[專頁公告] 有關我對ＢＢＣ記者向蔡總統提問的貼文，存在一些爭議。或許是我表達的不夠清楚，而此一事件也有其複雜性，因此經大家傳來傳去後，遂造成諸多不必要的誤解與糾紛。於此，對該貼文的疏漏表達歉意的同時，我也想藉這個機會，向大家澄清我的個人觀點，並提供具體的說明。

坦白說，當我第一時間聽到這個問題時，我並不是很高興：

原本文章和影片：http://bit.ly/36QOKNP （請務必閱讀背景資料）

完整影片：https://youtu.be/yKVW475EnA4?t=6421

影片內文：

Thank you very much, and congratulations first, President Tsai, on tonight’s result. A few months ago, you were struggling in the polls. Many people suggest that the turnaround in your fortunes is because of the actions of China. Its threats that you mentioned tonight. Its putting of the aircraft carriers through the Taiwan Strait, the situation in Hong Kong. So my question to you is this: Do you think you have the Chinese president Xi Jinping to thank for this victory.*

非常感謝您，蔡總統，首先祝賀今晚的結果。幾個月前，您在民意調查中苦苦掙扎。許多人認為，您命運的轉變是由於中國的行動。誠如您今晚提到的威脅──航空母艦通過臺灣海峽以及香港的局勢。因此我對您的提問是：您認為您應該向中國國家主席習近平為這次的勝利表示感謝嗎？*

*您認為您的勝利歸因於中國國家主席習近平嗎？

have sb to thank (for sth) 對（某人）感謝

1. to say that you are grateful to someone who is responsible for something good happening. This expression is sometimes used HUMOROUSLY to mean that you are not grateful for what someone has done.

https://www.ldoceonline.com/…/have-somebody-to-thank-for-do…

2. If you have someone to thank for something, that person is responsible or to blame for it. 由（某人）對……負責；應責怪（某人）

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/…/english/have-sb-to-thank…

★★★★★★★★★★★★

我個人認為，此一提問似乎高估了中國對蔡總統勝選──臺灣人民以自由意志所選出的總統──的影響。不可否認，中國對臺灣的行動已與日俱增，但問題的設定似乎過分強調中國這一因素，而輕忽了臺灣人民的努力。這是我的個人觀點。

在長年旅居美國的生活經驗中，隨處都可聽見以雙關作為諷刺性質的幽默（my sarcasm detector is functional）。事實上，從我的回應也不難看出，我認為不恰當的地方乃在於，提問的內容及其所強調者──中國因素：

The people of Taiwan do not have General Secretary Xi Jinping to "thank" for this democratic victory. They have the sacrifices of thousands of democratic reformers and activists around the world to thank for their right to vote and the right to have their voices heard. It is unfortunate that the threats you mentioned are perceived by some as being responsible for tonight's victory.

臺灣的總統並不需要針對此次的民主選舉「感謝」習總書記。總統和全臺灣的人民需要感謝的是全球成千上萬的為了民主而犧牲的改革者，感謝由於他們奮鬥而獲得的投票權與發表自己意見的權利。不幸的是，一些人似乎認為今晚的勝利應歸因於您所提到的這些威脅。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

毫無疑問，有些人並不同意我的回應。但是，若您稍加觀察，便可發現我是圍繞著「have…to thank、 對（某人）感謝」來進行回應，並提出個人觀點。別人用幽默的語氣問我 ，並不代表我不能以字面上的意涵去作正式甚至有一點俏皮的回應。當時，我若在「thank、感謝」周圍加上引號*，唸起來就會有特別的語氣，或許能更加凸顯我充分理解幽默的部分。不幸的是，我並沒有這樣做，致使許多人不理解我的本意。

*https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scare_quotes

★★★★★★★★★★★★

我之所以撰寫此一貼文，乃為強調我們應該感謝那些為臺灣犧牲奉獻的民主改革者，並向該名記者過於強調中國影響力的問句提出抗議。同時，我也在該篇貼文中附上完整影片的連結，方便讀者理解此一事件的脈絡。我也是純粹當作個人意見發表，而沒有把它變成一篇完整的教學文章。

由於「have sb to thank (for sth)」包含了正面與負面的意涵，而有時也會被幽默地使用。因此幾個小時後（大約凌晨２點），我開始收到一些訊息，告知我並不理解英式幽默。此時我才意識到，自己的貼文不夠明確，使得部分讀者無法理解我為文的重點。在我迅速添加了「have sb to thank (for sth)」的定義後（http://bit.ly/2NnxHv2），便未多想而上床睡覺了。第二天，我下午上班回到家後，卻看到某些針對我貼文所作的評論，認為我不僅對英式幽默缺乏理解，還錯誤地翻譯了該問句。以下，我將對兩種主要的評論作出回應。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

首先，我其實能理解，該名記者嘗試在嚴肅的提問中帶點幽默，但以英文母語者的角度來說，我並不認為他的話「幽默」（至少我個人沒有那種會心一笑的感覺，可能我比較嚴肅）。再者，幽默是非常主觀的，並非所有人都能產生共鳴，尤其是在這麼正式的場合，則更容易造成誤解。對我而言，發言者在正式的場合時，應清楚地意識到，可能會有部分聽眾無法理解自己話語的弦外之音──幽默。畢竟，這是一次全球性的現場直播，真正瞭解英國文化的觀眾，恐怕是少之又少。

即便當時，他是向蔡總統提問而非現場觀眾，但我們都知道（包含該名記者），提問會被口譯員翻成中文，進而讓在場的所有臺灣人聽見。更無消說，蔡總統本就代表全體臺灣人民，向臺灣總統提問，本質上就是向所有的臺灣人民提問。不過，我也相信，該名記者之所以使用此一詞彙，乃為營造幽默的氛圍，並傳達他個人對總統大選與臺海問題的關注，以探求蔡總統對此一議題的洞見。坦率地說，我也沒有資格去干涉專業記者發問的方式，況且他本人的風格本就較為犀利（他揭露了中國無數的人權問題，並進行了諸多報導）。

又我個人認為，無論記者的本意為何，這樣的表達方式並不恰當，尤其是在這麼重要的場合的第一個問題。我由衷地覺得，有評論指出我反應過度，其實是可以理解的。但我個人還是希望，外國記者在正式的國際場合中，能尊重臺灣得來不易的民主，同時也照顧到聽眾的感受。而蔡總統隨即報以微笑，則是展現出她總統的高度與格局。我想，即便蔡總統內心有所想法，也不會在這麼正式的場合中表露出來。因此，微笑絕對是最好的回應。口譯員之所以略過此一問題，很可能是擔心會引發爭議。而影片中，您可以清楚的看到，相鄰的記者於微笑的同時，也搖了搖頭。我想，「幽默」是否適合這種情況，每位觀眾都會有自己的看法。

此處的討論已超出語言的闡釋與翻譯，以及對單詞涵義的理解。我個人認為，那些將我的貼文化約為「不理解英式幽默」的評論，實已淡化了語言的社會、政治與文化脈絡。惟遺憾的是，我當時也未闡明自己的思路，沒有提供足夠的背景資訊。因此，這導致了諸多不必要的困惑。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

其次，我注意到某個粉絲專頁。該專頁在隔天下午發表了一篇文章，內容是關於我如何藉由「要感謝某人（某物）」的字面翻譯，來誤解該名ＢＢＣ的記者。但這樣片面的說法，似無法詳實的呈現我該篇貼文的本意，也忽略了我所提供的資訊。

have sb to thank (for sth)

1. to say that you are grateful to someone who is responsible for something good happening. This expression is sometimes used HUMOROUSLY to mean that you are not grateful for what someone has done.

對（某人）感謝

I have Phil to thank for getting me my first job.

https://www.ldoceonline.com/…/have-somebody-to-thank-for-do…

2. If you have someone to thank for something, that person is responsible or to blame for it.

由（某人）對……負責；應責怪（某人）

You have John to thank for this problem.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/…/english/have-sb-to-thank…

★★★★★★★★★★★★

該專頁也認為我誤解了「have sb to thank (for sth)」──僅譯出「感謝」的字面義而無提供其餘意涵──此一片語。但事實上，我的貼文裡早已附上相關資訊。

在言談分析（discourse analysis）中，僅「thank you」一詞就有許多不同的解釋方式。言語的闡釋與翻譯，必須考慮到語調、肢體語言以及社會環境。我絕對不是專業的翻譯，但誠如下列連結的內容所顯示，文字媒體大多只會提供直譯──亦即「感謝」，畢竟要以短短的幾行文字來完整表達講者的意圖，並非易事。因此，絕大多數的文字報導（包含我的貼文）也附有新聞發布會的完整影片，以為讀者提供更清晰的背景與脈絡。同時，記者也會有自己的顧慮（受眾），因此文字的使用必須盡可能地言簡意賅，以與讀者產生共鳴。

https://www.setn.com/news.aspx?NewsID=670861

https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/3037675

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51077553

https://news.pts.org.tw/article/462512

https://hk.news.appledaily.com/.../article/20200112/60476407

I am not a professional translator by any means, but a literal translation is sometimes provided because it is immensely difficult to get across the full intent of the speaker with a few lines of text. Just the phrase "thank you" could be interpreted in diverse ways in discourse analysis. Interpretation and translation of speech require consideration of stress, body language, and social contexts. If the reporters above provided a connotative translation, the language used would be subjective as it would directly reflect what the translator believes to be the speaker's intentional meaning. Thus, a full video of the press conference was included in nearly every one of the reports to provide readers with additional context. Journalists also have pragmatic concerns (reach, readership), so the language used has to be specific, emphatic, and concise. These reasons might offer some insight into why「道謝」was used instead of a connotative translation.

★★★★★★★★★★★★

事後看來，在我發表評論的當下，以及之後所受到的負面評論時，確實有些激動，被批評也是應該的。我個人認為，該名ＢＢＣ記者過於凸顯中國影響力的問題，對總統以及臺灣人所珍視的民主制度似乎顯得不甚尊重。而我也相信，此亦即該提問之所以造成諸多爭議的原因。事實上，我一直在編輯貼文，希望盡可能地以更客觀的方式來表達我的觀點。但顯然，此前我未能在第一時間評論中作出詳盡的解釋，為此我深感抱歉，也學到了寶貴的經驗。若我的貼文為您帶來諸多不便，我深表歉意。希望本文足以闡明我對此事的想法，並作出具體的澄清。謝謝。

[專頁公告] 有關我對ＢＢＣ記者向蔡總統提問的貼文，存在一些爭議。或許是我表達的不夠清楚，而此一事件也有其複雜性，因此經大家傳來傳去後，遂造成諸多不必要的誤解與糾紛。於此，對該貼文的疏漏表達歉意的同時，我也想藉這個機會，向大家澄清我的個人觀點，並提供具體的說明。

坦白說，當我第一時間聽到這個問題時，我並不是很高興：

原本文章和影片：http://bit.ly/36QOKNP （請務必閱讀背景資料）

完整影片：https://youtu.be/yKVW475EnA4?t=6421

影片內文：

Thank you very much, and congratulations first, President Tsai, on tonight’s result. A few months ago, you were struggling in the polls. Many people suggest that the turnaround in your fortunes is because of the actions of China. Its threats that you mentioned tonight. Its putting of the aircraft carriers through the Taiwan Strait, the situation in Hong Kong. So my question to you is this: Do you think you have the Chinese president Xi Jinping to thank for this victory.*

非常感謝您，蔡總統，首先祝賀今晚的結果。幾個月前，您在民意調查中苦苦掙扎。許多人認為，您命運的轉變是由於中國的行動。誠如您今晚提到的威脅──航空母艦通過臺灣海峽以及香港的局勢。因此我對您的提問是：您認為您應該向中國國家主席習近平為這次的勝利表示感謝嗎？*

*您認為您的勝利歸因於中國國家主席習近平嗎？

have sb to thank (for sth) 對（某人）感謝

1. to say that you are grateful to someone who is responsible for something good happening. This expression is sometimes used HUMOROUSLY to mean that you are not grateful for what someone has done.

https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/have-somebody-to-thank-for-doing-something

2. If you have someone to thank for something, that person is responsible or to blame for it. 由（某人）對……負責；應責怪（某人）

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/have-sb-to-thank-for-sth

★★★★★★★★★★★★

我個人認為，此一提問似乎高估了中國對蔡總統勝選──臺灣人民以自由意志所選出的總統──的影響。不可否認，中國對臺灣的行動已與日俱增，但問題的設定似乎過分強調中國這一因素，而輕忽了臺灣人民的努力。這是我的個人觀點。

在長年旅居美國的生活經驗中，隨處都可聽見以雙關作為諷刺性質的幽默（my sarcasm detector is functional）。事實上，從我的回應也不難看出，我認為不恰當的地方乃在於，提問的內容及其所強調者──中國因素：

The people of Taiwan do not have General Secretary Xi Jinping to "thank" for this democratic victory. They have the sacrifices of thousands of democratic reformers and activists around the world to thank for their right to vote and the right to have their voices heard. It is unfortunate that the threats you mentioned are perceived by some as being responsible for tonight's victory.

臺灣的總統並不需要針對此次的民主選舉「感謝」習總書記。總統和全臺灣的人民需要感謝的是全球成千上萬的為了民主而犧牲的改革者，感謝由於他們奮鬥而獲得的投票權與發表自己意見的權利。不幸的是，一些人似乎認為今晚的勝利應歸因於您所提到的這些威脅。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

毫無疑問，有些人並不同意我的回應。但是，若您稍加觀察，便可發現我是圍繞著「have…to thank、 對（某人）感謝」來進行回應，並提出個人觀點。別人用幽默的語氣問我 ，並不代表我不能以字面上的意涵去作正式甚至有一點俏皮的回應。當時，我若在「thank、感謝」周圍加上引號*，唸起來就會有特別的語氣，或許能更加凸顯我充分理解幽默的部分。不幸的是，我並沒有這樣做，致使許多人不理解我的本意。

*https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scare_quotes

★★★★★★★★★★★★

我之所以撰寫此一貼文，乃為強調我們應該感謝那些為臺灣犧牲奉獻的民主改革者，並向該名記者過於強調中國影響力的問句提出抗議。同時，我也在該篇貼文中附上完整影片的連結，方便讀者理解此一事件的脈絡。我也是純粹當作個人意見發表，而沒有把它變成一篇完整的教學文章。

由於「have sb to thank (for sth)」包含了正面與負面的意涵，而有時也會被幽默地使用。因此幾個小時後（大約凌晨２點），我開始收到一些訊息，告知我並不理解英式幽默。此時我才意識到，自己的貼文不夠明確，使得部分讀者無法理解我為文的重點。在我迅速添加了「have sb to thank (for sth)」的定義後（http://bit.ly/2NnxHv2），便未多想而上床睡覺了。第二天，我下午上班回到家後，卻看到某些針對我貼文所作的評論，認為我不僅對英式幽默缺乏理解，還錯誤地翻譯了該問句。以下，我將對兩種主要的評論作出回應。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

首先，我其實能理解，該名記者嘗試在嚴肅的提問中帶點幽默，但以英文母語者的角度來說，我並不認為他的話「幽默」（至少我個人沒有那種會心一笑的感覺，可能我比較嚴肅）。再者，幽默是非常主觀的，並非所有人都能產生共鳴，尤其是在這麼正式的場合，則更容易造成誤解。對我而言，發言者在正式的場合時，應清楚地意識到，可能會有部分聽眾無法理解自己話語的弦外之音──幽默。畢竟，這是一次全球性的現場直播，真正瞭解英國文化的觀眾，恐怕是少之又少。

即便當時，他是向蔡總統提問而非現場觀眾，但我們都知道（包含該名記者），提問會被口譯員翻成中文，進而讓在場的所有臺灣人聽見。更無消說，蔡總統本就代表全體臺灣人民，向臺灣總統提問，本質上就是向所有的臺灣人民提問。不過，我也相信，該名記者之所以使用此一詞彙，乃為營造幽默的氛圍，並傳達他個人對總統大選與臺海問題的關注，以探求蔡總統對此一議題的洞見。坦率地說，我也沒有資格去干涉專業記者發問的方式，況且他本人的風格本就較為犀利（他揭露了中國無數的人權問題，並進行了諸多報導）。

又我個人認為，無論記者的本意為何，這樣的表達方式並不恰當，尤其是在這麼重要的場合的第一個問題。我由衷地覺得，有評論指出我反應過度，其實是可以理解的。但我個人還是希望，外國記者在正式的國際場合中，能尊重臺灣得來不易的民主，同時也照顧到聽眾的感受。而蔡總統隨即報以微笑，則是展現出她總統的高度與格局。我想，即便蔡總統內心有所想法，也不會在這麼正式的場合中表露出來。因此，微笑絕對是最好的回應。口譯員之所以略過此一問題，很可能是擔心會引發爭議。而影片中，您可以清楚的看到，相鄰的記者於微笑的同時，也搖了搖頭。我想，「幽默」是否適合這種情況，每位觀眾都會有自己的看法。

此處的討論已超出語言的闡釋與翻譯，以及對單詞涵義的理解。我個人認為，那些將我的貼文化約為「不理解英式幽默」的評論，實已淡化了語言的社會、政治與文化脈絡。惟遺憾的是，我當時也未闡明自己的思路，沒有提供足夠的背景資訊。因此，這導致了諸多不必要的困惑。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

其次，我注意到某個粉絲專頁。該專頁在隔天下午發表了一篇文章，內容是關於我如何藉由「要感謝某人（某物）」的字面翻譯，來誤解該名ＢＢＣ的記者。但這樣片面的說法，似無法詳實的呈現我該篇貼文的本意，也忽略了我所提供的資訊。

have sb to thank (for sth)

1. to say that you are grateful to someone who is responsible for something good happening. This expression is sometimes used HUMOROUSLY to mean that you are not grateful for what someone has done.

對（某人）感謝

I have Phil to thank for getting me my first job.

https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/have-somebody-to-thank-for-doing-something

2. If you have someone to thank for something, that person is responsible or to blame for it.

由（某人）對……負責；應責怪（某人）

You have John to thank for this problem.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/have-sb-to-thank-for-sth

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該專頁也認為我誤解了「have sb to thank (for sth)」──僅譯出「感謝」的字面義而無提供其餘意涵──此一片語。但事實上，我的貼文裡早已附上相關資訊。

在言談分析（discourse analysis）中，僅「thank you」一詞就有許多不同的解釋方式。言語的闡釋與翻譯，必須考慮到語調、肢體語言以及社會環境。我絕對不是專業的翻譯，但誠如下列連結的內容所顯示，文字媒體大多只會提供直譯──亦即「感謝」，畢竟要以短短的幾行文字來完整表達講者的意圖，並非易事。因此，絕大多數的文字報導（包含我的貼文）也附有新聞發布會的完整影片，以為讀者提供更清晰的背景與脈絡。同時，記者也會有自己的顧慮（受眾），因此文字的使用必須盡可能地言簡意賅，以與讀者產生共鳴。

https://www.setn.com/news.aspx?NewsID=670861

https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/breakingnews/3037675

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51077553

https://news.pts.org.tw/article/462512

https://hk.news.appledaily.com/.../article/20200112/60476407

I am not a professional translator by any means, but a literal translation is sometimes provided because it is immensely difficult to get across the full intent of the speaker with a few lines of text. Just the phrase "thank you" could be interpreted in diverse ways in discourse analysis. Interpretation and translation of speech require consideration of stress, body language, and social contexts. If the reporters above provided a connotative translation, the language used would be subjective as it would directly reflect what the translator believes to be the speaker's intentional meaning. Thus, a full video of the press conference was included in nearly every one of the reports to provide readers with additional context. Journalists also have pragmatic concerns (reach, readership), so the language used has to be specific, emphatic, and concise. These reasons might offer some insight into why「道謝」was used instead of a connotative translation.

★★★★★★★★★★★★

事後看來，在我發表評論的當下，以及之後所受到的負面評論時，確實有些激動，被批評也是應該的。我個人認為，該名ＢＢＣ記者過於凸顯中國影響力的問題，對總統以及臺灣人所珍視的民主制度似乎顯得不甚尊重。而我也相信，此亦即該提問之所以造成諸多爭議的原因。事實上，我一直在編輯貼文，希望盡可能地以更客觀的方式來表達我的觀點。但顯然，此前我未能在第一時間評論中作出詳盡的解釋，為此我深感抱歉，也學到了寶貴的經驗。若我的貼文為您帶來諸多不便，我深表歉意。希望本文足以闡明我對此事的想法，並作出具體的澄清。謝謝。

Stand up. Respect ✊

(Update: 中文繹版連結：https://www.facebook.com/329728177143445/posts/1800273350088913/)

“An open letter to Eric Kwok, and for everyone re homophobia, discrimination and bullying”

Dear Eric,

Imagine this. You are one of the contestants on a TV talent show. You are sitting in a room with other hopefuls and one of the judges walks into the room and demanded this: “Raise your hand if you are not homophobic.”

I’m very sure you will raise your hand.

You don’t have to answer me whether or not you really are homophobic. But stay with the feeling inside your mind. How do you feel?

Your feelings are most likely the same as the feelings of your contestants when you walked into a room and asked them to raise their hands to declare their sexual orientation publicly. Because in this day and age, homophobia is just as “controversial” as homosexuality, if not more.

The reason why I’m writing this open letter to you is because after reading your apology, I want to take the opportunity to address to you, and everyone out there, the need for proper etiquette regarding LGBT issues, and to address the forms of micro-aggression, bullying and discrimination the LGBT community faces everyday especially in the workplace.

I’m taking this incident seriously because from my personal experience, this is not just a one-time slip-up for you.

I remember long time ago I was so looking forward to meeting and working with you because you are, after all, Eric Kwok the great songwriter.

You were very friendly when we talked privately. Then I started to notice how once there were audiences, media or other people around and when the cameras were turned on, you would start making insinuating and demeaning gay jokes about me and in front of me. Jokes and comments even my closest friends wouldn’t dare to make in public.

At first, I didn’t really pay too much attention. I just brushed it off as juvenile and trivial. In fact, I had been so used to these jokes since growing up that I learned not to react much.

However, as time progressed and we worked on more occasions, the same thing would happen repeatedly. The teasing and the stereotypical gay jokes continued and you would make sure that the spotlight would fall on me afterwards. The jokes no longer felt light. They felt hostile, even vindictive.

In fact, it felt like bullying.

One of these incidents was well documented in tabloids back then and you can still look it up yourself on the internet.

I came to the realization that it was not just a one-time thing. I don’t know if it’s intentional or unintentional but it’s definitely a habit and a pattern.

So many questions would be in my mind every time after working with you. Why does Eric do that every time? Is he picking on me? Does he hate me? Is he homophobic? Does he think homosexuality is something funny? Does he do this to other people too? Did I do something that pissed him off? I remember I was nothing but courteous. So why do I deserve this?

I had no answers for all of these questions. All I knew was I became fearful of working with you, dreading what words would fall out of your mouth to put me in an awkwardly embarassing position. But still I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt. You’re from California you shouldn’t be homophobic. I even defended you in my head by telling myself to loosen up.

But it’s not just you. Throughout my years in the entertainment industry, I have encountered and endured so many chauvinistic “tough guys” who like to use homosexuality as a laughing stock or source of bad comedy which were all discriminating and demeaning, yet not funny.

It’s not only me. I’m sure many people of the LGBT community face this everyday in their workplace. People around them would claim their intentions were harmless but we all knew deep down that these “jokes” have the power to put people someone in an embarrassing, inferior and even threatening positions.

We kept quiet and tolerated. Sometimes we even felt obligated to laugh along just so we couldn’t afford to look “petty” or “stiff”, especially in front of people of higher authority and stature.

So Eric I want to ask you.

Why have you been so obsessed with my sexuality all these years?

Why are you so fascinated by other people’s sexuality?

Why is being gay such a huge issue to you even to this day that you had to make it the first thing you asked your contestants?

Why you also had to specifically make a post on social media about that fact you questioned people about their sexuality?

Why do you take so much pride publicly in your ability to guess who are the gay contestants even when they weren’t ready to share that information?

And most of all why do you find all this to be so funny?

To begin with one’s sexual orientation is a very personal thing which others have no right to intrude, even in the entertainment industry where you are supposed to be fine with “controversy”.

This is for you and everyone out there: using your power and authority to demand someone to declare his or her sexual orientation, especially in a work environment, is ancient, barbaric and unacceptable.

Kicking someone out of the closet is just pure evil.

The fact you did what you did, especially with your stature and on broadcast TV, is not only wrong, but also you are telling the Hong Kong audience that it’s alright to continue this form of intrusion and micro aggression that the LGBT community wants to see gone.

You’re leading a very poor example by giving Hong Kong audience the impression that being gay is still a taboo.

How are your contestants, who are boys of young age, going to offer new perspectives to the Hong Kong audience under your guidance if you perpetuate stereotyping and demonstrate to them that being gay is still an issue?

I feel sorry for any contestants who are in fact gay sitting in that room that day too. They must have been traumatized seeing the way you forced your inquisition. The impression you left them with is that the entertainment industry is still a very unfriendly place for gays. Is that what you want them to think?

But most of all, it’s the attitude, tone and manner with which you shared about this incident on social media, giving people the impression that any matter regarding sexual orientation is still something shameful and laughable, which is on top of list the thing that the LGBT community fights hard everyday to change.

When you said in your apology you “have great respect for gay people, especially their hard fight for equality” I became baffled as what you did, in the past to me or in that room to the boys, is the exact thing that makes the LGBT community’s ongoing fight for equality so difficult.

Putting people down, perpetuate stereotypes, heckling and ridiculing yet making it look OK is anything but liberal and respectful, or Californian. I don’t see any “entertainment values” that are of good taste if they are made up at the expense of other people’s struggle.

If this incident happened in America, where you grew up, you would’ve gotten yourself in such hot waters that you probably can’t get out of.

I just want you and everyone out there to know that it’s not okay. And it never was. Never will be.

Being “as liberal as it gets” is great. Having gay friends is great too. Having dinner with your gay friends is absolutely fabulous! Playing all these cards to avoid being labelled as “homophobic” is very convenient. But having class, empathy, kindness and authentic respect is a completely different territory. These don’t come automatically with backgrounds.

At this point you don’t owe me an apology. I just hope that after this incident you can really start working and living with the essences of a truly liberal and creative individual. Inspire changes and end stereotypes. Start new trends and break old patterns. Embrace and not segregate. Do the work.

I had been away from Hong Kong and the industry for a few years now. It breaks me heart that I have to write this sort of open letter when it’s already 2018. I want to make this industry a safer, nicer and more accepting place to work in when I return. I want members of the LGBT community in Hong Kong, who have been so supportive of me and my music, to also have safer and nicer working environment in their respective lives.

I don’t mind coming off as an over-reacting petty bitch with no sense of humour if my message finally comes through and everyone, including you, “gets it”. I rather have no sense of humour than a bad one.

To all the contestants of the show. If anyone ever asks you if you are gay and you are not ready to discuss, it’s OK to stand up for yourself and say this: “It’s a rude question to begin with. You have no right to get an answer from me to begin with. And it doesn’t matter. It SHOULDN’T matter. It’s 2018. I hope one day I can use my craft to inspire the world and to make this become a non-issue.”

But if you are ready to be open, you have my complete support and love.

Let’s hope that through acceptance, learning and effort, one day there will no longer be any “controversial questions”. Wouldn’t we like that Eric?

Yours truly,
Pong

#LGBT
#homophobia
#safeworkplace
#中文版稍後會有
Eric Kwok 郭偉亮

009.兩種真理(下)
陶國璋：我們首先規限科學、知識的真理為「外延真理」（extensional truth）。因為它們可以透過客觀的觀察和量化的方式，測試其真假值。例如大家一起望向窗外，即可觀察是否下雨，又或用尺、溫度計等儀器，量度馬路有多長，體溫有多少度。
另一類為內容真理（intentional truth）人們常說：「為捍衛真理而死」，「人生的目的在於尋找真理」。真理往往和真善美並提，是人生的最高境界。帶有豐富的價值意含的體驗，我們需要從生活體驗中印證之。

講者：陶國璋（中文大學哲學系兼任教授）、陳亮（中文大學哲學系博士生）

即時聊天室：http://goo.gl/ToDqof
謎米香港 www.memehk.com
Facebook：www.facebook.com/memehkdotcom

升檔犯錯騎不順都是嚇到自己居多，但是降檔犯錯就有可能造成失控或離合損傷，千萬要注意！至於檔煞是不是都不好？不能以偏概全，下坡路段檔煞就很好用，可以控制車速防止煞車過熱。Upshifting errors aren't super critical, but downshifting mistakes can lead to loss of control and worn out clutches. Be careful! 原本這篇先用 Ninja 300拍了一遍，結果滑離合無法示範出問題所在，就拿滑胎車重拍了！I actually filmed this episode with Ninja 300 first, but the slipper clutches pretty much eliminated all the intentional mistakes I want to show. I guess it worked too well. XD

Bike: Yamaha WR250X supermoto 滑胎車
Vlog 73 摩托日記第七十三篇

Outro Music: Trixtor - Just This Once


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