News & Idiom: Repent and be saved; there is justice in heaven and Earth

From "(an empress and ) a eunuch", to "Overbite Ton(y)", to "Piggy Daddy" and now someone who needs to "Turn back and the shore is at hand" (repent and be saved), Tony Chan, who has twice contributed to the proof that "there is justice in heaven and Earth", has definitely provided a lot of nice quotes for the press. Entertaining as much as it could possibly be, what are these Chinese proverbs equivalence in English?

Jubilant Chinachem Charitable Foundation chairman Kung Yan-sum
Image fromThe Standard

Interestingly, there are many similarities between English and Chinese in terms of meanings of expressions.

Last year, Greenpeace International wrote a blog entry to warn the danger of Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor, titling "Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor: it’s not too late to turn back".

Randa Mirza, a crew member from Lebanon,
watches the Rainbow Warrior sailing 20 miles from the port of Bushehr, Iran in 2007.
Image from Greenpeace

"It's not too late to turn back" is not exactly an idiom in English, but it matches the meaning of "Repent and be saved" and it is common enough in many TV programs or movies.

Now, how about "there is justice in heaven and Earth" equivalent? Well, there is another common idiomatic expression in popular cultures, and that is "Justice will prevail".

L. in famous Japanese Manga Death Note
Image from Wikipedia

Prevail means to get control, or to be more powerful than something else. If justice will prevail, then justice will eventually win, so the good people will win and bad people will lose.

I'm a little surprise that The Standard did not try harder to dig up these expression and decided to use their own translations. Well, doesn't matter, you can learn that from our English Playground.


Vocabulary:
It's not too late to turn back -- "Turn back and the shore is at hand" in Chinese, or "repent and be saved"
Justice will prevail -- "there is justice in heaven and Earth" in Chinese
prevail -- (vb) [I] formal to get control or influence

Resources:


Idioms: Grey (with the Simpsons) @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2009/06/idioms-grey-with-simpsons.html


Technology: Where's the iPhone 5?
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2011/01/technology-wheres-iphone-5_12.html


'Repent and be saved,' say victors @ The Standard
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=11&art_id=108103&sid=31299127&con_type=3&d_str=20110215&fc=2

Feng Shui master loses claim to Nina Wang fortune @ BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12445500

Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor: it’s not too late to turn back @ Greenpeace International
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/nuclear-reaction/irans-bushehr-nuclear-reactor-its-not-too-lat/blog/26237

Justice Will Prevail @ TV Tropes
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/JusticeWillPrevail

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/prevail