Eyes on Boao

STORY: Eyes on Boao DATELINE: April 19, 2022 LENGTH: 0:01:15 LOCATION: HAIKOU, China CATEGORY: POLITICS/SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of Boao 2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): CHI FULIN, Head, China Institute for Reform and Development 3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): SHI HAOSI, First Party secretary, Shamei Village in Boao STORYLINE: Boao, a coastal town in southern China's island province of Hainan, was an unknown small fishing village with some 16,000 residents two decades ago. In 2001, the beautiful town was chosen to host the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), a non-governmental and non-profit international organization committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries closer to their development goals. Since then, Boao has entered a new era of development. The small village, now the permanent site of the annual conference of the BFA, has transformed into a modern town with an airport, a high speed railway station and high-quality hotels. Over two decades after the inaugural event, the foru