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In my column last week I said Hong Kong people were waiting with bated breath for the decision by the National People’s Congress on what kind of democracy we can expect. The NPC (abbreviation for National People’s Congress) made its decision four days ago. Pan-democrats are extremely (very) dismayed by the decision. They have angrily rejected the NPC’s decision on political reforms as fake democracy. They have said the reforms are so conservative (careful, cautious) voters won’t have a genuine choice of candidates in Hong Kong’s first chief executive election through one person, one vote. The democracy camp will now rely on the Occupy Central civil disobedience protest to pressure the central government to change its mind.

This means Hong Kong people will once again have to wait with bated breath, this time to see when the Occupy Central protest will start and where it will be held. Many will also wait with bated breath to see if the Occupy Central protest can pressure the central government to change its mind. As I explained in my column last week, to wait with bated breath for something means to wait anxiously and excitedly for it. To be dismayed means to be very disappointed, upset or distressed. The word “reject” can be used in different ways but in this case it means to refuse to accept something because it is not good enough.

 Now that the pan-democrats have rejected the NPC's decision on political reforms, their plan is to hold regular protests culminating in the Occupy Central protest, during which 10,000 people will try to bring Central to a standstill. The expression “culminate in” is used when an ending, high point, or climax is reached. For example, Superman movies always culminate in the hero Superman winning in a fight against the villain (bad person). Many people believe Occupy Central will culminate in violence. I hope not.

上星期，我說香港人都在屏息（bated breath）靜待全國人大的決定，看我們可期盼一個怎樣的民主。NPC（National People’s Congress全國人大的縮寫）四天前下了決定了。泛民派對其決定極其（extremely）失望（dismayed），他們憤怒地拒收（rejected）人大對於政改的決定，斥之為假民主。他們又稱，這個改革非常保守（conservative），首個以一人一票選特首的選舉中，選民根本不能真正的選擇候選人。現在，民主派得靠佔中公民抗命示威，去向中央政府施壓，迫使其改變主意。
        換句話說，香港人又得屏息靜氣（bated breath），今次等待的是佔領中環到底會於何時何地發生。正如我上星期在專欄中解釋過，to wait with bated breath就是焦急而興奮地等待某事。Dismayed即是很失望、沮喪或難過。Reject這個字可以有許多不同用法，但在這裏則解作拒絕接受不夠好的事物。

A big political showdown is coming soon. Brace yourselves for it. The showdown will be between the democracy camp and the central government. Leaders of the democracy camp set the wheels in motion for this showdown last Sunday when they gathered outside the chief executive's office to announce details of their civil disobedience action, which will end with the Occupy Central protest. The word "showdown" is used when there is a final confrontation between two sides to settle a dispute or disagreement. For example, triad gangs often settle a dispute with a big fight. This is called a showdown.

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he democracy camp and the central government cannot agree on what kind of democracy Hong Kong should have. The democracy camp will not budge (move away) from it's bottom line that Hong Kong people must have a genuine choice of candidates when universal suffrage for the chief executive election begins in 2017. But the central government will not budge from its bottom line that the next chief executive must be a patriot whom the Communist Party can trust. The democracy camp will use its Occupy Central protest as a final confrontation to force the central government to allow a genuine choice of candidates. This final fight is called a showdown.
        The expression "brace yourselves" means to prepare yourselves. The Hong Kong Observatory always asks people to brace themselves whenever there is a typhoon. Hong Kong braces itself for typhoons by closing schools and offices. The expression "set the wheels in motion" means to take the first step to put a plan into action. If your ambition is to be a famous singer but you do not know how to sing, you must set the wheels in motion by first learning how to sing. If the democracy camp wants to have a showdown with the central government over political reforms, it must set the wheels in motion by deciding when and where to start its Occupy Central civil disobedience protest.

Are you waiting with bated breath? Many Hong Kong people are waiting with bated breath for a very important decision this coming Sunday by the National People's Congress. The abbreviation (shortened form) of the National People's Congress is NPC. A reader recently pointed out to me that an abbreviation is different from an acronym. An acronym is an abbreviation that is formed with the first letters of words to become a word that can be pronounced. For example, APEC is the acronym for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Hong Kong is a member of APEC. This year's APEC leaders' meeting will be held in November in Beijing.

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he NPC is not an acronym because it cannot be pronounced as a word. This Sunday the NPC is expected to make a very important decision on political reforms in Hong Kong. We will know what kind of democracy the central government will allow Hong Kong to have. The pan-democrats have said they will go ahead with the Occupy Central protest if the NPC decides to only allow a form of democracy that they consider as not true democracy. If Occupy Central goes ahead, 10,000 protesters will block the streets in Central, bringing traffic and business to a standstill. That is why many Hong Kong people are waiting with bated breath for this Sunday's NPC decision.
        If you are waiting with bated breath for something, it means you are waiting very anxiously and excitedly for something. People who are anxious or excited often hold their breath. That is how the expression "bated breath" originated. Students always wait with bated breath for their exam results. Many people spell the word "bated" incorrectly. They wrongly spell it as "baited breath". The word "bait" has a totally different meaning. It can be used in several ways. The small piece of food that people put on a hook to catch fish is called bait (noun). The word can also be used as a verb. For example, some news reports said money was used to bait (verb) people to join the anti-Occupy Central march.