(中文在下面, switching it up, partly cos my translation is bad lol) Last year I visited this beautiful 1930's mansion in central Taiwan. I love the blend of eastern and western design and the simple modernism. I was surprised to see almost all the original windows and beds were there. I had begun to see posts suggesting the mansion may be demolished so decided to get down there quickly. I will likely turn it into a drawing along with two other large 1930's buildings nearby. It'd be hard to do that without a visit! At the moment it seems it's a provisional monument. However with what happened to Tianwaitian Theater that is no guarantee of protection. I'm a little torn over whether to give location. On the one hand I want people to know about this place and see why it should be protected, and perhaps write about it to the Taichung gov. On the other hand a huge influx of people could cause a number of problems. I think I will leave the location off until I know the cultural bureaus' decision. For now enjoy the pictures!

(對不起翻譯有錯, 我很快寫過了) 去年我在台灣中部這座漂亮的房子去看看. 差不多1935年蓋了. 我在臉書看到這個房子也許會破壞, 所以我快快去. 在未來我想畫這個房子跟其他很近老建築. 我很驚訝地看到原來的窗戶和床. 以前我告訴大家這是在哪裡, 我要等待文化局的決定, 對不起 (there are pros and cons to giving location but for now I think it's not responsible). 覺得也許好多人去, 就有問題. (一個外國人可以自己找到, 覺得台灣人也可能哈哈). 希望不會天外天劇場一樣. 現在請.

以下係我已經喺WhatsApp收咗三次嘅前高等法院英女王御用大律師，Henry Litton (列顕倫)* QC ；給香港市民的一封信:～ (裏便了無新意, 不過有兩個好處. 1) 洋人寫係唔同啲, 仲要係有名望嘅大法官, 特別有說服力 2）啲英文寫得好靚, 仲有中文翻譯可以學習英文。

Henry Litton (列顕倫)* QC was the Judge of the highest Court in Hong Kong. He retired in 2015.

英女皇御用大律師列顕倫(亨利·利頓)QC，是香港最高法院的法官。他於2015年退休。

The following is what he’s written...

以下是他寫的。

There are few certainties in life. One of them is this: The common law system underpinning Hong Kong’s “core values” is destined to expire in 27 years’ time. The One Country Two Systems formula was designed to last for 50 years and no more. Hence Article 5 of the Basic Law. There is no mechanism in the Basic Law for the system to continue beyond 30 June 2047.

生活中很少有確定性。其中之一是：支撐香港“核心價值”的普通法制度將在27年後失效。一國兩制方案的設計時限是50年，之後，再也沒有了。因此，“基本法”第五條清楚指出。2047年6月30日以後，“基本法”中沒有任何機制讓這制度繼續下去。

All the calls for Freedom, Democracy etc have no meaning if the common law crumbles.

如果普通法崩潰，所有要求“自由、民主”等的呼籲都是沒有意義。

If the protesters truly value their professed aims, *their focus should be on demonstrating to Beijing and to the rest of the world that the One Country Two Systems formula works, and to promote an atmosphere in which Beijing feels comfortable with the system – and when the time comes, to extend the Basic Law for another 50 years, 100 years*. Then liberal democratic norms and values might have a chance to flourish.

如果抗議者真的誠心誠意的重視他們宣稱的目標，*他們的重點、重心，應該是向北京和世界其他地方展示“一國兩制”的方案是有效的，並推展“一國兩制”的成功實施。令北京對這一制度感到寛心舒泰的環境下 - 當時機成熟時，說服北京將“基本法”再延長50年，100年*。那麼，自由、民主的模式、準則和價值觀還可能有延續蓬勃、活躍的機會。

Crunch time is not 27 years away. It is just round the corner. For Hong Kong to continue as one of the world’s greatest financial and trading centres, planning for the future must necessarily look 20 -30 years ahead. So the hard question will soon be asked: is the common law system to continue beyond June 2047 ? The answer lies in Beijing and nowhere else.

擔心不安的時刻不是27年後的事。就在拐角處。要使香港繼續成為世界上最大的金融和貿易中心之一，對未來的規劃必須著眼於未來20-30年。因此，我們很快便會提出一個棘手的問題：普通法制度是否會延續至2047年6月以後？答案就在北京，而不是其他任何地方。

The last time this issue arose – back in 1982 – Hong Kong had the backing of Great Britain. This time Hong Kong stands alone. And, up to this point, Hong Kong has demonstrated for all the world to see that the One Country Two Systems formula is extremely fragile: and, if the unrest continues, it would surely fracture beyond any hope of recall.

回顧1982年，上一次被問到這個問題的時候，當時香港是得到了大英帝國的支持。而這一次，香港只能孤掌難鳴。到目前為止，香港已經向全世界展示了“一國兩制”這方案是極其脆弱的：如果動亂繼續下去，它肯定會褫奪，無望地被撤銷。

It is beyond the power of the Hong Kong SAR government to devise the governing model for the future. Pressing the Hong Kong government to promote greater democracy is futile. Rightly or wrongly, that power lies in Beijing. Nowhere else. Hong Kong enjoys freedoms found nowhere else in China. To think that unlawful assemblies and demonstrations, and violence in the streets, would soften Beijing’s attitude towards Hong Kong is absurd. Common sense suggests it would have the opposite effect.

為未來設計治理模式，是超出了香港特別行政區政府的權力範圍。要迫使香港政府促進更大的民主是徒勞的。不管是你喜歡也好。不喜歡也好。權力就是在北京。沒有別的地方了。香港現在享有中國其他地方沒有的自由。認為非法集會示威和街頭暴力會軟化北京的對香港的態度是荒謬的。常識表明，它只會產生相反的效果。

But there are deep social issues which the SAR government can redress, having regard in particular to the huge foreign currency reserves it holds:USD425 billion – by far the largest in the world, enough to guarantee public servants’ pensions hundreds of times over. And yet Hong Kong’s social services are crumbling, hospitals are understaffed, public education is poor, teachers are ill-paid, young people cannot afford to rent even the most substandard apartment, the gap between rich and poor is ever-widening.

但是，有一些深層次的社會問題是特區政府可以解決的，特別是考慮到特區政府擁有世界上最龐大的外匯儲備：4,250億美元 - 是政府公務員的長俸所需要的保證金額的數以百倍。然而，香港的社會服務卻每況愈下，醫院人手不足，全民所需的教育不論在質素及資源都極差，教師薪酬偏低。年輕人怎都難以負擔租用即使是最不合標準的居所，社會上，貧富差距在不斷拉大。

The laissez-faire policy of the colonial government has been carried to extremes by the SAR government in the past 20-odd years. The rich have prospered in the meanwhile whilst the bulk of the people suffered. The influx of Mainlanders under the One-Way Permit system has caused great strain on all services. The people’s needs have been neglected. The young see little prospect of a fulfilling future and even university graduates find difficulty in meaningful employment.

大英帝國殖民地政府的自由放任政策在過去二十多年來一直被特區政府極端化。與此同時，大多數富人們卻在此期間更加繁榮昌盛、更加富裕起來，而相反普通市民却受苦了。在單程證制度下，內地人士大量湧入，對所有服務造成更大壓力。市民的需求、需要被忽視。年輕人看不出有向上游、向上流的任何富圖的希望。甚至大學畢業生也很難找到有合識、合意的工作。

These, I suggest, are the deep-seated ills which sustain the fire of discontent in the wider community, and bring hundreds of thousands to march in the streets. These are not matters which a commission of inquiry can resolve.

我認為，這些水深火熱的社會問題及弊病，這些憤懣之火已經廣泛地蔓延在整個社會，並促使數以十萬人走上街頭。這些都不是一個所謂諮詢委員會可以解決。

The media here is full of Hong Kong stories, and of course footage of the riotous behaviour on the streets: what empty slogans, meaningless rhetoric the protesters display ……….In watching these events I am reminded of the prayer attributed to Saint Francis:

今天的媒體充斥著不同形式的香港事件，當然有街頭暴力行為的鏡頭：抗議者們展示的空洞口號和毫無意義的粗言穢語。…當我在觀看這些事件時，‘我想起聖弗朗西斯的禱告：

Pray God give me the courage to change the things I can change, the fortitude to bear the things I cannot change, and the wisdom to know the difference.

願上帝賜給我勇氣去改變我能改變的事情，給我勇氣去承受那些我無法改變的事情，給我智慧去分辨其中的黑白。

I arrive in Hong Kong Thursday 24 October, staying for one month.

我在今年的10月24日星期四抵達香港，逗留一個月。

As ever
如常，祝願香港

H

列顕倫

PS Please feel free to convey these observations to anyone you chose ………….They are *not confidential*.

歡迎隨時將我這些意見傳達給你所選擇的任何人.此文是*不保密的*。

兒童變「侏儒」？東京奧運前夕官方集中處理令人崩潰的「日式英語」
Japan calls for fix to odd translations amid tourist influx

“Forgotten Center” instead of “Lost and Found” is just one of the mistranslations discovered on websites that may puzzle foreign tourists in Japan, the government said Wednesday, urging the operators to fix such problems as soon as possible.
日本政府週三表示，「失物招領處」翻譯成「忘記中心」，這只是日本網站上發現的錯誤翻譯之一，而這些錯誤令外國遊客一頭霧水。日本政府敦請經營者儘快改正這些錯誤。

With the country readying itself for a further influx of foreign visitors ahead of next year’s Olympics, the Japan Tourism Agency conducted a survey between February and March examining a total of 85 websites by train and bus operators as well as transportation signs in towns.
東京奧運會將在2020年舉辦，日本正為外國遊客的湧入做準備。今年2月到3月間，日本旅遊局對85家火車和公車公司營運的網站以及城鎮的交通標誌開展了調查。

Peculiar English words were found on websites that rely on automated translations, with problematic examples including the use of “dwarf” for “children” and “release place” for “ticket machines.”
網站上出現了一些因為使用機器翻譯而出現的奇特英語翻譯，錯誤的內容包括了，把「兒童」翻譯成「侏儒（dwarf）」，以及用「釋放座位」表達「售票機」等等。

The agency also found that translations of some sentences were confusing or incomprehensible, with examples including “what happens to the children fare from what age?”
日本旅遊局還發現，一些句子的翻譯令人困惑，或者讓人無法理解，比如“what happens to the children fare from what age?”（備註：這句話的意思大概是說，什麼年齡的兒童可以購買兒童票？）

The machine-aided system also did unnecessary translations of the names of train stations on some websites, making it difficult for non-Japanese speakers to comprehend, the agency said.
這種電腦輔助翻譯系統還導致一些網站上出現了一些對火車站名不必要的翻譯，使不懂日文的人很難理解。

Of the 85 websites, 70 offered explanations in English, Korean and Chinese, it added.
日本旅遊局說，在85個網站中，有70個提供英語、韓語和中文翻譯。

Unnatural direct translations and mistranslations from Japanese sometimes crop up in the news and on social media.
新聞和社交媒體上有時也會提到對於日語的一些不自然的直譯和誤譯。

#高雄人 #學習英文 請找 #多益達人林立英文
#高中英文
#成人英文
#多益家教班
#商用英文