“yes-men”
2016/10/06 11:11:25 網誌分類: 生活
| In my previous column I wrote about Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah’s reply when a reporter asked him if he agreed with Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying about the Wang Chau public housing project. His reply was: “You always agree with your boss.” Some media commentators claimed he was not referring to himself because he had said “you” instead of “I”. But as I explained in my previous column, “you” means “I” when used this way. It is grammatically correct and common to say “you” instead of “I” to refer to yourself, depending on how a question is asked.? If someone asks you whether you listen when your boss is talking, it is common to reply: “You always listen when your boss is talking”. The word “you” means “I” when used this way. But is it right to always agree with your boss? My view is that you are not doing your job properly if you always agree with your boss. People who always agree with their boss even when they know their boss is wrong are called “yes-men”. A “yes-man” is a weak person who always agrees with his political leader or boss. “Yes-men” say “yes” even when their boss is wrong. It is, of course, difficult to disagree with your boss if you are not very senior. But senior people have a duty to speak up politely and offer advice if they feel their boss is wrong about something. They are contributing nothing if all they say is “yes”. It is, of course, up to the boss to accept or reject their advice. As financial secretary, Tsang Chun-wah should not always just say “yes” to his boss. I don’t think he is a “yes-man” but I think he made a political?blunder?(stupid or careless mistake) by saying he always agrees with his boss. How can he criticize Leung Chun-ying’s policies if he competes against his boss in next March’s chief executive election after having said he always agrees with his boss? By saying that, he has, in fact, said Leung Chun-ying did everything right and that he agreed with his boss even when his boss was wrong. 在上一篇專欄中，我寫到財政司司長曾俊華如何回應一名記者問他，在橫洲公屋計劃上是否同意特首梁振英的決定，他的答覆是：「你永遠同意你的老闆。」有些傳媒的評論人聲稱他並非在說他自己，因為他說的是「你」而非「我」。正如我在上篇文章所說，「你」在這裏的用法就是指「我」。視乎問題的問法，用「你」而非「我」去指明講者自己，是文法正確而且是非常普遍的說法。若有人問你，你的老闆說話時你可有聆聽，說“You always listen when your boss is talking”是很常見的。在這裏，「你」就是指「我」。 但你總是同意老闆的決定，這又是否正確？我的看法是，若你只懂永遠認同老闆，你並未做好你的本份。那些永遠認同老闆、即使他們知道老闆是錯的人，就稱為 “yes-man”，即是唯唯諾諾、總是認同政治領袖或老闆的應聲蟲。即使老闆錯了， “yes-man”仍會說「是」。當然，若你並非高層人員，要反對你的老闆是很困難的。但高層人員若認為老闆有些事做錯了，就有職責有禮地開聲並提供建議。若只懂說「是」，那他們實質毫無建樹。當然，去接受還是拒絕建議，最終還是老闆自己的決定。 身為財政司司長，曾俊華對老闆不應只懂說「是」。我不認為他是應聲蟲( “yes-man”)，但我認為他說他永遠認同老闆，是一個政治失誤(blunder)。當他說了他會永遠認同老闆之後，若他在下年三月特首選舉中與老闆競爭，他又怎能再批評梁振英的政策？這樣一說，他實際是表示梁振英所做的一切都是對的，而即使他的老闆做錯了，他卻仍然認同。 mickchug@gmail.com 中譯:七刻 Michael Chugani 褚簡寧 |
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