For Lawrence Cheng, the arrival of another betting shop in London’s Chinatown district is one more nail in the coffin of the immigrant business community whose colourful, lantern-laced streets have been part of the capital since the 1950s.倫敦唐人街(見(jiàn)上圖)又出現(xiàn)了一家博彩店，在鄭健強(qiáng)(Lawrence Cheng)看來(lái)，這就等于是推動(dòng)該移民商業(yè)社區(qū)向著衰亡又邁進(jìn)了一步。自上世紀(jì)五十年代以來(lái)，該社區(qū)五顏六色、掛滿(mǎn)燈籠的街道就一直是英國(guó)首都的一道風(fēng)景線。“We need another betting shop like we need a hole in the head,” says Mr Cheng, a restaurant owner who serves as secretary-general at the London Chinatown Chinese Association. “Within 60 yards of where you’re sitting there are seven or eight bookies.”鄭健強(qiáng)表示：“我們根本不需要又一家博彩店。你現(xiàn)在坐的位置方圓60碼之內(nèi)已有七八個(gè)經(jīng)營(yíng)博彩店的人。”鄭健強(qiáng)是一家餐廳的業(yè)主，另外還擔(dān)任倫敦華埠商會(huì)(London Chinatown Chinese Association)的秘書(shū)長(zhǎng)。Historically, Chinatowns have been a distinctive feature of many city centres, seemingly impervious to gentrification and constantly rising property prices. But Mr Chen is voicing a fear, felt in Chinatowns from London to San Francisco, that the struggle to keep up with rising rents and other challenges will prompt these vibrant communities to disappear.在很多城市的中心，唐人街歷來(lái)是一個(gè)獨(dú)特的景觀，似乎從不受士紳化(gentrification)和房地產(chǎn)價(jià)格不斷上漲的影響。但鄭健強(qiáng)擔(dān)憂(yōu)，由于很難應(yīng)對(duì)不斷上漲的房租和其他挑戰(zhàn)，這些充滿(mǎn)活力的社區(qū)將會(huì)消失。從倫敦唐人街到舊金山唐人街，這樣的擔(dān)憂(yōu)普遍存在。It is not just rising rents that are threatening their survival. In London’s Chinatown, businesses have become the target of regular raids by a UK Border Agency that is clamping down on illegal workers.威脅到其生存的不僅僅是租金上漲。在倫敦唐人街，商家已成為英國(guó)邊境管理局(UK Border Agency)定期搜查的目標(biāo)。該局正在對(duì)非法勞工進(jìn)行整治。A generation gap means that children often have little interest in the family business, while would-be immigrants see brighter prospects at home.代溝的存在導(dǎo)致現(xiàn)在的孩子往往對(duì)經(jīng)營(yíng)家族企業(yè)提不起興趣，而那些想要移居海外的人也在家鄉(xiāng)看到了更加光明的發(fā)展前景。The appreciating price of Chinese merchandise is pushing up costs as the falling value of the US dollar and pound has fallen against the renminbi, meaning that the money that gets sent home no longer goes so far.由于不斷貶值的美元和英鎊相對(duì)人民幣的匯率有所下滑，中國(guó)貨的價(jià)格不斷上漲，這推高了唐人街商家的成本，意味著寄回家的錢(qián)已不再如以前那樣多。In New York’s Chinatown, where trendy coffee shops and boutique clothing stores are replacing noodle bars, the Asian population dropped 15 per cent over the past decade, according to census data, even as the wider New York Asian population grew by 30 per cent. In areas around San Francisco’s Chinatown, the Asian population has fallen by about 23 per cent in the same period.在紐約唐人街，時(shí)髦的咖啡館和精品服裝店正在取代面吧(noodle bar)。人口普查數(shù)據(jù)顯示，過(guò)去十年，紐約唐人街的亞裔人口減少了15%，盡管整個(gè)紐約的亞裔人口增加了30%。同一時(shí)期，在舊金山唐人街周邊地區(qū)，亞裔人口減少了23%左右。The Chinatown in Philadelphia is particularly exposed to an influx of investors buying up surrounding luxury developments which is pushing up property prices and rents, according to a study by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Ironically, much of the hot money hails from Chinese mainland.亞裔美國(guó)人法律辯護(hù)與教育基金會(huì)(Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund)的一項(xiàng)研究顯示，費(fèi)城唐人街受到的沖擊尤其明顯，不少投資者涌入那里大舉購(gòu)買(mǎi)周邊的豪宅，推高了房地產(chǎn)價(jià)格和房租。具有諷刺意味的是，很大一部分熱錢(qián)來(lái)自于中國(guó)大陸。Andrew Leong, one of the authors of the study, said that as cities lose their Chinatowns, they also lose important services and businesses – such as English schools and job centres – that help new immigrants to integrate.研究報(bào)告的作者之一Andrew Leong表示，隨著唐人街在一座座城市中逐漸消失，一些幫助新移民融入社會(huì)的重要服務(wù)和生意也在走向消亡，比如英語(yǔ)學(xué)校和就業(yè)指導(dǎo)中心。“New immigrants will use Chinatown during the first 10-15 years because of language and cultural barriers they face if left to live in the suburbs,” Mr Leong said. “If you have a China-town it reduces tension.Andrew Leong說(shuō)：“新移民剛來(lái)的時(shí)候，可能會(huì)先在唐人街生活10年到15年——如果他們住在城郊，會(huì)面臨語(yǔ)言和文化上的障礙。如果有唐人街，摩擦就會(huì)減少。唐人街可幫助他們?nèi)谌朊绹?guó)社會(huì)。”It helps them acclimatise into American society.” The bustle in Chinatowns worldwide has not stopped, but behind the facades of Chinese shops and offices, there is concern that the most recent problems affecting their communities may be insurmountable.世界各地唐人街的熱鬧景象并沒(méi)有消失，但在中國(guó)商店和辦公樓的背后隱藏著一種擔(dān)憂(yōu)——人們擔(dān)心，最近影響他們社區(qū)的一些問(wèn)題可能是無(wú)法解決的。As the global population increasingly shifts to living in cities, competition for prime space, whether business or residential, is likely to keep on driving up rents and prices in prime locations. London property prices recently reached a record partly on the back of international investment.隨著全球人口不斷轉(zhuǎn)向城市居住，人們對(duì)優(yōu)質(zhì)空間（無(wú)論是商用空間還是居住空間）的爭(zhēng)奪很可能會(huì)持續(xù)推高黃金地段的房租和房?jī)r(jià)。倫敦房地產(chǎn)價(jià)格最近創(chuàng)下新高，在一定程度上就是依靠國(guó)際投資的支撐。Residents and businesses established in Chinatowns are aware of this and a barrage of other problems closing in on them.唐人街的現(xiàn)有居民和商家意識(shí)到了這一點(diǎn)，也意識(shí)到了撲面而來(lái)的一系列其他問(wèn)題。“Even rent on the first and second floor is very high,” says Lawrence Lee, a dentist based in London’s Chinatown, referring to the services provided to Chinese speakers that are tucked away, above street level. He has seen more than 10 businesses nearby, including two accountancy firms, move away in the last three years.談到那些在位置比較難找的非底商場(chǎng)所為華人提供的服務(wù)時(shí)，倫敦唐人街牙醫(yī)Lawrence Lee說(shuō)：“就連二樓和三樓的租金也高得厲害。”過(guò)去三年，附近十多家公司都搬走了，包括兩家會(huì)計(jì)師事務(wù)所。Based on prime rents and yields, the value of offices in the London Soho area has risen 65 per cent in the past five years, says CBRE, a property agent. Over the past 18 years, as far as the data go back, they are up 234 per cent.地產(chǎn)代理世邦魏理仕(CBRE)指出，按高端地產(chǎn)的租金和收益衡量，倫敦SOHO區(qū)的辦公樓在過(guò)去五年升值了65%；自18年前開(kāi)始編制該數(shù)據(jù)以來(lái)，累計(jì)升值了234%。Restaurateurs in particular are feeling the pinch. “When I first ran this restaurant 23 years ago, the rent was about ￡87,000 per year,” says Shun Bun Lee, manager of Harbour City restaurant. “At the moment, it is four times [that].”餐廳老板尤其感到吃不消。Harbour City餐廳經(jīng)理Shun Bun Lee說(shuō)：“23年前我剛開(kāi)始經(jīng)營(yíng)這家餐廳時(shí)，年租金大約是8.7萬(wàn)英鎊。現(xiàn)在，年租金已是那時(shí)的四倍。”Shaftesbury, a property management company that rents out space for 65 restaurants and bars in London’s Chinatown, dismisses the argument that rent increases are having a detrimental effect on the neighbourhood, saying that rents have gone up steadily as they would in any prosperous city.地產(chǎn)管理公司沙夫茨伯里(Shaftesbury)并不認(rèn)為房租上漲給周邊帶來(lái)不利影響，稱(chēng)任何繁榮城市的租金都已穩(wěn)步上漲。在倫敦唐人街，有65家餐廳和酒吧在租用該公司的房子。“London is thriving and this of course brings business and prosperity to Chinatown,” says Tom Welton, a director at Shaftesbury. He also insists that “we work with our tenants to promote Chinatown”.沙夫茨伯里的一位主管湯姆?韋爾頓(Tom Welton)說(shuō)：“倫敦正在蓬勃發(fā)展，這肯定給唐人街帶來(lái)了生意和繁榮。他還堅(jiān)稱(chēng)，“我們是在與租戶(hù)一起推動(dòng)唐人街的發(fā)展”。However, rent is not the only issue that London Chinatown businesses have to struggle with. Last month they went on strike for two hours in protest against a crackdown on illegal workers by the UK Border Agency. They say the number of raids has increased recently, counting 13 in the six weeks leading up to the protest, and worry that when UKBA officers lock down an establishment, it puts off customers and tarnishes the community’s reputation.然而，租金并不是倫敦唐人街商家要努力應(yīng)對(duì)的唯一問(wèn)題。上個(gè)月，這些商家罷市兩個(gè)小時(shí)，抗議英國(guó)邊境管理局對(duì)非法勞工的打壓。他們說(shuō)，近期的突然搜查有所增加，在抗議之前的六周里發(fā)生了13次。他們擔(dān)心，英國(guó)邊境管理局官員在封閉一家店的時(shí)候，會(huì)嚇跑顧客，破壞該社區(qū)的聲譽(yù)。Then there is the trouble that they have finding employees, especially when their children’s generation do not want to continue in the same line of business. Mr Lee has retained his 80-year-old dim sum chef and says with exasperation: “It’s strange to have Europeans cooking Chinese food.”找到合適的員工也不是一件容易事，特別是當(dāng)他們的下一代不愿繼續(xù)干他們這一行時(shí)。Shun Bun Lee手下的中式點(diǎn)心廚師已經(jīng)80歲了，他頗為無(wú)奈地說(shuō)：“雇歐洲人做中餐是件很奇怪的事。”Elsewhere, particularly in the US, the residential nature of Chinatowns means homes are at risk, as well as businesses. On Eldridge Street in Manhattan’s Chinatown, it is not only the looming luxury apartment blocks being built on the area’s periphery that symbolise the change 42-year-old Siu Lam has seen since arriving from Hong Kong 10 years ago.在其他地方，特別是在美國(guó)，唐人街的居住屬性意味著面臨風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的不僅是商家，也包括住宅。在曼哈頓唐人街的埃爾德里奇街(Eldridge Street)，現(xiàn)年42歲、十年前從香港來(lái)到這里的Siu Lam見(jiàn)證了一系列變化，該地區(qū)周邊正在建造的高端公寓樓只是象征這種變化的例子之一。Halloween costumes now hang from racks in her store, alongside Chinese New Year decorations, as she attempts to cater to a new influx of non-Asian residents. Ms Lam’s family has been split by the changes that have pushed up the cost of living and doing business there (she says rent for her store has risen 50 per cent in the six years she has been running it). “Young families, new immigrants, they’ve all moved away to areas with cheaper residential rents like Queens. My friends and family have all left.”現(xiàn)在她的店里既擺著一些中國(guó)農(nóng)歷新年的裝飾品，也掛著一些萬(wàn)圣節(jié)服裝，后者是為了迎合新涌入的非亞裔居民的需求。各種變化推高了那里的生活和營(yíng)商成本（據(jù)Siu Lam說(shuō)，自她六年前開(kāi)店以來(lái)，租金已上漲了50%），她的家庭也因此被“拆散”。“年輕的家庭、新移民，全都搬到了住房租金更便宜的地方，比如說(shuō)皇后區(qū)(Queens)。我的親朋好友都離開(kāi)了。”Jason Chan, co-ordinator of the Chinatown tenants union at Caaav, a community group in New York, believes the only solution to the encroachment is to build more affordable housing for the poorer residents.紐約社區(qū)組織亞裔反暴力聯(lián)盟(Caaav)的唐人住客協(xié)會(huì)項(xiàng)目主任陳立熙(Jason Chan)認(rèn)為，應(yīng)對(duì)這種“侵入”的唯一方法就是為較為貧困的居民建造更多可負(fù)擔(dān)的住房。“Overcrowding has become a huge problem as residents bunk together to save costs, while the few reasonably-priced residences that do exist are often poorly maintained by unscrupulous landlords,” he said.他說(shuō)：“過(guò)度擁擠已成為一個(gè)嚴(yán)重的問(wèn)題。為了節(jié)約成本，住戶(hù)們都擠住在一起。雖然確實(shí)存在少量?jī)r(jià)格合理的住所，但它們往往由無(wú)良房東把持、得不到妥善的保養(yǎng)維修。”San Francisco, which has an even larger residential community than New York, is experiencing a similar fate. A boom in Silicon Valley jobs, has fuelled San Francisco’s property market, pushing prices up a quarter in August.舊金山的唐人街比紐約的還要大，但它也面臨類(lèi)似的命運(yùn)。硅谷(Silicon Valley)就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)的迅速增長(zhǎng)對(duì)舊金山的房地產(chǎn)市場(chǎng)形成支撐，推動(dòng)該地房?jī)r(jià)在8月份上漲了25%。Rents in San Francisco soared 9.8 per cent in the third quarter compared with the year-earlier period. If studios are going for $2,000 a month outside Chinatown, suddenly one going for $1,000 in the area looks very attractive, argues Cindy Wu, vice-president of San Francisco’s city planning commission.今年第三季度，舊金山房租同比躍升9.8%。舊金山城市規(guī)劃委員會(huì)副會(huì)長(zhǎng)Cindy Wu認(rèn)為，如果唐人街以外工作室的月租金為2000美元，那么該地區(qū)月租金為1000美元的工作室一下子就會(huì)顯得非常有吸引力。Landlords are using the Ellis Act, which allows owners to evict tenants so long as they do not subsequently rent the flat, to get rid of unwanted occupants, to sell the property.房東們正在利用《埃利斯法》(Ellis Act)擺脫不識(shí)趣的住戶(hù)，以出售房產(chǎn)。根據(jù)該法，房東可向租戶(hù)下“逐客令”，前提是他們隨后不將房子租出去。But the community is not giving up without a fight. In San Francisco, protesters and tenants demonstrate outside City Hall against evictions and property speculation in and around the Chinatown neighbourhoods, and the problem is gaining traction in the local press.但唐人街社區(qū)不想“不戰(zhàn)而退”。在舊金山，抗議者和租戶(hù)在市政廳外示威，反對(duì)唐人街內(nèi)及周邊地區(qū)的驅(qū)逐租戶(hù)行為和房地產(chǎn)投機(jī)活動(dòng)。這個(gè)問(wèn)題正引起當(dāng)?shù)孛襟w的關(guān)注。“Ellis Act evictions are like tumours plaguing the housing market in the city,” said Wing Hoo Leung, a resident on the outskirts of Chinatown, who with the help of community groups helped beat eviction five years ago. “This will evolve into an untreatable cancer if we don’t do something. We need to control the real estate speculators.”唐人街周邊地區(qū)的居民Wing Hoo Leung說(shuō)：“《埃利斯法》就像毒瘤，正在困擾這個(gè)城市的住房市場(chǎng)。如果我們不做點(diǎn)什么，它將演變?yōu)椴豢芍斡陌┌Y。我們需要遏制炒房的人。”五年前，在社區(qū)組織的幫助下，Wing Hoo Leung曾參與打擊驅(qū)逐租戶(hù)的行為。