Chapter 53 52. The Voice of Asia in Boao

Since 2001, the Boao Forum for Asia held regularly every year has made this town a symbolic landmark of the rise of China and Asia.Boao is located at the estuary of the Wanquan River in Qionghai City, Hainan Province, China. There are two islands, Dongyu and Yuanyang, in the estuary. There are islands in the water of Boao Port, and there is water in the islands. The waves are scattered and the scenery is beautiful.But what really makes Boao well-known to China and the world is the location of the Asia Forum, Boao.Since then, various five-star hotels, convention centers and golf courses have been established here.Because of the Asia Forum, a non-governmental organization, Boao has become a landmark that symbolizes the rise of Asian countries and China's active participation in international affairs.

Since 2001, Boao, a small town in Qionghai, Hainan, will be bustling for a few days every spring (2003 is autumn).The guests who received the invitation rushed to the appointment to discuss various grand topics at the Boao Forum for Asia.If you look down from the sky, the small town of Boao is just surrounded by water, which seems to be isolated from the world.Most of the participants need to arrive at Haikou Meilan Airport by plane first, then transfer to land transportation from Meilan Airport, and finally arrive at Boao after about two hours of driving.But the setting purpose of the Asia Forum and its topics are mostly about communication.Just as the isolated Swiss town has become the venue of the Davos Forum, people seem to need to discuss issues about the world in a place that seems to have nothing to do with the world.

The rapid development of Asian economies, especially East Asian economies, has contributed to the recovery of Asian self-awareness. The Southeast Asian financial crisis of 1997 did not detract from discussions about Asia, either, because it then quickly repaired itself, and because China and India, the two larger Asian economic miracles, were largely unaffected by that crisis.Some enthusiastic Asian politicians began to seek to set up a forum similar to the Davos Forum to discuss Asian affairs, because compared with the already integrated Europe and the prosperous North American Free Trade Area, Asia seems to be alienated, "Asian countries Although the region and the region have participated in APEC, PECC and other trans-regional international conference organizations, as far as the entire Asian region is concerned, there is still a lack of a truly Asian-led organization that aims to enhance Asian countries, from the interests and perspectives of Asia. A forum organization for exchanges and cooperation between Asian countries and the rest of the world," said a press release distributed to the media at the first meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia in 2001.Asian politicians, including former Australian Prime Minister Stephen Hawke, former Philippine President Ramos, and former Japanese Prime Minister Hososo Ogawa, initiated the establishment of the "Asian Forum" in September 1998.They also suggested that the location of the forum should be in China, because as we all know, China's rapid economic development has made this country the most eye-catching country in this area.

Their result was the "Boao Forum for Asia" established on February 27, 2001 in the small town of Boao.Jiang Zemin, President of China, the host country, said at the inaugural meeting, "As an unofficial international conference organization, the Boao Forum for Asia focuses on Asian countries and regions, and is open to other regions. The venue for high-level dialogue on issues such as economic development, population, and the environment reflects the desire of Asian countries to strengthen dialogue, seek cooperation, and achieve common development in the context of economic globalization." "I fully support this idea."

The Asian political celebrities who attended the inaugural meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia have indicated the level of this forum. They include Nepal's King Birendra, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir, Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen, former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, and former Philippine Prime Minister. President Ramos, former Australian Prime Minister Hawke, former Pakistani President Leghari, former Kazakhstan Prime Minister Tereshchenko, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Manh Chin, and former ASEAN Secretary-General and Indian Singh are acting secretary-generals of the forum.The most provocative words of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the star politician who was controversial because of his adherence to Asian values ​​and outspoken views on Western capital before and after the financial crisis: "Regional cooperation is no longer an option but a necessity." strategy.” “Asia has the right to produce its own ideas, and cannot passively accept the ideas of others... Now we still have to create the value of Asia and create the idea that Asians manage human beings.” Singer also said, “The world lacks Voices of Asia".These politicians are particularly anxious amidst the "end of history" rhetoric.They tried to get rid of the perspective of looking at Asia from the Western standpoint, emphasizing that Asia is no longer a peripheral region of the world, and that its economic rise has made Asia try to compete for the initiative in politics, diplomacy and ideas.

Since then, every year's annual meeting has attracted many Asian politicians, businessmen and scholars. As the host, China will have heavyweight politicians participating in the annual meeting every year. The annual meeting in 2002 was held by Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji In 2003, Chinese President Jiang Zemin met Ramos and other members of the Asian Forum. In 2004, the newly elected President Hu Jintao attended and gave a keynote speech. In 2005, it was Jia Qinglin, Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. In 2006, it was Zeng Qinghong, Vice President of the State. It was Wu Bangguo, chairman of the National People's Congress, and Hu Jintao, president of the country in 2008.The most important Chinese businessmen will also choose to appear here. The heads of some large state-owned enterprises that rarely appear in the media and accept interviews, such as Wang Jianzhou of China Mobile, Fu Chengyu of CNOOC, and Wei Jiafu of COSCO Group are Boao Very active speakers at the Asia Forum, some popular private entrepreneurs are also important participants, such as Jack Ma of Alibaba, Zhang Yue of Broad Air Conditioning, Huang Guangyu of Gome, Ma Huateng of Tencent, Robin Li of Baidu, etc.Pan Shiyi also built his own Kempinski Hotel in Boao, and the Boao Kempinski Hotel designed by South Korean architect Seung Hyo-sang became the place where journalists stayed.Despite being an Asian forum, some world-class celebrities are still popular, such as former US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Microsoft's Bill Gates.

The topics they discussed were almost all-encompassing, from trade barriers, regional cooperation, the dragon-elephant dispute, energy issues, environmental protection, the gap between rich and poor, the competitiveness of Asian companies and global mergers and acquisitions to the Chinese real estate market.Everyone is in high spirits.In addition to the formal forums during the day, at night, some entrepreneurs, scholars and celebrities who have more to say or are not the protagonists in the daytime forums will also organize small open forums to talk about topics of their own interest.Most of these small forums are in the open air, unlike the daytime forums that sit tight in the banquet hall of the hotel. The weather in Boao in April is as pleasant as early summer. Journalists and other participants who are willing to listen can sit around, surrounded by water and wind.

The Boao Forum for Asia also had some iconic events. The most recent and famous example is the meeting between Hu Jintao and Xiao Wanchang at the forum.A reporter asked that it was the sixth time for Xiao Wanchang to attend the annual meeting, but he was not sitting in the first row before. The Taiwanese media were also quite curious.Why can he sit in the first row this time, and what are his considerations?Long Yongtu, secretary-general of the Boao Forum for Asia, replied that the election of Taiwan's leaders took place on March 22, and new results emerged.Mr. Xiao Wanchang's Kuomintang won the election.Taiwan's political situation has not undergone major changes.Therefore, when Mr. Xiao comes this time, we must of course give him the necessary courtesy, which also reflects the reality in Taiwan.Ramos, the chairman of the forum, also said that Xiao Wanchang and the huge Taiwan delegation he brought, as well as the meeting between Xiao Wanchang and Hu Jintao, will be "a breakthrough in cross-strait relations."

"Peaceful rise" was also proposed by Zheng Bijian, vice president of the Central Party School, at the Boao Forum for Asia in 2003. The concept of "peaceful rise" has been highly respected for a period of time. Both Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao mentioned "peaceful rise" in their speeches. In addition, while participating in the Boao Forum for Asia, it has become a common practice for politicians to hold diplomatic meetings, entrepreneurs to discuss cooperation, and even sign cooperation agreements, and scholars and social activists to publicize their ideas and ideas. For example, in 2007 At the Boao Forum for Asia, Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and poor banker, was invited by many entrepreneurs and bankers to discuss possible cooperation after his speech and forum.

Long Yongtu, who was elected as the Secretary-General of the Boao Forum for Asia in 2003, became another keyword related to Boao.Long Yongtu, who graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science, is one of the earliest batch of government-sponsored overseas students in China.He is familiar to most Chinese because of his key role in the negotiations on China's accession to the WTO.From 1992 to 2001, as the chief negotiator of China's accession to the WTO, Long Yongtu spent 10 years in arguing with each other. When China finally successfully joined the World Trade Organization, this man was not tall, wearing a pair of glasses, and had a good body shape. The rather stocky man was immediately regarded as a hero by the whole country.His highest position is the vice minister of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, but in 2003, he resigned from the government position to concentrate on running the Boao Forum for Asia, traveling around the world, inviting guests for the forum, appearing in various media, and promoting Boao Asia The values ​​and philosophy of the forum.Every time since then, the title of "Secretary-General of the Boao Forum for Asia" has been added before his name.It is extremely rare for an organizer of a so-called non-governmental organization to enjoy such a high reputation and status in China, and to be honored as a guest of honor by the media and the government.

The small town of Boao also became famous overnight because of the Asia Forum held here. In 2001, the media reported that the travel company launched a tour route with a price of 3680 yuan.Since the announcement that the Asian Forum will be located in Boao, the number of tourists to Boao has increased by 20%. The Asian Forum has also promoted the construction of the town's infrastructure. With the support of Haizhou City, Hainan Province and the central government, more than 500 million yuan has been invested to improve Boao's infrastructure such as roads, electricity, communications, and water conservancy. A high-standard road has been laid between Qionghai City and Boao Town. Information, fixed telephone, broadband network and other facilities are all available, and the Boao Golden Coast Hot Spring Hotel has been built.” The Golden Coast Hot Spring Hotel, which became part of the venue of the Boao Forum for Asia and where guests stayed in the hotel, was only the beginning of the hotel’s construction. Later, more Hotels and conference centers were established.During the Forum, they are the residences of conference guests and media reporters.After the forum, the customers are tourists who come to travel and play golf - Boao has also built a whole area of ​​golf courses.Because of the Asia Forum, Boao Town has become a new landmark.