華彬擬改變溫特沃斯俱樂部引發抗議
Chinese investors in one of Britain’s most fashionable golf and country clubs have said that a row over membership fees is hurting the country’s reputation as a centre for foreign investment.
英國最時尚高爾夫和鄉村俱樂部之一溫特沃斯高爾夫俱樂部(Wentworth Club)的中國股東表示，一場圍繞會員費的爭端，正在損害英國作爲外資投資中心的聲譽。
Writing in the Financial Times on Friday, an executive from Chinese conglomerate Reignwood has hit back at golf and tennis players who have threatened legal action over plans to cut membership numbers and introduce one-off fees of up to ￡125,000 at the Wentworth golf and country club.
該俱樂部計劃削減會員人數並設定最高12.5萬英鎊的一次性會員費，對該計劃不滿的高爾夫球及網球玩家威脅要對其採取法律行動。週五，中國華彬集團(Reignwood)高管倪鬆華在英國《金融時報》撰文予以還擊。
According to Ni Songhua, Wentworth protesters “risk deterring other businesses from working with partners in the UK”. He warns of “a lack of cultural understanding” and says residents and members are “currently sending the entirely the wrong signal to overseas investors”.
倪鬆華表示，溫特沃斯俱樂部事件中的抗議者“可能會嚇跑其他想要與英國合作伙伴合作的企業”。他警告人們注意“文化上缺乏相互理解”的潛在危害，並表示當地居民和俱樂部現有會員“正在向海外投資者釋放錯誤的信號”。
Mr Ni’s comments are the first extensive remarks by Reignwood about Wentworth. But residents local to the 92-year-old club have said Reignwood is “riding roughshod” over the club’s heritage by turning it into an invitation-only venue for the “super-rich”.
倪鬆華的言論是華彬集團針對溫特沃斯俱樂部風波的首次詳細表態。不過，當地居民已表示，華彬集團通過將俱樂部變爲“超級富豪”的邀請制會所，正在“無情踐踏”俱樂部的傳統。溫特沃斯俱樂部已有92年曆史。
Nigel Moss, who is leading the campaign against Reignwood alongside the Wentworth Residents Association, said the new membership structure showed “a fundamental lack of understanding of how British culture works”.
與溫特沃斯居民聯合會(Wentworth Residents Association)一道領導這場運動的奈傑爾•莫斯(Nigel Moss)表示，新的會員制結構顯示出“對英國文化運作方式缺乏基本理解”。
“Whatever anyone’s background, to come in and force out the entire membership and invite a select few to reapply with a ￡100,000 unsecured loan to the club, shows a distinct lack of basic judgment,” he said.
他說：“不論任何人的背景是什麼，橫插一腳並強制性把所有會員趕出去，再邀請選定的一小撥人，讓他們通過向俱樂部提供10萬英鎊的無擔保貸款重新申請入會，這樣的做法明顯缺乏基本的判斷能力。”
Members and residents have rejected a series of concessions offered by Wentworth, including the option to pay the new one-off fee in instalments and increase the number of members to 888 from the 800 currently proposed. At the moment, there are more than 4,000.
現有會員和當地居民已拒絕了溫特沃斯俱樂部提出的一系列讓步，其中包括分期支付新的一次性會員費的選項，以及把會員人數從目前擬議中的800人增加至888人。目前，該俱樂部的會員人數超過4000人。
Reignwood, which is owned by Thai-Chinese multi-billionaire Chanchai Ruayrungruang — also known as Yan Bin — bought Wentworth from restaurateur Richard Caring in 2014 for ￡135m.
華彬集團由泰國籍華人億萬富翁嚴彬(Chanchai Ruayrungruang)所有。2014年，該集團斥資1.35億英鎊，從經營餐飲業的理查德•卡林(Richard Caring)手中買下了溫特沃斯俱樂部。
According to a Chinese official who declined to be identified, Beijing is concerned that the dispute could hurt its reputation in Britain.
根據一位拒絕公開身份的中國官員的說法，中國政府擔心這一爭端可能影響其在英國的聲譽。
