殖民時代的高爾夫球場能解決香港的住房難題嗎？

HONG KONG — The Hong Kong Golf Club is a 129-year-old enclave of privilege whose quiet fairways once catered to the city’s British colonial rulers, but whose parking lot is now filled with the Teslas and Porsches of its wealthy Chinese elite.

香港——香港高爾夫球會是一個有129年歷史的特權(quán)飛地，它安靜的球道曾接待過香港的英國殖民統(tǒng)治者，但是現(xiàn)在，它的停車場滿是中國富有精英的特斯拉和保時捷。

More recently, this sprawling golf club, with 54 holes, has become something else: the focal point of a raging, citywide debate about how to use Hong Kong’s scarcest and most valuable resource, land.

最近，這個龐大的54洞高爾夫球場成了全城熱議的焦點：如何利用香港最稀缺、最寶貴的土地資源。

“Golf is a plaything of the Brits,” said Ng Cheuk-hang, 23, a spokesman for the Land Justice League, an activist group that wants the golf course redeveloped into low-rent public housing.

“高爾夫球是英國人的玩意，”土地正義聯(lián)盟的發(fā)言人、23歲的吳卓恒說。該組織希望該高爾夫球場能重新開發(fā)為廉租公屋。

“It’s not a grass-roots sport,” he said. “It’s not a sport for the people, and it creates a lot of social injustices.”

“它不是一個草根運動，”他說，“不是平民運動，而且制造好多社會的不公義。”

Yoshihiro Nishi, 51, the president of the Hong Kong Golf Association, a group representing four private golf clubs in Hong Kong, thinks the activists are unnecessarily politicizing the issue.

香港高爾夫球總會主席、51歲的西吉弘(Yoshihiro Nishi，音)認為，這些活動人士在不必要地將這個問題政治化。該協(xié)會代表著香港的四家私人高爾夫俱樂部。

“All the members of the Hong Kong Golf Club understand the housing needs in Hong Kong,” said Mr. Nishi, who works as a private banker by day. “We just want to make sure that we get to say what we want to say. Don’t turn it into a little bit of fight between the haves and don’t-haves.”

“香港高爾夫球會的所有成員都了解香港的住房需求，”西吉弘表示。他的正職是私人銀行家。“我們只是想確保，我們能說出我們想說的話。不要把它變成富人和窮人之間的斗爭。”

The problem is that property prices in Hong Kong have soared to the highest levels in the world; blue-collar and middle-class families are priced out of the market. And so the city is searching everywhere for places to build — the edges of public parks, a few remaining farms, land reclaimed from the sea and so-called brownfield sites, like former container yards.

問題在于，香港的房地產(chǎn)價格已飆升至全球最高水平，令藍領(lǐng)和中產(chǎn)階級家庭難以負擔。所以，這座城市在到處尋找可以蓋樓的地方——公園的邊緣，僅存的少量農(nóng)場，填海造地和所謂的棕色地帶，比如從前的集裝箱堆放場。

It’s an affordable-housing crisis whose effects have rippled across the broader economy and inflamed political tensions in a society already divided over Beijing’s refusal to allow free elections.

這場廉租屋危機的影響已波及到更廣泛的經(jīng)濟領(lǐng)域，加劇了香港社會的政治緊張局勢——因為北京拒絕接受自由選舉，它本已出現(xiàn)分裂。

Much of this mountainous, densely populated territory of more than seven million has already been filled with high-rises, shopping centers and concrete sprawl. Hong Kong’s golf courses and other private recreation clubs — long given special treatment as the city strove to be an attractive hub for global bankers and executives — are increasingly seen as one of the quickest solutions to the land shortage.

這個人口密集的多山區(qū)域居住著700多萬人口，到處都是高樓大廈、購物中心和混凝土建筑。香港的高爾夫球場等私人娛樂俱樂部長期以來享受特殊待遇，以便成為一個吸引全球銀行家和高管的中心，現(xiàn)在這些球場越來越多地被視為解決土地短缺問題的最快捷辦法。

But as the golf courses and clubs face growing calls to be redeveloped into public housing, they also are facing angry protests linking the crisis over land use to the city’s broader problems of economic inequality and declining social mobility.

但是，隨著高爾夫球場和俱樂部面臨越來越多要求重新開發(fā)為公共住房的呼聲，它們也面臨著憤怒的抗議，這些抗議將土地使用危機與該市的經(jīng)濟不平等和社會流動性下降等更廣泛的問題聯(lián)系起來。

In late March, protesters stormed the Hong Kong Golf Club, in the far-flung suburb of Fanling just two train stops from the Chinese border. Chanting “Land for all!” and “We want public housing! Take back the golf course!” they marched down the neatly manicured lawns before occupying a putting green.

3月底，抗議者沖入位于偏遠郊區(qū)粉嶺的香港高爾夫球會，那里離中國邊境僅有兩站地鐵遠?？棺h者高喊：“土地歸于人民!”“立即增建公屋!收回粉嶺高球場!”他們走下修剪整齊的草坪，然后占領(lǐng)了一片果嶺。

When protesters reappeared a month later, they scuffled with security guards who barred them from entering. A golfer who was not a member of the club was seen grabbing a protester by the neck and throwing him to the ground.

一個月后，抗議者再次出現(xiàn)時，與阻止他們?nèi)雰?nèi)的保安人員發(fā)生了沖突。一名不屬于該俱樂部成員的高爾夫球手被看到拽住一名抗議者的脖子，將他摔倒在地。

The dispute has been exacerbated by Hong Kong’s political paralysis.

香港的政治癱瘓加劇了這場爭端。

Bitter infighting between its unelected, Beijing-backed leadership and the pro-democracy opposition has left the city’s government unable to tackle tough problems, chief among them the lack of affordable housing. The prohibitive property prices, while a boon for the elite, have hurt the rest of the economy by raising costs for small businesses and start-ups.

獲北京支持的、非選舉產(chǎn)生的領(lǐng)導層，與主張民主的反對派之間的激烈內(nèi)訌，導致香港政府無法解決棘手的問題，其中最主要的問題是缺乏保障性住房。過高的房價雖然有利于精英階層，但損害了經(jīng)濟的其他部分，增加了小型企業(yè)和初創(chuàng)企業(yè)的成本。

The activists seemed to get support from a recent government report proposing that the 425-acre golf course be partly or fully redeveloped for housing and other public uses. According to the report’s estimates, the course is big enough to hold 13,200 apartment units, housing 37,000 people.

政府前不久發(fā)布的一份報告似乎支持這些活動人士。該報告提出，將這片占地425英畝(約合172公頃)的高爾夫球場部分或全部重新開發(fā)，用于修建住房等公共用途。據(jù)該報告估計，這片高爾夫球場的規(guī)模足以修建13200套公寓，容納3.7萬人。

The club is one of six golf courses and 24 private sports clubs on special government leases. Some of the others, including the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and the Hong Kong Cricket Club, also date to the 19th century, and used to serve a mostly white, colonial clientele.

該俱樂部是獲得政府特殊租約的6個高爾夫球場和24個私人體育俱樂部之一。香港游艇會和香港木球會等其他俱樂部也可以追溯到19世紀，過去主要是服務白人殖民者。

Together, the clubs occupy 828 acres of land — about the size of Central Park in New York City — and serve about 56,000 members. They rent their land from the government through the special leases, so-called private recreational leases, that offer often below-market rates, drawing accusations that the government is “subsidizing the rich.”

這些俱樂部加起來占地828英畝(約合335公頃)——和紐約市的中央公園大體相當——會員人數(shù)約為5.6萬。它們通過特殊的租約，即所謂的私人游樂場地契約，從政府手里租來土地。這類租約的租金通常低于市場水平。這引發(fā)了外界對政府“補貼富人”的指責。

The private recreational lease policy is a holdover from Hong Kong’s colonial days, when recreational facilities were few and far between. A policy document from 1979 said the private clubs “provide an important outlet for the upper middle class and business circles.”

私人游樂場地契約政策是香港娛樂設(shè)施稀少的殖民時期遺留下來的產(chǎn)物。1979年的一份政策文件稱，私人俱樂部“為中上層和商界提供了一個重要的發(fā)泄途徑”。

“We are lacking in golf facilities severely,” said Arnold Wong, 44, the previous captain of the Hong Kong Golf Club, an elected position in which he represented its members. Mr. Wong, the co-founder of a restaurant company, pointed out that Hong Kong has fewer 18-hole courses than Singapore, which has a smaller population.

“我們嚴重缺乏高爾夫場所，”44歲的香港高爾夫球會前會長黃子超(Arnold Wong)說。這個職位通過選舉產(chǎn)生，代表全體會員。身為一家餐飲公司的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人，黃子超指出，香港的18洞高爾夫球場還沒新加坡多，后者人口比香港少。

“In terms of golf facilities, we are already lagging way behind as a major financial city,” he said.

“就高球場地而言，我們作為一個金融中心已經(jīng)遠遠落后了，”他說。

As the debate has grown, the government’s Home Affairs Bureau has proposed changes to the leasing policy, like charging the golf clubs higher rent.

隨著爭論升級，政府的民政事務局提議修改租賃政策，比如提高向高爾夫球會收取的租金。

Last year, the Hong Kong Golf Club paid 2.5 million Hong Kong dollars (about $320,000) to the government in rent, a mere 3 percent of actual market rental value. Even so, the club had a deficit of the equivalent of $1.27 million in 2016, according to its annual report, suggesting that substantial increases in rent would pose a financial challenge.

去年，香港高爾夫球會向政府交付租金250萬港幣(約合200萬元人民幣)，只相當于實際市場租金的3%。即便如此，年報顯示球會2016年的虧空相當于127萬美元。這表明，大幅調(diào)高租金可能會導致其面臨財務上的挑戰(zhàn)。

As the largest of Hong Kong’s private clubs, the Hong Kong Golf Club represents the upper-class elite of the city. A corporate membership can be bought for some $2 million. Individual memberships have a one-off entrance fee of around $64,000, and monthly dues of several hundred dollars, but require personal connections and patience for a waiting list that is years long.

作為香港最大的私人會所，香港高爾夫球會代表著香港的上層精英。公司會員資格售價約為200萬美元。個人會員須一次交納6.4萬美元，然后每月再交幾百港幣，但需要有關(guān)系和耐心，因為要排隊等候數(shù)年。

For most of its history, the club had the word “Royal” in its name, and members were predominantly British expatriates. Today, most of the 2,660 members are Hong Kong Chinese, many of whom got rich in real estate or finance after the economy took off in the 1970s. More recently, wealthy Chinese mainlanders have joined in growing numbers.

在該球會的歷史上，大部分時候它的名字中都有“皇家”二字，會員也以英籍人士為主。如今，球會2660名會員中大部分是香港本地人，其中很多是70年代經(jīng)濟騰飛后在房地產(chǎn)或金融領(lǐng)域發(fā)家致富的。后來，越來越多的中國內(nèi)地富豪加入。

The club opens its gates to nonmembers on most weekdays, though the fee of about $140 per 18-hole round puts it out of reach for many in Hong Kong, where the median monthly income is around $2,150. In recent years, the club has invested in community outreach, like teaching golf to underprivileged students and training talented young golfers.

在大部分工作日，球會都會向非會員開放，但18洞一輪大約140美元的收費，讓很多香港人承受不起。這里月收入中位數(shù)在2150美元左右。近年來，球會投資擴大消費群體，比如教底層學生打高爾夫、訓練有天分的年輕球手。

Yet as Hong Kong feels increasingly divided between rich and poor, the debate surrounding the golf course speaks to more fundamental questions about the future of this city, and whether it will be affordable to all, or just a playground of the rich.

但隨著香港貧富階層之間的分歧越來越大，圍繞這個高爾夫球場的爭論指向了更根本的問題，涉及這座城市的未來，以及它將來是所有人都用得起，還是只是富人的游樂場。

Some of the most vocal opponents of the course are young social activists who call land ownership the biggest dividing line between Hong Kong’s haves and have-nots.

對球場反對最激烈的包括一些年輕的社會活動人士。他們稱土地所有權(quán)是香港富人和窮人之間最大的分界線。

Yam Chun, 24, a community organizer for the Concerning Grassroots’ Housing Rights Alliance, sees the golf course as the epitome of inequitable use of land.

關(guān)注基層住屋聯(lián)席(Concerning Grassroots’ Housing Rights Alliance)24歲的組織干事任真(Yam Chun)認為，這個高爾夫球場是土地使用不平等的縮影。

Born to a working-class family, she said she grew up in cramped subdivided flats and old tenement buildings while her family sat on a long waiting list just to get into public housing.

出身工薪家庭的她說，自己在狹窄的?房和唐樓里長大。在那期間，她家一直排著長隊，等著住進公屋。

“When my family and I were still waiting for public housing, I thought to myself, does Hong Kong really not have enough land?” she said. “Now that I’ve grown up, I realize that the real problem is the unfair distribution of land.”

“我和家人等公屋時，我自己在想，難道香港真的不夠土地?”她說。“長大后，我發(fā)現(xiàn)原來問題其實是土地分配不公義。”

Some experts say that while the dispute has exposed deeper anxieties caused by Hong Kong’s economic rise, the golf course is not big enough to solve the housing issue.

一些專家稱，盡管這場爭論暴露出了香港經(jīng)濟崛起造成的更深層次的焦慮，但粉嶺高爾夫球場不夠大，無法解決住房問題。

“The golf course problem is just pure political populism,” said Richard Wong, professor of economics at the University of Hong Kong. “The golf course is peripheral, completely peripheral, to the solution to this problem,” he added. “It’s symbolic.”

“高球場問題只是純粹的政治民粹主義，”香港大學經(jīng)濟學教授王于漸(Richard Wong)說。“高球場對解決這個問題無關(guān)緊要，根本無關(guān)緊要，”他接著說。“只是一個象征。”

Still, symbols can be important, and some argue that getting rid of the golf course would hurt Hong Kong’s competitiveness.

但象征也可能具有重要意義，并且一些人認為，拆除這個高爾夫球場可能會削弱香港的競爭力。

“As an international financial city you do need to balance housing needs with sporting needs,” said Mr. Wong, the club captain. “You can’t have a walled city of just concrete, with no facilities, no attractions to other investors, foreigners, expats, people of different backgrounds.”

“作為國際金融中心，必須平衡住房需求和運動需求，”前香港高爾夫球會會長黃子超說。“不能只是一座混凝土圍城，沒有設(shè)施，沒有吸引其他投資者、外國人、僑民等背景不同的人的地方。”