麻將或成為北京冬奧會比賽專案

China is considering the idea of putting forward a formal application to the International Olympic Committee to consider the traditional Chinese Game of Mahjong as an Olympic event.

中國正在考慮向國際奧委會提出正式申請，將中國傳統娛樂專案麻將列為一項奧運會比賽專案。

"With Beijing to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, we hope that 'mind Sports' could become Olympic events at this time," said Chen Zelan, a deputy director of the General Administration of Sport.

國家體育總局副局長陳澤蘭表示：“在北京舉辦2022年冬奧會時，我們希望智力運動也能成為奧運專案。”

Mahjong recently became the sixth officially-recognized 'mind sport' by the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA), following bridge, chess, Go, Chinese chess and international checkers.

最近麻將正式獲得了國際智盟認可，成為繼橋牌、國際象棋、圍棋、象棋和國際跳棋之後的第六項智力運動。

In an effort to support and promote 'mind sports,' Chen Zelan says authorities have put forward Mahjong and other 'mind sports' as an option to make the Games more interesting.

為了支援和促進“智力運動”，陳澤蘭表示，當局應當將麻將和其他智力運動作為一個選項，讓奧運會更加有趣。

"Some tropical countries, due to various limitations, won't take part in the Winter Olympics. Thus, the IOC is always looking at ways to expand the global reach of the Winter Games. Snow and ice events, plus indoor events, could increase the coverage," said Chen.

陳澤蘭表示：“由於種種限制，一些熱帶地區的國家不能夠參加冬奧會。因此，國際奧委會一直在尋找擴大冬奧會全球影響力的方法。冰雪專案加上室內專案，則可以擴大冬奧會的覆蓋面。”

"Beijing is to host 2022 Winter Olympics, so at this point we're only discussing the option with Beijing organizers," said Chen.

陳澤蘭說道：“北京將主辦2022年冬奧會，因此目前我們只和北京東奧主辦方商討這一可能性。”

"But because the host country is traditionally allowed to put forward demonstration sports to Olympic Games, if the IMSA can reach an agreement with the IOC, then we might consider putting Mahjong forward as a test event."

“但是由於在傳統上，東道國可以在奧運會上舉辦表演專案，因此如果國際智盟可以和國際奧委會達成協議，我們也許就能把麻將作為一個實驗專案了。”