足球大戰將凸顯香港與內地緊張關係
After rows over everything from post boxes to the electoral system, simmering tensions between Hong Kong and China move to the football pitch on Tuesday night as their respective teams clash in the most eagerly awaited fixture here for decades.
在圍繞從郵筒到選舉制度等諸多話題爆發爭吵後，香港與中國內地之間不斷升溫的矛盾在週二晚間將移師足球場。香港足球隊將在這一晚對陣中國隊，上演一場數十年來香港人最熱切期待的賽事。
Hong Kong has called up 1,200 police officers to maintain order as the rivals face off in a tense World Cup qualifying game where there will be much more than points at stake.
香港已徵調1200名警察維持秩序，兩支球隊將在一場緊張激烈的世界盃(World Cup)預選賽中交鋒，這場比賽關係到的東西遠不止是勝負得分。
Tickets for the match at the tiny, 6,000-capacity Mong Kok stadium sold out within hours after the Hong Kong football association failed to secure access to the city’s main sporting venue.
比賽將在小小的、僅能容納6000名觀衆的旺角球場舉行，因爲香港足球總會未能爭取到在香港大球場舉辦這場賽事。這場比賽的門票在幾小時內就已售罄。
Long ignored by Hongkongers because of its poor record, the Hong Kong team has enjoyed a resurgence of interest this year as the city’s young residents used their support to demonstrate their separateness from mainland China.
長期以來，香港隊由於戰績不佳一直不受香港人的重視，但今年香港人重新燃起了對這支球隊的興趣，因爲香港年輕人利用他們對香港隊的支持來展示他們與中國內地是分離的。
“The Hong Kong-China conflict definitely plays as a factor in the game,” said Bob Wu, a 34-year-old fan who recently travelled to the Maldives to support Hong Kong in another qualifier. “Football is always related to politics, especially when the mainland is encroaching on our society.”
“港中衝突肯定會成爲這場比賽中上演的一個元素，”34歲的球迷Bob Wu說，“足球總是與政治相關，特別是在內地正侵入我們社會之際。”最近，他曾奔赴馬爾代夫，在另一場世界盃預選賽中爲香港隊站腳助威。
Since it returned to Chinese control in 1997, Hong Kong has been ruled semi-autonomously under the “one country, two systems” arrangement.
自1997年迴歸中國後，香港一直依照“一國兩制”安排實行半自治。
But the relationship between Beijing and Hong Kong has floundered since China refused to allow this city of 7m people free elections, sparking the Occupy protest movement last year.
但自中國拒絕讓香港700萬市民實行自由選舉、從而在去年引發“佔中”抗議運動以來，北京方面與香港的關係已陷入困境。
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy opposition parties complain of increasing meddling in Hong Kong affairs by Beijing, while a small group of activists are even calling for the city to declare independence in order to safeguard its way of life.
香港親民主的反對黨抱怨北京方面越來越多地干預香港事務，一小撮活動人士甚至呼籲香港宣佈獨立、以保護其生活方式。
During previous World Cup qualifiers, Hong Kong’s fans booed their official national anthem — China’s “March of the Volunteers” — leading to a $5,000 fine from Fifa, the sport’s governing body.
在之前的世界盃預選賽中，香港球迷曾對他們正式的國歌《義勇軍進行曲》發出噓聲，導致國際足聯(Fifa)對香港足球總會做出罰款5000美元的決定。
“Hong Kong is part of China but Hong Kong people had little say when the city was handed over to China,” said Joel Yu, a 23-year-old Hong Kong fan who works at a university. “Now it’s unreasonable to play China’s national anthem when our team is playing. That is not our song.”
“香港是中國的一部分，但在香港主權移交給中國時，香港人幾乎沒有任何發言權。”在一所大學工作的23歲香港球迷Joel Yu表示，“現在，在我們的球隊比賽時播放中國國歌是不合情理的。那不是我們的歌。”
But some fans believe their focus should be on trying to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia rather than pushing political agendas.
但一些球迷認爲，他們的注意力應該放在努力晉級2018年俄羅斯世界盃上，而不是放在推動政治議程上。
“I don’t think the matches have to link with political issues necessarily,” said Mercury Cheng, a 23-year-old who works at a television station. “We are only supporting our own people.”
“我不認爲這些比賽要與政治議題聯繫在一起，”在一家電視臺工作的23歲球迷Mercury Cheng表示，“我們只是支持我們自己的球員。”
The two teams drew 0-0 in a qualifying match in Shenzhen in September but China remain the favourites to win on Tuesday, ranked 84th in the world compared with 145th-placed Hong Kong.
今年9月，在深圳的一場世界盃預選賽中，中國隊與香港隊踢成了0:0。不過，人們仍看好中國隊在週二晚的比賽中勝出。中國隊的全球排名爲第84位，香港隊排名第145位。
