait a long time to cross busy roads because the green light for traffic lasts so long. But the green light for pedestrians lasts less than 30 seconds. This proves the Transport Department cares more about traffic flow than pedestrian flow.

        I said in my column that hundreds of people wait to cross Queen's Road Central at the bottom of D'Aguilar Street during rush hour. It is impossible for so many people to cross in less than 30 seconds before the pedestrian light turns red. The green light for traffic lasts over two minutes. Many impatient pedestrians risk their lives by jaywalking (crossing during a red light). Leung Tak-fai e-mailed me after my column to say he would increase the time of the pedestrian green light from 13 seconds to 23 seconds during the lunch rush hour. I was so gullible I believed him. The situation did improve slightly for a while but the pedestrian green light now again lasts far less than 30 seconds.

        The word gullible means being easily fooled into believing something. To be suckered means to be fooled or tricked. It is similar to the word duped. Gullible people are easily suckered or duped. The noun sucker is a person who is easily suckered. To drive someone up the wall means to make that person very angry. Last week I saw an elderly man with a walking stick crossing Queen's Road Central at the bottom of D'Aguilar Street during the evening rush hour. He was just halfway across when the pedestrian light turned red. How can the Transport Department expect elderly or disabled people to cross in a few seconds when hundreds of other pedestrians are also crossing? Leung Tak-fai should see the situation for himself instead of always sitting in his office.

        ***

        我給運輸署欺騙（suckered）了。助理署長梁德輝騙（duped）我去相信，他的部門把行人和行車的流量看得同等重要。我曾在四月的時候寫過，香港的交通燈簡直讓我發瘋（drove me up the wall）了。行人要過繁忙的馬路，總要等上很久的時間，因為行車的綠燈是那麼久，但行人的綠燈卻只有三十秒。那就足以證明，運輸署關心汽車的流量多於行人的。

        我曾在專欄中寫過，在皇后大道中近德己立街交界，繁忙時間常常有上百人在等過馬路。在行人交通燈轉紅前，要在三十秒內讓這麼多人過馬路是不可能的。但行車的綠燈卻多於兩分鐘。許多不耐煩的行人會冒着生命危險衝紅燈（jaywalking）。專欄刊出後，梁德輝寄電郵給我，說他會把午飯繁忙時段的行人綠燈由十三秒增加至二十三秒。我是那麼輕信（gullible）了他！情況確是輕微改善了，但只維持了很短的時間，現在的綠燈又遠遠少於三十秒了。

        Gullible的意思是輕易受騙。To be suckered也是被騙或愚弄，與duped的意思類同。易受騙（gullible）的人很易被愚弄（suckered或duped）。名詞sucker就是易受騙（suckered）的笨蛋。To drive someone up the wall即是那人非常憤怒。上星期我目睹一名持着拐杖的老人，於傍晚的繁忙時間於德己立街那邊橫過皇后大道中。行人交通燈轉紅時，他才過了馬路的一半。運輸署又怎能期望一位老人家或殘疾人士可以在數以百計的行人之間，幾秒鐘便能過馬路？梁德輝該親身視察一下情況，而非常常坐在辦公室中。

        mickchug@gmail.com

        中譯:七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

A Pledge to Reform Greedy Set-Top Boxes - NYTimes.com by Elizabeth Rosenthal

2012-12-07

......

Source: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/07/a-pledge-to-reform-those-greedy-set-top-boxes/?ref=elisabethrosenthal&pagewanted=print

Chinglish by Michael Chugani

2012-12-06

An email that I received from a reader made me both sad and angry. The email was in response to last week's column about overcrowded MTR trains. The reader agreed with me that the MTR provides a lousy service. I won't name her in case she wants to remain anonymous. If you wish to remain anonymous it means you do not want your identity to be made known. Some people who donate money to charity want to remain anonymous. But most of Hong Kong's rich people like to boast about large donations to charity instead of remaining anonymous.

        M y reader's email made me sad because she said she suffered a stroke last June. The word stroke has several meanings but in this case it means a sudden stop in the supply of blood to a part of the brain. A stroke is a very serious medical condition and can kill people. My reader's stroke paralyzed the left side of her body. If you are paralyzed it means you cannot move a part of your body. Some unfortunate people are paralyzed from the neck down, which means they cannot move any part of their body except their head. My reader must now use a wheelchair, which means a chair with wheels that disabled people use to move around.

        It is, of course, not possible for disabled people in wheelchairs to use the MTR escalators. They must use the elevators (which are called lifts in British English). But my reader told me many selfish passengers who are neither disabled nor elderly always rush to use the elevators first. Disabled people often cannot get in because many of these selfish people also have a lot of luggage. I became very angry after reading her email. MTR announcements ask people with luggage to use the elevators but the announcements don't say disabled people should be given priority. What is more important - suitcases or disabled people? Why can't the MTR put staff at the elevators to make sure disabled people get in first? The MTR only cares about profits, not providing a good service to passengers.

        ＊＊＊

        一封由讀者寄來的電郵令我既難過又憤慨。這封電郵是回應我上星期有關港鐵過度擠迫的專欄。我說港鐵的服務糟透，那位讀者很認同。可能她想隱姓埋名(anonymous)，故此我亦識趣不開名了。若你想remain anonymous，即是說你想隱藏身份。有些人以無名氏(anonymous)的名義做慈善捐獻，但許多香港的有錢人卻不甘做無名氏(anonymous)，倒喜歡吹噓自己捐了多大筆的慈善捐款。

        我那位讀者的電郵令我很傷感，緣於她說她在六月時中風（suffered a stroke）了。Stroke有許多意思，這裏解為中風，是非常嚴重的醫療狀況，足以奪人性命。我的讀者中風以致左邊身癱瘓（paralyzed），英文就是paralyzed。有些不幸的人頸部以下全身癱瘓（paralyzed），也即是說他們除了頭部以外全身都不能動。這位讀者現在只能用輪椅（wheelchairs）代步。

        坐輪椅（wheelchairs）的傷疾人士自然不能用上港鐵的扶手電梯，他們一定得使用升降機（elevators，英式英語叫lifts）。但我的讀者告訴我，許多既非傷殘亦非長者的乘客相當自私，總是衝去乘搭升降機（elevators）。傷疾人士想擠也擠不進去，因為這些自私鬼亦多有不少行李。我讀畢電郵後非常憤怒。港鐵廣播常叫那些攜帶行李的乘客使用升降機，卻沒有呼籲乘客讓傷疾人士優先使用。哪樣比較重要：行李抑或傷疾人士？為甚麼港鐵不會安排員工站在升降機（elevators）前，確保傷疾人士得以優先進入？港鐵關心的只是盈利，而不是怎樣好好服務乘客。mickchug@gmail.com

        中譯:七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧

香港「新移民」真的受歧視嗎? / 論盡中港台 by 岑逸飛

6 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMT

　　最近本港報章刊登了一則消息，標題是「調查：1/4新移民稱受歧視，快樂得分較低，學者稱要正視。」

 

　　這項調查，來自香港大學公共衛生學院，該學院獲馬會捐款2.5億元，自2008年起展開為期5年的全港住戶調查，而是次公布的隨機抽樣調查，是於2009年3月至去年3月以家訪形式進行，涉及8355戶2萬多人，發現6成受訪者在與家人和睦相處的評分達75分以上，社區凝聚力的平均數為16.8，與美國同類型的調查相若。另外，調查也抽樣訪問約1000名新來港人士，有1/4表示在港曾受到歧視，而他們在快樂、精神健康及家庭和睦的得分也較低。

 

　　有趣的是，調查報告說的是「新來港人士」，而報章標題則改稱為「新移民」，同一類人而有兩個標簽，似乎已顯出其「吊詭」。本來所謂「新移民」，是相對當地人而言，當地人有稱為原居民或原住民，例如美洲新大陸的印第安人是原居民，而白人則是美洲「新移民」。 香港人大部份的第一代，祖父和祖母上幾代不少也曾是新移民，都不是香港開埠時期的香港原居民。

 

　　「新移民」一詞，也是香港成為殖民地時代的產物，那時在深圳河對岸是「大陸人」，在香港殖民地居住的則是「香港人」。不過回歸後這種區分已無意義，因為不管是「大陸人」或「香港人」，同是「中國人」，因而有了「新來港人士」的新稱謂，但不少港人仍視他們為「異類」，報章顯然也順應市場要求，使用「新移民」這個帶有貶義的標簽。

 

　　一般來說，世界各地的新移民，不少因本身的謀生技能及適應能力不及本地人士，令他們停留在社會較低階層，需要社會保障的支援，被本地人士視為寄生蟲，招來歧視，這也是可以理解。但如今的新來港人士，也有些是投資移民，經濟情況並不差，且學歷程度高達大專以上的數不在少，而歧視情況依然存在，可見歧視與教育或收入並不存有直接關係，如有歧視也是屬於文化上的。

 

　　歧視也分兩種，一種是顯性的，例如受到襲擊或威脅等﹔另一種是隱性的，例如受到無禮對待或遭受不公平待遇。是次調查，居港少於10年的新來港人士，他們所投訴的歧視多是隱性歧視。其實香港本來就是一個移民社會，7百多萬人口近半數根本不在香港出生，主要來自中國大陸或其他華人社區，經過艱苦奮鬥才能立足香港，但對新來港人士也不應存有歧視。事實上回歸後中港兩地經濟正在不斷加速融合，今屆「十八大」後高層人事出現變動，新任政治常委張德江，據說會接替習近平出掌中央港澳協調小組組長，執掌港澳事務，他在02年至07年出任廣東省委書記期間，便曾倡議泛珠三角「9+2」區域合作。

 

　　所謂「9+2」，指參與省份包括廣東、廣西、海南、雲南、貴州、四川、湖南、江西、福建9個省區，以及香港、澳門兩個特別行政區，其目的是增強泛珠區域的整體影響和競爭力，促進區域的經濟合作與發展。可見今日的香港，背靠祖國，本地人士與新來港人士，都要學習相互的尊重和包容，才能延續香港的繁榮。

 

Chinglish by Michael Chugani

2012-12-04

Are you scared stiff? Are you shaking in your boots? Do you really believe that doomsday is around the corner? Are you saying your final goodbyes to all your friends and relatives? According to the ancient (very old) Mayan calendar, the world will end on December 21 2012. The word doomsday means the last day of the world's existence. You can also use the biblical (from the Bible) word Armageddon to describe the end of the world. I don't believe at all that the world will end on December 21 2012. I think it's just bunk (nonsense, empty talk).

        T he expression scared stiff means extremely scared or frightened. It has the same meaning as the expression shaking in your boots. I was scared stiff (shaking in my boots) when I first started doing my TV show. But I am no longer nervous facing the cameras. The expression "around the corner", as I have explained before, means very near. For example, Christmas is just around the corner. The ancient Maya civilization stretched from parts of Central to South America. The ancient Mayan calendar ends on December 21 2012. That's why some people believe the world will end. I believe it is a myth. The word myth, as I have explained before, is something that is believed by many people but not true.

        If you believe doomsday is around the corner you should build a basement like Henry Tang Ying-yen and Leung Chun-ying and fill it with bottled water and canned food. Maybe you will survive if you take shelter in the basement. But since December 21 2012 is a Friday I intend to party all night. The noun party, as you know, means having a gathering with friends or family to enjoy eating and dancing. But you can also use it as a verb, which means to have a good time. If you are not afraid of doomsday you should party too, like me.

        ***

        你驚慌得全身僵硬(scared stiff)嗎？可有害怕得渾身發抖(shaking in your boots)？你是否相信，世界末日(doomsday)轉眼便至(around the corner)？你有沒有跟你的至親好友作最後道別？根據遠古(ancient)馬雅(Mayan)曆法，世界將於二○一二年十二月二十一日終結。Doomsday就是世界末日，你也可以用上聖經(biblical)的用語Armageddon（世界末日之善惡之戰）。我完全不相信世界會在二○一二年十二月二十一日完結。我認為那是胡說八道(bunk)。

        習語scared stiff是指非常驚慌或戰慄，與另一個習語shaking in your boots的意思一樣。我頭一趟做電視節目時，也是戰戰兢兢的（scared stiff 或shaking in my boots），但我現在對着鏡頭已不再緊張了。我從前也解釋過習語around the corner，就是即將來臨，例如，聖誕很快便到（around the corner）。古馬雅（ancient Maya）文明覆蓋中至南美洲，古馬雅（ancient Maya）曆法終止於二○一二年十二月二十一日，所以人們相信世界就此完結。我相信這只是迷思（myth）。Myth這個字我從前亦解釋過，就是許多人都相信但沒有事實根據的說法。

        如果你相信世界末日（doomsday）即將來臨，你應該像唐英年和梁振英那樣，建一個地庫，再放滿樽裝水和罐頭食物。或許你躲在地庫裏就得以生還。但既然二○一二年十二月二十一日那天是星期五，我決定通宵狂歡盡興。你也知道名詞party就是與家人好友歡聚吃喝的派對，但你也可以把它當動詞用。如果你不懼怕世界末日，你也該像我一樣，盡情享樂。mickchug@gmail.com

        中譯:七刻

        Michael Chugani 褚簡寧