Trump has been taking some heat for indulging in his golf habit. With golf club membership fees running to thousands of dollars a year – far exceeding the salaries of most officials or party members – the rule amounts to a de facto ban. TRUMP I WONT HAVE TIME TO GOLF CODEThe Communist Party, also headed by Xi, forced its members to pack away their clubs when it published a new code of conduct in 2015, detailing a series of punishable acts that range from using public funds to play golf to overspending on meals and overseas trips. Golf has come under particular scrutiny as Xi continues his massive campaign against political corruption, long a lightning rod for public discontent amid a slowing economy and widening income gap. However, local officials, eager for huge profits from selling land, had often ignored the order until Xi decided to enforce it. The Communists banned golf in China after they took power in 1949, denouncing it as a “game for millionaires.”Įven after China re-opened to the outside world and golf emerged again in the mid 1980s – largely as a way to attract foreign investment – Beijing has swung between rejecting and supporting the sport.Ī 2004 nationwide ban on new golf course projects was aimed at preserving natural resources in a country with a severe shortage of water and arable land. President Donald Trump plays golf with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. “It represents a lot of the things he has spent much of his presidency fighting, so it’s hard to envision the government embracing the game any time soon – at least publicly.” “It’s a symbol of the corruption Xi has been railing against,” he added. “For Xi, golf is just such a touchy topic back home, saddled with so much baggage – the optics would be awful, with or without Trump,” said Dan Washburn, author of “The Forbidden Game: Golf and the Chinese Dream,” a book on the tumultuous history of golf in China. Since he came to power nearly five years ago, Xi’s government has shut down scores of golf courses across China and effectively banned the 88 million members of the ruling Communist Party from playing. Xi, an avid soccer fan, isn’t known to be a golfer – and he’s been waging a war on the sport in his country. Trump will host Xi at his exclusive Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach on April 6 and 7, but any suggestion of an outing to the nearby Trump-owned golf courses is likely to land in the rough. It’s the US President’s preferred weekend pastime and one he’s used to strike up a rapport with other world leaders.īut few expect Donald Trump to tee off with Xi Jinping, his Chinese counterpart, in Florida this week.
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