IN BRIEF China crack down on golf courses

China have ordered the closure of a sixth of the country’s golf courses since 2011, its top economic planner said, in an ongoing crackdown on a sport controversial for its links with wealthy elites.

China’s ruling Communist Party has an ambivalent relationship with golf. Local authorities have profited from selling land for courses, but they are seen as venues for shady dealmaking between elites and politicians.

Central authorities ordered a nationwide freeze on new golf courses in 2004, which was largely ignored.

Since a fresh crackdown was launched in 2011, 111 of China’s 683 golf courses nationwide were ordered shut, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement posted on its website Sunday.

Operators have voluntarily closed an additional 11, it added. – AFP