China's 'Harmonious and Beautiful Islands' program yields positive results

China's "Harmonious and Beautiful Islands" program has yielded positive results, with the first batch of demonstration islands achieving notable improvements in ecological restoration, green industries and safety governance, the Ministry of Natural Resources said Wednesday.

Over the past three years since the start of the program, a total of 14 ecological protection and restoration projects have been carried out on the first 33 Harmonious and Beautiful Islands, focusing on typical ecosystems, key ecological corridors, rare and endangered species, endemic species and their habitats.

More than 200 kilometers of shoreline, about 1,600 hectares of vegetation and approximately 1,800 hectares of coastal wetlands have been restored. About 660,000 cubic meters of beach sand have been replenished, and more than 70 percent of damaged island ecological areas have been rehabilitated, said the ministry.

The ecological functions of the islands and their surrounding waters have been systematically restored, with steadily increasing biodiversity, the ministry added.

"During the development of the demonstration islands, we have adhered to ecological priority and systematic restoration to build a strong ecological security barrier for the islands. Efforts have been made to promote the ecological transformation of traditional industries in light of local island conditions, along with the establishment of more than 30 national and provincial-level marine pasture demonstration zones. We are exploring ways to achieve coordinated progress between ecological protection and production efficiency," said Xu Guodong, head of the ministry's Department of Sea Area and Island Management.

The program is accelerating the development of island infrastructure, with power supply and communication services basically achieving full coverage. Land-sea transport conditions and public services have also continued to improve.

In addition, by building ecological disaster-reduction systems and smart island governance platforms, the disaster prevention, mitigation and refined governance capabilities of the islands have been continuously enhanced, according to the ministry.

"Looking ahead, we will accelerate the formulation and implementation of construction plans for Harmonious and Beautiful Islands and establish a sound inter-departmental coordination mechanism. We will better demonstrate the creation of Harmonious and Beautiful Islands, and promote their experiences. We will also continue to build a batch of islands that are green with clean beaches, clear waters and abundant resources, so as to spread their experiences to more areas and drive the high-level protection and high-quality development of China's islands," Xu said.

China's 'Harmonious and Beautiful Islands' program yields positive results

Marxist party leaders gathered for the 6th World Socialism Forum, which opened in Beijing on Tuesday, saying they appreciate the Communist Party of China (CPC)'s approach to advancing party self-governance.

At the fifth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee that concluded on Oct 29, the CPC Central Committee adopted a resolution on persevering with full and rigorous Party self-governance, stressing the need to maintain a tough stance against corruption and strengthen checks on and oversight over the exercise of power.

The plenum also called for fortifying the cultural-ethical foundations for championing integrity and disdaining graft, and enhancing coordinated efforts to ensure that officials do not have the audacity, opportunity, or desire to commit corruption.

"It's a question of dealing with its problems, preventing bureaucratization and preventing corruption. It has to win the trust of the people and keep that trust. To maintain that trust, it's necessary to reform itself," said Vinod Moonesinghe, a political bureau member of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka.

Some forum participants also shared their insights on how the CPC's experience could contribute to broader global development.

"Many nations in the Global South are under control of imperialist and colonialist power. China, with its stability, gives also them the possibility to liberate themselves and to give to this Global South nations the possibility to develop themselves and to become independent not only economically but also politically," said Massimiliano Ay, general secretary of the Communist Party of Switzerland.

Marxist party leaders praise CPC's approach to self-governance