为了美国绿卡 中国富翁扶贫旧金山

Over the next 15 years, the San Francisco Shipyards project will create more than 12,000 housing units, hundreds of acres of parks, 800,000 square feet of retail and 3.1 million square feet for office and commercial research and development, much of it in the chronically impoverished neighborhoods of Bayview-Hunters Point and Candlestick Point. The predominantly black neighborhoods in the area have been labeled the only part of San Francisco experiencing “extreme poverty,” and local homicide rates have been nearly five times the city average.

美国旧金山的造船厂项目，预计在今后的15年时间里，将开发12000套住房、数百英亩公园、80万平方英尺（约7.4万多平方米）的零售店和310万平方英尺（约28万多平方米）的办公、商业研究和发展场地。这些将被开发的地方大部分都在旧金山东南部比较贫困的社区——猎人角和烛台角。这两个社区都是以黑人为主体，是旧金山市唯一被认为是“极度贫困”的社区，而社区的自杀率是该市自杀率的五倍。

The Shipyards project, funded by hundreds of wealthy Chinese investors, aims to change that. The money flowing into the project is part of a recent infusion of Chinese capital breathing life into long-dormant development projects in the Bay Area.

造船厂项目，是由数百位有钱的中国投资者出资创建的，这个项目目的是让当地社区脱贫。造船厂的项目资金是最近中国资本输入的一部分，它为旧金山湾区长期搁置的开发项目带来新的生命。

In exchange for their investment, the Chinese hope to attain American green cards through the federal EB-5 program, which allows foreigners to obtain the residency permits for themselves and their families in exchange for investments of $1 million -- with the threshold for high unemployment areas, like the Shipyards, set at $500,000.

作为交换，这些投资的中国富人希望能够通过联邦的EB-5投资移民项目取得美国绿卡。该项目规定外国人在美投资100万美元即可为投资者及家人获得居住许可。如果投资标的是位于目标就业区，比如旧金山造船厂项目，则投资额可降为50万美元。

“We’re very grateful for the monetary support that our Chinese friends have lent to the city and county of San Francisco to make projects like the Shipyards happen,” said Dr. Veronica Hunnicutt, chairwoman of the local Citizens Advisory Committee, which advocates for community interests on the project. “It’s a model program for the community, city and really the nation.”

当地公民咨询委员会主席维罗妮卡·哈尼卡特博士说：“我们非常感谢中国朋友的资金帮助，因为他们借钱给我们，造船厂这样的项目才建得起来。”当地公民咨询委员会一直是该项目利益的拥护者。维罗妮卡·哈尼卡特博士认为：“这是社区、城市、乃至全国的模范项目。”

Initial plans involved a $1.7 billion loan from the state-owned juggernaut China Development Bank, but when that deal fell through in early 2013, Lennar began to lean heavily on money raised through its EB-5 partner organization, the San Francisco Bay Area Regional Center (SFBARC). Over the past two years, SFBARC has tapped into a groundswell of Chinese interest in the EB-5 program, raising $200 million to date. It plans to raise another $250 million in the coming year.

起初，造船厂项目计划从中国国有的国家开发银行借贷17亿美元，但在2013年初该计划落空，兰纳城市房地产公司就通过与EB-5投资移民机构—“旧金山湾区域中心”（简称SFBARC）的合作，开始融资。在过去的两年里，SFBARC利用了不少EB-5投资移民项目中的中国资本，一共筹集了2亿美元。该机构还打算在未来一年再筹集2.5亿美元。

Though the EB-5 program is open to all foreigners, in recent years it has been dominated by an explosion of interest from wealthy Chinese looking for a route to citizenship abroad. Ginny Fang，CEO of SFBARC，says that more than 80 percent of SFBARC’s clients are Chinese, many of them looking to move their children away from the toxic air and stultifying education system in many Chinese cities. According to Fang, SFBARC’s investors in the project have had a 100 percent success rate in their green card applications.

虽然EB-5移民投资项目向所有外国人开放，但近些年，对此项目最感兴趣的主要是寻求外国公民身份的中国有钱人。SFBARC的CEO方景仪表示，“旧金山湾区区域中心”超过80%的客户是中国人，其中很多人是因为国内空气污染严重、教育体制落后等希望将子女迁离中国。而且，“旧金山湾区区域中心”的投资者通过此项目拿到美国绿卡的成功率是百分之百。

Many involved in the Shipyards project describe it as a showcase of how to leverage Chinese funds for urban renewal. Chinese money is now behind the two largest redevelopment projects in the Bay Area. Oakland’s massive Brooklyn Basin project had languished for lack of funding before Beijing developer Zarsion Holdings Group came in with a pledge of $1.5 billion last year. Like the Shipyards, the Brooklyn Basin project will transform a dilapidated industrial waterfront into a mix of residential, retail and park space.

很多参与造船厂项目的人形容，这是对从中国融资实现城市重建的一次展示。中国的资金现在参与了旧金山湾区两个最大的重建项目。在北京开发商泽信控股集团去年带着15亿资金进驻之前，奥克兰布鲁克林盆地开发计划一直苦于开发资金不足。和造船厂项目一样，布鲁克林盆地开发计划将把一个荒废的工业海滨，打造成一个集居住、购物和公园休憩为一体的综合设施。

"This massive influx of Chinese investment will put thousands of Californians to work and dramatically improve Oakland’s waterfront,” Gov. Jerry Brown (D) said at a signing ceremony for the Brooklyn Basin deal. “This project is just one example of what’s possible when business leaders in two of the world’s most dynamic regions connect.”

在出席布鲁克林盆地开发计划的一次签字仪式上，加州州长、民主党人杰瑞·布朗表示：“中国资金的大规模注入，将为加州提供数千个工作岗位，并显著改善奥克兰海滨。该计划是一个实例，显示了当世界上两个最具活力的地区联系起来时，能发生什么”。