中港球賽折射政治對抗 球迷高呼我們是香港

Before he boarded a flight to the Philippines on Monday for a meeting with other Asia-Pacific leaders, Hong Kong’s chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, read a statement to reporters explaining the purpose of his trip. Bilateral talks. Trade agreements. More bilateral talks.

本週一，香港行政長官樑振英飛往菲律賓，參加與其他亞太地區領導人的會議。登機前，他向記者宣讀了一份聲明，解釋了此行的目的。雙邊會談。貿易協定。然後又是雙邊會談。

Then the first question came: “Which team are you rooting for?”

然而記者提的第一個問題是：“你支持哪一隊？”

Mr. Leung shifted his weight and blinked. “It’s a pity,” he said, “that when we arrive in Manila – we’ve inquired – we won’t be able to watch the game.”

樑振英挪了一下身體重心，眨了眨眼睛。“很可惜，去了馬尼拉之後，我們問了一下，在那裏看不到球賽，”他說。

It might have been an easy question for Mr. Leung had the game on Tuesday, a qualifier for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, not pitted his city against his country. Local media had described the match as the “Great China-Hong Kong Battle.” To many fans, it was as much a political as a sporting contest. That it ended in a scoreless draw, ensuring that Hong Kong still has a slim chance to advance, was embraced by the Hong Kong side as a victory.

本週二的這場比賽是2018年世界盃預選賽，如果比賽雙方不是香港與中國，這對樑振英來說可能是一個很簡單的問題。當地媒體曾形容這場比賽爲“中港大戰”。對於很多球迷來說，這既是體育比賽，又是政治對抗。結果雙方互交白卷，平局收場，香港仍然擁有微弱的出線機會，因此被視爲港方的一次勝利。

“The draw proved that Hong Kong wouldn’t take it lying down,” said Oscar Lau, a 30-year-old legal professional. “It speaks to our defiance of China both politically and athletically.”

“迫和證明香港不是好欺負的，” 30歲的法律從業人士奧斯卡·劉(Oscar Lau)說。“這代表着我們對中國的反抗，體育又好，政治上亦然。”

Political slogans were not allowed inside the stadium, but some Hong Kong fans brought signs printed with individual letters and combined them to display the message “Hong Kong is not China.”

體育場內不允許出現政治口號，但一些香港球迷帶來了印有單個字母的標誌，將它們組合成一句“Hong Kong is not China”（香港不是中國）。

Outside the stadium, Sammer Wong, a 36-year-old civil servant, was holding a poster featuring the same slogan.

在賽場外，36歲的公務員薩默爾·王(Sammer Wong)舉着印有同樣口號的海報。

“This match represents a culmination of the dissent we have with China over years,” he said, watching it in a nearby playground where fans had set up a screen.

“這場比賽代表了我們多年來對中國的不滿，”他說。當時他正在附近一個運動場看球賽，球迷在那裏樹起了一塊屏幕。

In Hong Kong, a semiautonomous Chinese territory since British colonial rule ended in 1997, resentment of China has mounted since last year, when Beijing agreed to allow a popular vote for Hong Kong’s next chief executive, but only from a slate of closely vetted nominees. That set off weeks of street protests that paralyzed several sections of Hong Kong and at times erupted in clashes. In October last year, streets just a few blocks from Mong Kok Stadium, where Tuesday’s match took place, turned into a battlefield between demonstrators and the police trying to move them off the streets. Mr. Leung, who was selected in 2012 by a 1,200-member committee mostly loyal to Beijing, had adhered strictly to the Chinese government’s line, showed no sympathy for the protesters and blamed, without naming names, foreign forces for exacerbating the unrest. More than a year later, political tensions have persisted.

香港在1997年結束英國殖民統治，成爲了半自治的中國領土。去年，北京同意讓民衆投票選舉香港的下任行政長官，但候選人必須經受過仔細審查。此舉導致港人對中國的不滿情緒爆發，引發了一系列街頭抗議，令香港幾個區域出現癱瘓，並且不時有衝突發生。去年10月，在與本週二比賽場地旺角大球場相距僅幾個街區的地方，警察試圖將示威者趕離街道，結果爆發了肢體衝突。樑振英是2012年時由一個1200人委員會選出的行政長官，這些委員大多效忠北京。樑振英一直嚴格遵守中國政府的路線，沒有表現出對示威者的同情，他還不指名地批評一些外國勢力加劇了香港的動盪局面。一年多過去了，政治氣氛依然緊張。

Soccer has not been spared. When the national anthem – “March of the Volunteers” – began ringing through the stadium Tuesday evening, many of the roughly 4,000 Hong Kong fans booed, drowning out the 500 or so fans of the Chinese national team who were singing the lyrics.

足球場上也不例外。當中國國歌《義勇軍進行曲》本週二晚上在球場上響起時，約4000名香港球迷中有很多人發出了噓聲，淹沒了500名左右的中國國家隊球迷的合唱。

This happened despite the fine FIFA imposed last month on the Hong Kong Football Association after the Hong Kong fans had booed the anthem in three previous home games. FIFA had threatened more severe penalties, such as requiring future games to be played behind closed doors, if that happened again. It was not immediately clear whether further disciplinary actions would be taken.

由於香港球迷在之前三場主場比賽的奏國歌環節發出噓聲，國際足聯(FIFA)上月已經宣佈對香港足球總會處以罰款，但本週二還是發生了這樣的事。國際足聯曾威脅說，如果再次發生這類事情，就會處以更嚴厲的懲罰，比如要求以後的比賽閉門舉行。目前尚不清楚國際足聯是否會採取進一步的處罰。

China’s national anthem is also Hong Kong’s, though an increasing number of Hong Kong people express aversion to the song, according to a poll by the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

中國的國歌也是香港的國歌，但香港中文大學的一項民意調查顯示，越來越多香港市民表示很反感這首歌。

“It’s wishful thinking to say there’s no politics in this game,” said Billy Wong, 37, a Hong Kong fan. “It’s a manifestation of the conflict between the two places. It’s a matter of our pride.”

“說這場比實沒有政治元素是自己欺騙自己，”37歲的香港球迷比利·黃(Billy Wong)說。“這是兩地矛盾的展現，這關乎到我們的尊嚴。”

Mark Sutcliffe, chief executive of Hong Kong Football Association, who had called Tuesday’s game “the biggest and most important match to be held in Hong Kong for decades,” said he had expected the jeering.

香港足球總會(Hong Kong Football Association)行政總裁薜基輔(Mark Sutcliffe)稱週二的比賽是“香港數十年來舉行的最大且最重要的比賽”，他說嘲弄的場面是早有預料的。

“We’d do what we can to control it, but at the end of the day, those people were voicing their opinion,” he said in an interview. “It’s a minority of people making a political point, it’s not as if they were disrespecting another country, they’re disrespecting their own country. I think FIFA will take that into account.”

“我們將竭盡全力控制，但那些人畢竟是在表達他們的看法，”他接受採訪時說。“表達政治觀點的人佔少數，況且他們也沒有對別的國家表達不敬，他們不敬的是自己的國家。我覺得FIFA會考慮到這一點。”

The Hong Kong police planned to deploy about 1,200 officers for the night, according to local media, amid fears of clashes between fans of the two teams. The two sides were also segregated to minimize physical contact. They were kept separated by rows of empty seats and given separate entrances, food kiosks and even toilets.

據當地媒體報道，香港警方擔心兩隊球迷爆發衝突，計劃當晚部署大約1200名警力。兩隊球迷被隔離開來，以減少肢體接觸。他們中間隔了幾排空座位，使用不同的入口、食品店鋪和廁所。

If the political animosities weighed on the players, it didn’t show on the field Tuesday evening. After a minute of silence to mourn the victims in the Paris terrorist attacks on Friday, the stadium erupted into chants in different languages: Cantonese, spoken by most Hong Kong people, and Mandarin, the official language of the Chinese mainland.

這種政治敵意是否令球員們感到擔憂？至少他們在週二晚間的球場上沒有表現出來。在爲週五晚間巴黎襲擊事件遇難者哀悼一分鐘後，體育場爆發出各種語言的歌聲：大多數香港人使用的粵語，以及中國內地的官方語言普通話。

Often, however, the Hong Kong fans shouted in English. “We are Hong Kong,” they called out repeatedly through the game.

但香港球迷通常用英語喊話。他們在比賽期間多次大喊“We are Hong Kong”（我們是香港）。

While the Hong Kong fans dominated the sound waves, the Chinese team set the pace of the game, getting more shots on goal than their Hong Kong counterparts. The first half ended with goals saved by the crossbar more often than by the goalkeeper of either team. Hong Kong reinforced its defense as China made a few last-ditch rushes upfield 10 minutes before the end of the match.

雖然香港球迷在聲音上佔據優勢，但中國隊控制了比賽的節奏，射門次數多於香港隊。上半場結束時，球門橫樑擋出的球比兩隊守門員各自的撲救還要多。在距離比賽結束還有10分鐘的時候，香港隊加強防守，中國隊孤注一擲，全力壓向前場。

Then the whistle blew, prompting a sprint from Hong Kong players on the benches, while the mood was somber in China’s box. By the time the section with Chinese supporters had emptied, fans on the Hong Kong side were still shouting, “We are Hong Kong.”

然後終場哨響，香港隊的替補隊員狂奔而出，而中國隊替補席內的情緒則比較陰鬱。中國球迷所在區域已經撤空時，香港球迷仍在呼喊“We are Hong Kong”。

The two sides met for the first time in a World Cup qualifier in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen in September, when Hong Kong, ranked 145th in FIFA’s world rankings, held 84th-ranked China to an unexpected tie.

今年9月，兩隊在中國南部城市深圳舉辦的世界盃預選賽中首次交鋒，當時在FIFA排名145位的香港隊出人意料地逼平了排名84位的中國隊。

Only the top team from each of the eight groups in the qualifying rounds and the four best of the runner-up teams can advance to regional knockout games. Neither China nor Hong Kong, in Group C, has secured a place in the next round.

只有八個預選賽小組的第一名和四支表現最好的第二名可以進入區域淘汰賽。同在C組的中國隊和香港隊都沒有獲得進入下一輪比賽的資格。

Mr. Sutcliffe said that though it would be a “very very long shot” for Hong Kong to advance, he was pleased with Hong Kong’s performance so far.

薜基輔表示，雖然香港隊小組出線的可能性“非常非常小”，但他對香港隊到目前爲止的表現感到滿意。

“We played a team 61 places higher than us in the rankings,” he said. “We played them twice and they haven’t scored a goal.”

“我們與一個排名比我們高61名的球隊比賽，”他說。“我們交手兩次，他們沒有射進一個球。”

Hong Kong, ranked second in the group with 14 points, has one game left to play, against Qatar, the group leader with 18 points. China is in third place with 11 points, with two games left against Qatar and the Maldives.

香港隊獲得14分，小組排名第二，還剩下一場與卡塔爾的比賽，卡塔爾以18分排名第一。中國以11分排名第三，還剩下與卡塔爾和馬爾代夫的兩場比賽。