在大多数国家，大量世界级高尔夫球场的涌现，会被视为经济快速增长和生活水平大幅提升的一个明显且必然的伴生物。
在中国，像与鸟巢近在咫尺的北京36洞清河湾乡村体育俱乐部这样的球场，确实反映出私人财富的不断膨胀。
但这样的设施也成了共产党统治固有之伪善和腐败的有力象征。
按照中国中央政府近些年一再颁布的法令，与国内其它大多数高尔夫球场一样，清河湾精心修剪的草坪和浩大的水景都属于非法开发项目。
2004年，中国出台了高尔夫球场建设禁令，以期保护逐渐减少的耕地、节省水资源、并减少因高档房地产开发项目而失去土地的村民人数。
中国国土资源部国家土地副总督察甘藏春不久前表示：“从2004年开始，高尔夫球场的建设是作为暂停的禁止性项目。在正式的规范性文件出台之前，新建任何高尔夫球场都是禁止的，都是违法的。”
但北京林业大学(Beijing Forestry University)高尔夫教育与研究中心的数据显示，尽管政府下达了这一禁令，中国高尔夫球场的数量仍增长了逾两倍，从2004年的170个增至目前的近600个。
赶在2008年北京奥运会之前开业的清河湾，有力地证明了中央政府是如何缺乏权威、以及有权势和政治背景的人是如何蔑视法律的。该俱乐部号称拥有逾600名会员，终身会员费为88万元人民币（合13.5万美元）。俱乐部所有者为中国最大的钢铁企业之一日照钢铁(Rizhao Steel)。
当被问到该球场是如何在违反政府禁令的情况下建起来的，清河湾一名市场部主管告诉英国《金融时报》：“我不知道该怎么回答你的问题，我的领导们不方便对你讲。”
另一名员工向英国《金融时报》保证，球场的建设得到了北京市官员的准许，俱乐部所有者还购买了紧邻的一大片土地，计划将俱乐部扩建成一个54洞球场。
一位参与了中国数个豪华“非法”高尔夫球场设计和建设的设计师告诉英国《金融时报》，几乎每一个开发项目都有地方政府的参与，它们往往也是他的主要客户。
与清河湾一样，中国大多数高尔夫开发项目在名称或规划文件中都不会含有“高尔夫”这几个字，而是自称“健康休闲俱乐部”或“乡村俱乐部”。
一些地方政府甚至会挪用指定用于城市绿化带、公园建设、或环境保护和整治工程的国家拨款，修建高尔夫球场，而不顾可能会对环境造成多大破坏。
在1984年之前，高尔夫运动被当做资产阶级“富人的游戏”而在中国遭到全面取缔，但现如今，这项运动已成为富有精英最喜爱的消遣项目，其中许多人都是政府官员。
几天前，在清河湾富丽堂皇的会所入口处，停着一辆挂着军牌、明光锃亮的豪华轿车，等待某位背着高尔夫球棍的人物出现。只有最高级的中国官员才有资格乘坐这种配备警卫的轿车。
这样一辆车的出现，充分表明了中国中央政府在执行高尔夫球场建设禁令、乃至其它许多政策和法律方面的无能。
只要开发商背景过硬，他们就能无视监管部门的警告，而监管官员也不敢拿自己的前途冒险，强行执法，冒犯处于食物链上游的强大利益集团。
译者/何黎
http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001038409
In most countries, a proliferation of world-class golf courses would be regarded as an obvious and inevitable by-product of rapid growth and soaring living standards.
In China, courses such as the 36-hole Qinghe Bay Country Sports Club, located within view of the Olympic Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing, do indeed reflect surging private fortunes.
But facilities such as this have also become a potent symbol of the hypocrisy and corruption inherent in Communist party rule.
According to a central government edict issued repeatedly in recent years, the beautifully manicured lawns and sumptuous water features of Qinghe Bay are an illegal development – along with most other golf courses in the country.
China introduced a ban on the construction of golf courses in 2004 in an attempt to preserve dwindling farmland, save water and reduce the huge number of villagers thrown off their land as luxury real estate is developed.
“Since the year 2004 we have put a halt to the construction of golf courses,” Gan Zangchun, deputy chief supervisor of state land at the Ministry of Land and Resources, said recently. “Pending the formulation of any new regulation, the building of any new golf course is prohibited and is illegal.”
But despite the ban the number of golf courses in China has more than tripled from 170 in 2004 to nearly 600 now, according to figures from the golf education and research centre at the Beijing Forestry University.
Qinghe Bay, which opened just in time for the Olympics in 2008, is a powerful testament to the weakness of central government authority and the ability of powerful, politically connected individuals to flout the law. The owner of the club, which boasts more than 600 members and charges Rmb880,000 ($135,000) for lifetime membership, is Rizhao Steel, one of the country’s largest steel producers.
When asked how the course had been built in violation of the government ban, a Qinghe Bay marketing executive told the Financial Times: “I don’t know how to answer your question and it is not convenient for my leaders to speak to you.”
Another employee assured the FT the facility had received the blessing of officials in Beijing and that its owner had already bought a large plot of land next door and was planning to expand the club to create a 54-hole course.
One architect involved in the design and construction of several sumptuous “illegal” golf courses across China told the FT that local governments were almost always involved in their development and were often the main client for his services.
As with Qinghe Bay, most golf developments in China do not include the word “golf” in their name or anywhere on their planning documents, and instead refer to themselves as “health and entertain- ment clubs” or “country clubs”.
Some local governments even use state funds earmarked for green belts, parks or environmental protection and rehabilitation projects to build golf courses, despite the damage they can cause to the environment.
Golf was completely banned in China as a bourgeois “rich man’s game” until 1984, but today is a favourite pastime for the country’s wealthy elite, many of whom are government officials.
At the entrance to Qinghe Bay’s palatial clubhouse a few days ago a sleek luxury sedan with paramilitary licence plates was parked, waiting for its golf-club toting passenger. Only the most senior Chinese officials are supposed to ride in such cars, accompanied by their official bodyguards.
The presence of such a car goes a long way to explaining the inability of the central government to enforce its golf course ban and many of the country’s other policies and laws.
As long as developers are well connected they can ignore warnings from regulators, who will rarely risk their careers by enforcing laws that could offend powerful interest groups higher up the food chain.
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