There's a saying in Chinese that comes pretty close to the English aphorism "Man proposes, but God disposes." According to Lee Kao-chao, vice chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development, analysts had originally thought the economy would begin to recover in the fourth quarter because of the encouraging signs they had seen in the leading indicators for June, July, and August.
「人算畢竟不如天算，」行政院經建會副主委李高朝說，原來預期第四季經濟會上來，因為從六、七、八三個月的領先指標看來，經濟應該要復甦了，但九一一事件和納莉颱風，又將台灣打入衰退之路，如今已難以預估景氣什麼時候回復。