华彬拟改变温特沃斯俱乐部引发抗议
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.
英国最时尚高尔夫和乡村俱乐部之一温特沃斯高尔夫俱乐部(Wentworth Club)的中国股东表示，一场围绕会员费的争端，正在损害英国作为外资投资中心的声誉。
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.
该俱乐部计划削减会员人数并设定最高12.5万英镑的一次性会员费，对该计划不满的高尔夫球及网球玩家威胁要对其采取法律行动。周五，中国华彬集团(Reignwood)高管倪松华在英国《金融时报》撰文予以还击。
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”.
倪松华表示，温特沃斯俱乐部事件中的抗议者“可能会吓跑其他想要与英国合作伙伴合作的企业”。他警告人们注意“文化上缺乏相互理解”的潜在危害，并表示当地居民和俱乐部现有会员“正在向海外投资者释放错误的信号”。
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”.
倪松华的言论是华彬集团针对温特沃斯俱乐部风波的首次详细表态。不过，当地居民已表示，华彬集团通过将俱乐部变为“超级富豪”的邀请制会所，正在“无情践踏”俱乐部的传统。温特沃斯俱乐部已有92年历史。
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”.
与温特沃斯居民联合会(Wentworth Residents Association)一道领导这场运动的奈杰尔•莫斯(Nigel Moss)表示，新的会员制结构显示出“对英国文化运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.
他说：“不论任何人的背景是什么，横插一脚并强制性把所有会员赶出去，再邀请选定的一小拨人，让他们通过向俱乐部提供10万英镑的无担保贷款重新申请入会，这样的做法明显缺乏基本的判断能力。”
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.
现有会员和当地居民已拒绝了温特沃斯俱乐部提出的一系列让步，其中包括分期支付新的一次性会员费的选项，以及把会员人数从目前拟议中的800人增加至888人。目前，该俱乐部的会员人数超过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.
华彬集团由泰国籍华人亿万富翁严彬(Chanchai Ruayrungruang)所有。2014年，该集团斥资1.35亿英镑，从经营餐饮业的理查德•卡林(Richard Caring)手中买下了温特沃斯俱乐部。
According to a Chinese official who declined to be identified, Beijing is concerned that the dispute could hurt its reputation in Britain.
根据一位拒绝公开身份的中国官员的说法，中国政府担心这一争端可能影响其在英国的声誉。
