Busted flush

　　好景不再

　　How a Sino-Lao special economic zone hit the skids

　　一個中國老撾邊境經濟特區如何走向衰落

　　AT HOME and abroad, China is a byword for fast-track development, where yesterdays paddy field istomorrows factory, highway or hotel. Less noticed isthat such development can just as quickly go intoreverse. Golden City, in Boten, just over the border from China in tiny Laos, is a case in point.

　　無論是在國內還是國外，中國都是超速發展的代名詞。在那里，也許昨天還是一片稻田，而明天就發展成為工廠、高速公路或賓館。然而很少有人會意識到，這種發展也可能會迅速走向蕭條，位于中國老撾邊境老撾一側的磨丁黃金城經濟特區就是這樣。

　　When a Hong Kong-registered company signed a 30-year, renewable lease with the Laogovernment in 2003 to set up a 1,640-hectare special economic zone built with mainland moneyand expertise, Golden City was touted as a futuristic hub for trade and tourism. The builderspromptly went to work, and a cluster of pastel blocks rose amid the green hills of northernLaos. Thousands of Chinese tourists and entrepreneurs poured into the enclave, drawn largelyby the forbidden pleasures and profits of gambling, which is illegal in China, except in Macau.Today the main casino, inside a three-star hotel, lies abandoned, its baize tables thick withdust.

　　2003年，一家香港注冊的公司同老撾政府簽訂了一份30年可續期的合約。合約規定利用中國大陸的資金和技術建立一個1640公頃的黃金城經濟特區，并致力于把那里打造成一個未來的旅游商貿中心。建設者們立刻開始行動，許多漂亮的社區出現在老撾的崇山峻嶺之間。除了澳門外，賭博業在中國是違法的，然而出于賭博所帶來的快感和暴利的誘惑，成千上萬的中國人開始涌入這塊飛地黃金城經濟特區。現在特區最大的擁有一座三星級賓館的賭場已經關張，賭桌上落了厚厚的灰塵。

　　The trouble started in December, when Chinese gamblers found that the operators refused tolet them leave until they had coughed up for betting losses. Officials from Hubei provinceapparently negotiated the release of several hostages, but many more continued to be heldagainst their will. Accounts in the Chinese media say that casino recruiters lured gamblers withoffers of free travel and hotel rooms, only to be kept captive and beaten when their credit ranout. Lao villagers swap grisly tales of corpses dumped in the river.

　　去年12月開始出現麻煩。中國的賭客發現如果不能還清欠賭債，就別想離開賭場。盡管河北省政府已經解救了一些人質，但仍有很多人被繼續扣押。據中國媒體報道，這些賭場的外聯人通過免費機票和住宿引誘賭客，當他們輸光所有的籌碼后，就會被拘禁和毒打。老撾村民中一直流傳著尸體被丟到河里的恐怖故事。

　　Chinese authorities have since put the boot into Boten. In March the foreign ministry warnedcitizens not to gamble in Laos and accused Golden City of cheating its cross-bordercustomers. It said it had demanded that Laos close down the casino. Last month the casinoduly shut, and the smaller gaming halls have since gone too. The 232-room hotel, which isalmost empty, will be next.

　　中國政府已經開始關注磨丁問題。3月份，外交部警告中國公民不要去老撾賭博，譴責黃金城欺詐中國跨境消費者，同時提請老撾政府關閉賭場。上個月，賭場適時地關閉了，一些小的游戲廳也消失了，接下來輪到一個有232個房間的邊關，那里現在已經空無一人。

　　Most shop and restaurant owners have packed upand left, as have the Thai transvestite show and thelegions of prostitutes. Stricter visa rules for Chinesetourists have added to the squeeze. A Laopoliceman, who admits to having nothing to do, putsthe towns dwindling population at 2,000, downfrom 10,000 at its peak. The enclaves economyseems to have collapsed just as the builders hit theirstride with a new high-rise hotel and a shoppingcentre bristling with columns in the classical style.

　　很多商店餐館的老板，甚至是人妖表演團和妓女都離開了這里，中國更加嚴格的簽證管理更是雪上加霜。一個老撾警察說，他們什么都沒做，但這里的流動人口還是從高峰時期的10000減少到了現在的2000。建設者原本想再新建一個高層的賓館和一座有很多古典風格廊柱的購物中心，正當他們準備大干一場的時候，這塊飛地的經濟似乎突然要崩潰了。

　　Golden City says it has pumped $130m into the projects first phase, including funds fromoutside investors. A company official, Ginger He, puts a brave face on things, arguing that theslump is a chance to rebrand the enclave as a wholesome tourist destination and import-export zone. She blames the bad publicity on shady Chinese concessionaires who ran the cardgames in the casinoas if the company had expected angels. Golden City has since declaredforce majeure to revoke its contracts. Investors might wish to sue under Lao law. But Miss Hepoints out that China had ordered Laos to close the casino. Little brother cannot fight with bigbrother, she says

　　黃金城方面表示公司在該項目一期共投入130萬美元，其中包括部分外部融資。一位公司負責人Ginger He對這次突變似乎很不以為然，并表示這是一次很好的機會，特區可以借此步入正軌，并重新將自己打造為一個旅游目的地和進出口貿易集散地。她把外界的負面報道都歸罪于那些在賭場里代理經營紙牌項目的丑惡中國人似乎公司原本一直認為他們是守法良民。黃金城宣布因為不可抗力解除合約，投資者準備依據老撾法律進行起訴，不過He小姐說，中國政府已經要求老撾關閉賭場，胳膊擰不過大腿啊。

　　At the best of times, cross-border casinos are risky investments, since China often cracksdown on outbound gamblers. Warlords in Myanmar have previously felt the consequences,with gambling dens left to rot in the jungle after borders grew tighter. Business folk in Botensay the action may have moved to casinos elsewhere in Laos and Myanmar. A Macau-basedcompany has recently completed a giant riverside casino in the so-called Golden Triangle, whereLaos meets Thailand and Myanmar.

　　即便是在情況最好的時候，境外開設賭場也是高風險的投資，因為中國政府經常會打擊出境的賭徒。緬甸軍政府就嘗過這樣的苦果，隨著中國邊境吃緊，那里的賭場就在叢林里荒廢了。磨丁的生意人說，現在的打擊行動可能會使賭場轉移到老撾或者緬甸的其他地方。一個總部在澳門的公司剛剛在老撾泰國和緬甸交界處建成了一座規模宏大的河景賭場金三角。

　　But Golden City was supposed to represent more than just a fast buck. The developerspersuaded Laos of the benefits of allowing a Chinese-run enclave. Its residents, they said,would form a huge community and a modern society, in the words of their brochure. Thezone also took on some of the trappings of the Chinese state, including uniformed securityguards, development slogans and even the Chinese currency. This gave the false impressionthat it enjoyed official backing. Instead, it became an irritant that Beijing had to put in its place.

　　但是黃金城并非只做一些投機的生意，開發商還向老撾政府許諾了許多建設一塊中國人管理的飛地的好處，在他們的宣傳冊上，他們揚言要把當地建成一個龐大的社區和現代化的社會。他們還在開發區里應用了很多中國元素，例如保安的服裝、開發的口號甚至使用中國貨幣。這些都給人們一種假象，他們背后有中國官方背景。這些也刺激了北京盡快平息這里的混亂。

　　Busted flush

　　好景不再

　　How a Sino-Lao special economic zone hit the skids

　　一個中國老撾邊境經濟特區如何走向衰落

　　AT HOME and abroad, China is a byword for fast-track development, where yesterdays paddy field istomorrows factory, highway or hotel. Less noticed isthat such development can just as quickly go intoreverse. Golden City, in Boten, just over the border from China in tiny Laos, is a case in point.

　　無論是在國內還是國外，中國都是超速發展的代名詞。在那里，也許昨天還是一片稻田，而明天就發展成為工廠、高速公路或賓館。然而很少有人會意識到，這種發展也可能會迅速走向蕭條，位于中國老撾邊境老撾一側的磨丁黃金城經濟特區就是這樣。

　　When a Hong Kong-registered company signed a 30-year, renewable lease with the Laogovernment in 2003 to set up a 1,640-hectare special economic zone built with mainland moneyand expertise, Golden City was touted as a futuristic hub for trade and tourism. The builderspromptly went to work, and a cluster of pastel blocks rose amid the green hills of northernLaos. Thousands of Chinese tourists and entrepreneurs poured into the enclave, drawn largelyby the forbidden pleasures and profits of gambling, which is illegal in China, except in Macau.Today the main casino, inside a three-star hotel, lies abandoned, its baize tables thick withdust.

　　2003年，一家香港注冊的公司同老撾政府簽訂了一份30年可續期的合約。合約規定利用中國大陸的資金和技術建立一個1640公頃的黃金城經濟特區，并致力于把那里打造成一個未來的旅游商貿中心。建設者們立刻開始行動，許多漂亮的社區出現在老撾的崇山峻嶺之間。除了澳門外，賭博業在中國是違法的，然而出于賭博所帶來的快感和暴利的誘惑，成千上萬的中國人開始涌入這塊飛地黃金城經濟特區。現在特區最大的擁有一座三星級賓館的賭場已經關張，賭桌上落了厚厚的灰塵。

　　The trouble started in December, when Chinese gamblers found that the operators refused tolet them leave until they had coughed up for betting losses. Officials from Hubei provinceapparently negotiated the release of several hostages, but many more continued to be heldagainst their will. Accounts in the Chinese media say that casino recruiters lured gamblers withoffers of free travel and hotel rooms, only to be kept captive and beaten when their credit ranout. Lao villagers swap grisly tales of corpses dumped in the river.

　　去年12月開始出現麻煩。中國的賭客發現如果不能還清欠賭債，就別想離開賭場。盡管河北省政府已經解救了一些人質，但仍有很多人被繼續扣押。據中國媒體報道，這些賭場的外聯人通過免費機票和住宿引誘賭客，當他們輸光所有的籌碼后，就會被拘禁和毒打。老撾村民中一直流傳著尸體被丟到河里的恐怖故事。

　　Chinese authorities have since put the boot into Boten. In March the foreign ministry warnedcitizens not to gamble in Laos and accused Golden City of cheating its cross-bordercustomers. It said it had demanded that Laos close down the casino. Last month the casinoduly shut, and the smaller gaming halls have since gone too. The 232-room hotel, which isalmost empty, will be next.

　　中國政府已經開始關注磨丁問題。3月份，外交部警告中國公民不要去老撾賭博，譴責黃金城欺詐中國跨境消費者，同時提請老撾政府關閉賭場。上個月，賭場適時地關閉了，一些小的游戲廳也消失了，接下來輪到一個有232個房間的邊關，那里現在已經空無一人。

　　Most shop and restaurant owners have packed upand left, as have the Thai transvestite show and thelegions of prostitutes. Stricter visa rules for Chinesetourists have added to the squeeze. A Laopoliceman, who admits to having nothing to do, putsthe towns dwindling population at 2,000, downfrom 10,000 at its peak. The enclaves economyseems to have collapsed just as the builders hit theirstride with a new high-rise hotel and a shoppingcentre bristling with columns in the classical style.

　　很多商店餐館的老板，甚至是人妖表演團和妓女都離開了這里，中國更加嚴格的簽證管理更是雪上加霜。一個老撾警察說，他們什么都沒做，但這里的流動人口還是從高峰時期的10000減少到了現在的2000。建設者原本想再新建一個高層的賓館和一座有很多古典風格廊柱的購物中心，正當他們準備大干一場的時候，這塊飛地的經濟似乎突然要崩潰了。

　　Golden City says it has pumped $130m into the projects first phase, including funds fromoutside investors. A company official, Ginger He, puts a brave face on things, arguing that theslump is a chance to rebrand the enclave as a wholesome tourist destination and import-export zone. She blames the bad publicity on shady Chinese concessionaires who ran the cardgames in the casinoas if the company had expected angels. Golden City has since declaredforce majeure to revoke its contracts. Investors might wish to sue under Lao law. But Miss Hepoints out that China had ordered Laos to close the casino. Little brother cannot fight with bigbrother, she says

　　黃金城方面表示公司在該項目一期共投入130萬美元，其中包括部分外部融資。一位公司負責人Ginger He對這次突變似乎很不以為然，并表示這是一次很好的機會，特區可以借此步入正軌，并重新將自己打造為一個旅游目的地和進出口貿易集散地。她把外界的負面報道都歸罪于那些在賭場里代理經營紙牌項目的丑惡中國人似乎公司原本一直認為他們是守法良民。黃金城宣布因為不可抗力解除合約，投資者準備依據老撾法律進行起訴，不過He小姐說，中國政府已經要求老撾關閉賭場，胳膊擰不過大腿啊。

　　At the best of times, cross-border casinos are risky investments, since China often cracksdown on outbound gamblers. Warlords in Myanmar have previously felt the consequences,with gambling dens left to rot in the jungle after borders grew tighter. Business folk in Botensay the action may have moved to casinos elsewhere in Laos and Myanmar. A Macau-basedcompany has recently completed a giant riverside casino in the so-called Golden Triangle, whereLaos meets Thailand and Myanmar.

　　即便是在情況最好的時候，境外開設賭場也是高風險的投資，因為中國政府經常會打擊出境的賭徒。緬甸軍政府就嘗過這樣的苦果，隨著中國邊境吃緊，那里的賭場就在叢林里荒廢了。磨丁的生意人說，現在的打擊行動可能會使賭場轉移到老撾或者緬甸的其他地方。一個總部在澳門的公司剛剛在老撾泰國和緬甸交界處建成了一座規模宏大的河景賭場金三角。

　　But Golden City was supposed to represent more than just a fast buck. The developerspersuaded Laos of the benefits of allowing a Chinese-run enclave. Its residents, they said,would form a huge community and a modern society, in the words of their brochure. Thezone also took on some of the trappings of the Chinese state, including uniformed securityguards, development slogans and even the Chinese currency. This gave the false impressionthat it enjoyed official backing. Instead, it became an irritant that Beijing had to put in its place.

　　但是黃金城并非只做一些投機的生意，開發商還向老撾政府許諾了許多建設一塊中國人管理的飛地的好處，在他們的宣傳冊上，他們揚言要把當地建成一個龐大的社區和現代化的社會。他們還在開發區里應用了很多中國元素，例如保安的服裝、開發的口號甚至使用中國貨幣。這些都給人們一種假象，他們背后有中國官方背景。這些也刺激了北京盡快平息這里的混亂。