又中又英｜Ｗorth your salt

Journalists worth their salt never forget their most important interviews. To be worth your salt means to be good at your job. I no longer do TV shows or write columns except for this newspaper. Friends who followed my TVB shows and columns in other newspapers still say I am worth my salt! They often ask me to describe my most important interviews. That’s as easy as pie, which means it’s easy to do because I never forget my most important interviews.

I still remember my interview with US senator Mitch McConnell when I worked in Washington DC in the 1990s. He gave me the exclusive on the 1992 Hong Kong Policy Act, which he introduced in Congress. It allowed the US to treat Hong Kong separately from mainland China even after the 1997 reunification. I interviewed Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, who became the House of Representatives Speaker years later. I won’t list other important interviews because I want to describe my interview with former US President Jimmy Carter.

Carter turned 100 on October 1, the first time a former president lived for a century. I flew to Atlanta in September 2018 to interview him for my TVB Straight Talk show. He accepted my interview to discuss the 40th anniversary of US-China ties, which he formalized in 1979. He was 94 when I interviewed him but still had a sharp mind. He was a humble and hardworking president, but Americans voted him out in 1980 after one term because the US faced many global challenges during his presidency. Many Americans now consider him one of the best presidents because he continued to help unprivileged people until he became too weak. His dying wish is to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris on November 5.

称职的（worth their salt）新闻工作者永远不会忘记自己做过的最重要的访问。To be worth your salt意思是你胜任你的工作，做得相当称职。我已没有做电视节目或写专栏，除了本报的这个专栏。那些曾经追看我无綫电视节目以及我在其他报章专栏的朋友们，仍然说我做得称职（worth my salt）！他们不时叫我去述说我最重要的访问。那实在是 as easy as pie，意即容易之至，因为我永不会忘记我记者生涯中最重要的那些访问。

我仍然记得，1990年代我在华盛顿特区工作时，访问美国参议员米治‧麦康奈尔。他给了我有关1992年《香港政策法》的独家访问，这个法案是由他起草并提交美国国会的。它容许美国即使在1997年香港回归之后，仍可将香港与中国内地作区别对待。我亦曾访问女性众议员兰茜‧佩洛西，她于多年后成为了众议院议长。我不会再列举其他重要的访问，因为我想特别述说我跟前美国总统占美‧卡特的访问。

刚刚的10月1日，卡特满100岁了，是首位活了一个世纪的美国前总统。我于2018年9月，为我的节目《清心直说》特地飞往亚特兰大访问他。他接受了我的访问，讨论中美建交40周年，就是他于1979年正式确立的。我访问他的时候，他已年届94岁，却依然有清晰敏锐的头脑。他是一位谦逊又勤奋的总统，可惜只做了一任，便于1980年被美国人投票出局，因为在他任内美国面对众多国际事务的挑战。现在有许多美国人视他为最优秀的总统之一，因为他努力不懈地协助弱势社群，直至自己变得太虚弱才罢休。他的临终遗愿是于11月5日当天投票给副总统贺锦丽。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻