Charges of favoritism, racism
The Chinese province of Hainan has been much in the news lately as the central government prepares to turn it into the country’s largest international free-trade zone. Now the island known as “China’s Hawaii” will sanction a special “gathering zone” for foreign tourists where they can tap into websites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
According to the Reuters news agency, the move would mark a rare departure from China’s restrictions on internet use. Many foreign websites are banned in the name of maintaining social order, which some Chinese disparagingly call the “Great Firewall.”
“Are we establishing the ‘one country, two system’ policy in Mainland China now?” griped Wu Ran, a user on China’s microblogging site Weibo.
Another Weibo user said the setup smacked of “reverse racism,” in which foreigners are allowed internet access that is denied to nationals.
The provincial government says it hopes to boost visitation by 25 percent per year to at least 2 million by 2020. Its plan to draw new tourists includes advertising on foreign broadcasting networks such as BBC and CNN.
The plan did not mention gambling or casinos, but some investors are hoping to see China permit some kind of gaming in the island region. Recent reports indicated that China might allow sports betting or a lottery on Hainan, but the latest speculation focuses more on cashless gaming, in which people play for prizes and perks rather than money.
