每日跟讀#764: The beat goes on: fireworks, smoke and tear gas start new decade

New York dropped its traditional crystal-encrusted ball to ring in 2020 in a packed Times Square, after crisis-marred celebrations in other countries ended a year of worldwide upheaval that saw strike-hit Paris welcome the new decade with fireworks, and London’s Big Ben ring out after a long restoration. Billions around the world cheered in 2020 after a tumultuous year dominated by demonstrations calling for political revolt and action on climate change.

世界各國因各種危機而蒙上陰影的慶祝活動，為全球動盪不安的一年畫下句點──仍遭罷工影響的巴黎，以煙火迎接新的十年；倫敦的大笨鐘經過漫長的修復後，以鐘聲送走二○一九年──隨後，在人潮擠得水洩不通的紐約時代廣場上，水晶球依照慣例緩緩降下，宣告二○二○年來臨。

Chile saw thousands of demonstrators gather at Santiago’s Plaza Italia — the epicenter of protests against President Sebastian Pinera’s right-wing government since October last year — to celebrate a “New Year with Dignity.”

數千名示威民眾聚集在智利首都聖地牙哥的義大利廣場──自去年十月以來，此處一直是反對總統賽巴斯汀‧皮涅拉右派政府的抗議中心──慶祝「有尊嚴的新年」。

In the French capital, tens of thousands gathered on the Champs-Elysees, despite a grueling transport strike that has spelled weeks of misery for commuters. They came on foot, by bike, taxi — and a few by Metro — to ring in the new decade as a dazzling light show lit up the Arc de Triomphe.

法國首都巴黎讓人精疲力盡的交通大罷工已持續數星期之久，使得通勤族痛苦不堪，但是仍有數萬人湧入香榭麗舍大道。民眾以步行、腳踏車、計程車──也有部分民眾搭乘地鐵──來到璀璨燈光秀點亮的凱旋門前，迎接新的十年。

In the British capital, thousands of revelers lined the Thames to watch fireworks fired from the London Eye for the last new year before Brexit. Big Ben rang out 12 times after the bell had fallen mostly silent in 2019 because of renovation work. It followed a year of political wrangling that led to the resignation of Prime Minister Theresa May and culminated in Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s pledging to leave the EU on Jan. 31.

在英國首都倫敦，數千名狂歡民眾在泰晤士河沿岸觀賞倫敦眼施放的煙火，迎接英國脫歐前最後一次新年。因整修而沉寂了大半個二○一九年的大笨鐘以十二次鐘聲送走舊歲。過去一年來的政治爭議，促使英國首相特雷莎‧梅伊黯然下台，並以保守派首相鮑里斯‧強森宣示一月三十一日正式脫歐告終。

Smoke-choked Sydney ushered in the New Year with an enormous fireworks display, despite a petition to cancel it that received more than 280,000 signatures as devastating bushfires raged across the country. But the show did go on: more than 100,000 fireworks lit up the skyline for the hundreds of thousands of spectators thronging the city center.

被濃煙嗆得無法呼吸的雪梨以巨大的煙火秀迎接新年。隨著毀滅性森林大火肆虐全國，取消煙火的請願書日前獲得二十八萬人連署。只是演出仍然照常舉行：超過十萬發煙火為湧入市中心的數十萬名觀眾點亮了雪梨的天際線。

After more than six months of near-daily demonstrations, Hong Kong ushered in 2020 with tear gas and water cannon. Pro-democracy protesters took their movement into the new year with midnight countdown rallies and a massive march planned for Wednesday. Demonstrators at the harborfront counted down chanting “Ten! Nine! Liberate Hong Kong, revolution now!” in a sea of light from their mobile phones. Smaller crowds of protesters in the Mong Kok district set fire to barricades and riot police unleashed their first volleys of tear gas for 2020 in response.

六個月多以來幾乎每天都發生示威遊行的香港，則在催淚彈和水砲中迎接新年。民主派抗議人士藉由午夜的倒數跨年活動，以及在週三舉行的大規模遊行，將他們的社會運動帶進新的一年。維多利亞港邊的示威者，在手機燈海中倒數跨年，喊著：「十、九、光復香港！時代革命！」小群的抗議者在旺角縱火燃燒路障，鎮暴警察則發射二○二○年的第一批催淚彈作為回應。

Source article: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2020/01/07/2003728808