Sansha City to administer South China Sea
The State Council, or China's cabinet, approved the establishment of Sansha, a prefectural-level city in south China's Hainan province, to administer the Xisha (Paracels) , Zhongsha (Middles Sands) and Nansha (Spratlys) islands and their surrounding waters in the South China Sea on June 21.
"We began maritime management there soon after the State Council's decision was made," a spokesman with the Hainan Maritime Safety Administration said Thursday.
Maritime personnel are working to build infrastructure, buoy tenders, supply bases, light stations and radio stations in order to enhance maritime supervision and rescue capabilities, the spokesman said.
Maritime authorities are also studying sea travel routes in the area and considering introducing new laws to regulate traffic, as Sansha will develop its own tourism industry in the future and receive more ships, he said.
In addition, the Hainan Maritime Safety Administration is now researching the disposal of waste and pollutants and the supervision of yachts in an effort to keep a clean marine environment, the spokesman added.
"We are also planning to cruise regularly in the area in the future and set up a daily cruise mechanism when conditions are ripe," he said.
China on Tuesday set up an organizing committee for the legislative body of Sansha, officially beginning the formation of the government of the newly established city.
The government seat of Sansha will be stationed on Yongxing Island, part of the Xisha Islands.
Sansha administers over 200 islets, sandbanks and reefs in the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha islands.
China said it first discovered and named the reefs, islets and surrounding waters of Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha islands. In 1959, it became the first country to set up an administrative office to exercise sovereignty over the area.
By Lu Hui. Xinhua
Mayor elected in China's newly established Sansha city
Representatives pose for group pictures after the first session of the first Sansha Municipal People's Congress held on Yongxing Island, the government seat of Sansha City, in south China's Hainan province, July 23, 2012. Forty-five deputies to the municipal people's congress attended the first session of the first Sansha Municipal People's Congress and cast their votes. Xiao Jie was elected the first mayor of the newly established Sansha city Monday afternoon. (Xinhua/Hou Jiansen)
YONGXING ISLAND, Hainan, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The newly established city of Sansha in the South China Sea elected its first mayor Monday afternoon.
Xiao Jie, 51, head of the Hainan Provincial Agriculture Department, was elected mayor in the first session of the first Sansha Municipal People's Congress held on Yongxing Island, the government seat of the city.
Xiao was also appointed secretary of the Sansha Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
Fu Zhuang, 56, deputy director of Hainan Provincial Civil Air Defence Office, was elected director of the standing committee of Sansha Municipal People's Congress, the city's legislative body.
The legislative conference also elected three deputy mayors, head of the city's intermediate people's court and procuratorate. It also elected another five members of the standing committee of the Sansha Municipal People's Congress.
"It's a great honor to be the first mayor of Sansha, and it's also a brand new mission, challenge and test for me," said Xiao.
The first Sansha municipal government will be devoted to administrative management, economic development, people's livelihoods and environment protection in the coming five years, Xiao said.
The deputies and members of the standing committee of the municipal People's Congress should make positive contributions to the management, development and protection of the islands as well as the sea waters surrounding Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha, said Fu.
Forty-five deputies to the municipal people's congress attended the first session of the first Sansha Municipal People's Congress and cast their votes.
The deputies, divided into groups from the Xisha, Nansha and Zhongsha islands, were elected Saturday by 1,100 residents from the islands.
The State Council, or China's cabinet, in June approved the establishment of Sansha, a prefectural-level city in south China's Hainan province to administer the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha islands and the surrounding waters in the South China Sea.
China's central military authority has approved the formation and deployment of a military garrison in Sansha.
Sources with the People's Liberation Army Guangzhou Military Command said Friday that the Central Military Commission had authorized it to form a garrison command in the city.
Yongxing Island is part of the Xisha Islands.
HAIKOU: Maritime management has begun in the newly established city of Sansha in the South China Sea, as local Chinese authorities hope to enhance maritime safety there and protect the environment.
The building on Yongping Island will be home to the Sansha city government. [File photo]The State Council, or China's cabinet, approved the establishment of Sansha, a prefectural-level city in south China's Hainan province, to administer the Xisha (Paracels) , Zhongsha (Middles Sands) and Nansha (Spratlys) islands and their surrounding waters in the South China Sea on June 21.
"We began maritime management there soon after the State Council's decision was made," a spokesman with the Hainan Maritime Safety Administration said Thursday.
Maritime personnel are working to build infrastructure, buoy tenders, supply bases, light stations and radio stations in order to enhance maritime supervision and rescue capabilities, the spokesman said.
Maritime authorities are also studying sea travel routes in the area and considering introducing new laws to regulate traffic, as Sansha will develop its own tourism industry in the future and receive more ships, he said.
In addition, the Hainan Maritime Safety Administration is now researching the disposal of waste and pollutants and the supervision of yachts in an effort to keep a clean marine environment, the spokesman added.
"We are also planning to cruise regularly in the area in the future and set up a daily cruise mechanism when conditions are ripe," he said.
China on Tuesday set up an organizing committee for the legislative body of Sansha, officially beginning the formation of the government of the newly established city.
The government seat of Sansha will be stationed on Yongxing Island, part of the Xisha Islands.
Sansha administers over 200 islets, sandbanks and reefs in the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha islands.
China said it first discovered and named the reefs, islets and surrounding waters of Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha islands. In 1959, it became the first country to set up an administrative office to exercise sovereignty over the area.
By Lu Hui. Xinhua
Mayor elected in China's newly established Sansha city
Representatives pose for group pictures after the first session of the first Sansha Municipal People's Congress held on Yongxing Island, the government seat of Sansha City, in south China's Hainan province, July 23, 2012. Forty-five deputies to the municipal people's congress attended the first session of the first Sansha Municipal People's Congress and cast their votes. Xiao Jie was elected the first mayor of the newly established Sansha city Monday afternoon. (Xinhua/Hou Jiansen)
YONGXING ISLAND, Hainan, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The newly established city of Sansha in the South China Sea elected its first mayor Monday afternoon.
Xiao Jie, 51, head of the Hainan Provincial Agriculture Department, was elected mayor in the first session of the first Sansha Municipal People's Congress held on Yongxing Island, the government seat of the city.
Xiao was also appointed secretary of the Sansha Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
Fu Zhuang, 56, deputy director of Hainan Provincial Civil Air Defence Office, was elected director of the standing committee of Sansha Municipal People's Congress, the city's legislative body.
The legislative conference also elected three deputy mayors, head of the city's intermediate people's court and procuratorate. It also elected another five members of the standing committee of the Sansha Municipal People's Congress.
"It's a great honor to be the first mayor of Sansha, and it's also a brand new mission, challenge and test for me," said Xiao.
The first Sansha municipal government will be devoted to administrative management, economic development, people's livelihoods and environment protection in the coming five years, Xiao said.
The deputies and members of the standing committee of the municipal People's Congress should make positive contributions to the management, development and protection of the islands as well as the sea waters surrounding Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha, said Fu.
Forty-five deputies to the municipal people's congress attended the first session of the first Sansha Municipal People's Congress and cast their votes.
The deputies, divided into groups from the Xisha, Nansha and Zhongsha islands, were elected Saturday by 1,100 residents from the islands.
The State Council, or China's cabinet, in June approved the establishment of Sansha, a prefectural-level city in south China's Hainan province to administer the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha islands and the surrounding waters in the South China Sea.
China's central military authority has approved the formation and deployment of a military garrison in Sansha.
Sources with the People's Liberation Army Guangzhou Military Command said Friday that the Central Military Commission had authorized it to form a garrison command in the city.
Yongxing Island is part of the Xisha Islands.
