又中又英｜An inkling

Will the government backpedal on its scheme to charge for garbage disposal? I have an inkling it will. To backpedal means to completely change your previous position or opinion. If you have an inkling about something, it means you have a feeling it is likely to happen. I have an inkling the government will backpedal on requiring Hong Kong people to pay for garbage disposal because senior officials are at sixes and sevens on how to proceed. If you are at sixes and sevens, it means you are confused or disorganized. The scheme, first proposed in 2005, was approved by the Legislative Council in 2021 to start in 2023.

After several delays, the government chose April 1 as the start date to charge residents for garbage disposal. But Environment Secretary Tse Chin-wan then again delayed it to August 1. It now looks like he will again delay or even postpone it indefinitely after influential politicians spoke up against the scheme. Starry Lee Wai-king, a Legco member and former chairperson of the DAB, Hong Kong’s largest political party, now feels the scheme is too optimistic. Lo Man-tuen, the influential vice-chairman of a patriotic political group, said Hong Kong was not ready for the scheme, and it should be scrapped.

It is hard to understand why such influential people oppose a scheme to protect the environment when many other places, including Taiwan, have similar schemes. I think the government should take the bull by the horns and charge for garbage disposal. To take the bull by the horns means to do something difficult but necessary in a brave and determined way.

政府到底会否撤回（backpedal）其垃圾徵费计划呢？我约略感到（an inkling）它会。To backpedal是指出尔反尔、完全改变你之前的立场或意见。若你 have an inkling about something，意即你有预感它很有可能会发生。我有预感（an inkling）政府会撤回（backpedal）要求香港人为丢弃垃圾而付费，因为高官们对于如何进行可谓杂乱无章（at sixes and sevens）。若你是 at sixes and sevens，意即你是乱七八糟、杂乱无章。这个计划首先于2005年提出，2021年获立法会通过于2023年开始。

经过几次的推迟，政府最终选了4月1日为住户垃圾徵费的首度实施日。但环境局局长谢展寰又将日子再度延至8月1日。经过有影响力的政客们接连开声反对计划后，现在看来他又会再度延期，甚至无限期押后。立法会议员及香港最大政党的民建联前主席李慧琼，现在也觉得计划过于乐观。卢文端——一个具影响力的爱国政治团体的副主席——亦说香港未准备好推行计划，应该搁置。

实在很难明白，当许多其他地方包括台湾，也有类似的计划时，为何这些有影响力的人会反对一个保护环境的计划。我认为政府应该「抓好公牛的角」（take the bull by the horns），进行垃圾徵费——to take the bull by the horns是指当机立断，面对一些困难但必须做的事时，要勇敢果断、不畏艰险地应对。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻