中國疑似封殺韓國遊項目

Beijing is banning Chinese tour groups from visiting South Korea, the latest retaliation against the planned Korean deployment of the US-built Thaad missile shield, according to two people with knowledge of the plans.

根據兩位瞭解相關計劃的人士的說法，中國政府正在禁止中國旅遊團體赴韓國旅遊，這是對韓國擬部署美製薩德(Thaad)反導系統的最新報復手段。

Wang Ki-young, a director at South Korea’s culture ministry, said on Friday that Chinese authorities had ordered tourism agencies in Beijing to halt tours to South Korea from mid-March. Mr Wang said the move would be expanded to other provinces.

韓國文化部一位名叫黃記泳（Wang Ki-young，音譯）的主管週五表示，中國當局已要求北京的旅行社從3月中旬起停止韓國遊項目。黃記泳表示，此舉或擴展至其他省份。

Meanwhile, a salesman from online travel company Tuniu Corp told the Financial Times that it had on Friday “removed all tours to South Korea due to the Thaad issue”. A search for South Korean tours on the website returns the message: “Sorry, we have not found a relevant product.”

與此同時，在線旅遊公司途牛(Tuniu)一名銷售人員告訴英國《金融時報》，該公司週五已“因薩德問題取消了所有韓國遊”。在該網站上搜索韓國遊，會彈出一則消息：“ 抱歉，沒有找到符合條件的產品。”

Written instructions apparently issued by China’s tourism administration, shown to the FT by one Beijing travel agent, order agencies to cancel group tours to South Korea booked for after March 15 and add that companies not in compliance could be fined or have their licences revoked. The tourism administration was not immediately available for comment.

北京一家旅行社向英國《金融時報》展示了一份疑似由中國國家旅遊局發出的書面指示。該文件要求旅行社取消預訂在3月15日之後成行的組團遊，並表示不遵守該指示的企業會被罰款或吊銷執照。中國國家旅遊局未能馬上置評此事。

However, five Beijing-based travel agents said they were still selling South Korea tours for March, as was China’s largest online travel company Ctrip. Representatives at the top three state-owned airline carriers in China told Bloomberg they had not received instructions to halt ticket sales to the country.

不過，五家總部駐北京的旅行社表示，他們仍在銷售3月份的韓國遊產品，而中國最大在線旅遊公司攜程(Ctrip)也做了同樣表態。中國三大國有航空公司的代表向彭博(Bloomberg)表示，他們並未收到要求停止銷售赴韓國機票的指示。

Beijing has responded with increasing rancour against Seoul’s decision to deploy Thaad, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence platform. While South Korea insists the system is for defending itself against North Korean missiles, China fears the technology will allow an ally of the US to spy on its military developments.

對於韓國部署薩德的決定，中國政府已經以越來越大的憤怒加以迴應。儘管韓國堅稱該系統旨在保護韓國免受朝鮮導彈的打擊，中國卻擔心該技術會令這個美國的盟國查探中國的軍事動向。

“This could be just the beginning,” said Michael Na, a strategist in Seoul with Nomura.?“They have so many options to punish Korean businesses.”

野村證券駐首爾策略師Michael Na表示：“這可能只是個開始。要懲罰韓國企業，他們有如此多的選項。”

He added that “almost every major Korean company, including Hyundai Motor and AmorePacific, relies heavily on Chinese sales”.

他還表示“包括現代汽車(Hyundai Motor)和愛茉莉太平洋(AmorePacific)在內，幾乎每家韓國大企業都嚴重依賴對華銷售。”

Shares in Hyundai and AmorePacific slid on Friday, down 4.4 per cent and 12.5 per cent respectively in late afternoon trading in Seoul.

週五，現代和愛茉莉太平洋的股價出現下跌，在首爾下午晚些時候的交易中分別下跌4.4%和12.5%。

Several South Korea-linked entities have already felt Beijing’s wrath in response to the Thaad plans. Chinese state news agency Xinhua last month issued a stark warning to Lotte, one of South Korea’s biggest companies, for giving up land on which the Thaad platform will be hosted.

幾家與韓國有關係的機構已經感受到了北京方面對薩德計劃的怒火。上個月，由於樂天(Lotte)出讓土地用於部署薩德平臺，中國官方新聞機構新華社(Xinhua)向樂天發出了強硬警告。樂天是韓國最大的企業之一。

“Lotte will hurt the Chinese people and the consequences could be severe,” said the report, which followed a string of government probes into the company’s business interests in China.

該報道表示：“樂天將傷害中國人民，後果可能是嚴重的。”該報道發表之後，中國政府對樂天在中國的商業集團開展了多起調查。

Mr Na said that although South Korea had signed a trade agreement with China, there were plenty of other ways in which Beijing could punish Seoul.

Michael Na表示，儘管韓國已經和中國簽署了貿易協議，中國政府仍有足夠多的其他方式懲罰韓國政府。

“If they, say, delay a customary process for Korean imports and take other retaliatory measures on Korean products, there is nothing Korea can do about it,” he said.

他說：“比如說，如果他們拖延從韓國進口的海關流程並採取對韓國商品的其他報復舉措，韓國政府對此將無能爲力。”

Chinese tourism to South Korea has boomed in recent years, delighting retailers but irking domestic tourists who have found the country’s attractions swamped with visitors.

最近幾年，中國赴韓旅遊出現了蓬勃發展，這讓韓國的零售商高興不已，不過也激怒了韓國國內的遊客，因爲他們發現韓國旅遊景點被來訪遊客淹沒。

There were more than 8m Chinese tourist arrivals in the country last year — up 36 per cent year-on-year, said Mr Wang. The numbers had continued to increase even after Seoul announced the deployment of Thaad, he added.

黃記泳表示，去年赴韓旅遊的中國遊客超過800萬人，同比增長36%。他還表示，甚至在韓國政府宣佈部署薩德之後，該數字也曾繼續上升。

China’s tourism administration issued a notice on Friday confirming reports that Chinese travellers had been denied entry to South Korea’s Jeju island in recent months for holding incomplete travel documentation. It reminded citizens to “select travel destinations with caution”.

中國國家旅遊局週五發出通知，確認了最近幾個月中國遊客因所持旅遊文件不完整而被拒進入韓國濟州島的報道。該機構提醒中國公民“慎重選擇旅遊目的地”。

Additional reporting by Tom Hancock in Shanghai

湯姆?漢考克(Tom Hancock)上海補充報道