Work to be done but forum meets a real need
TEN YEARS AGO, Boao was an obscure fishing village on the east coast of Hainan island. Today it is a jumble of newly constructed villas and hotels where an assortment of government leaders, academics and businessmen have gathered to discuss Asia's future.
The first meeting of the Boao Forum has been pretty chaotic. Dealing with the nearly 1,000 delegates has stretched the resources of organisers and the Hainan provincial authorities. Everything from the hotel rooms to the sound system at the main conference venue has left quite a bit to be desired.
Delegates spent a good part of the first day of the meeting exchanging stories about the confusion at the airport, and the quality of hotel plumbing.
But as the meeting progressed, attitudes changed and a couple of things became apparent. The Boao Forum does address a real need within the region for a place where governments, businessmen and other concerned people can meet.
Despite the growing number of institutions where regional leaders get together, ranging from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) forum, there is no place where businesses and non-governmental groups can meet and exchange ideas with governments.
The question is whether the Boao Forum will actually develop into a truly regional meeting place.
Because of its location in China, and the backing it has received from the Chinese leadership, the Boao Forum is becoming a place where businessmen will gravitate to if they want to do business in China. It is also likely to become the place where leaders from the region will go to meet their Chinese counterparts. In short, Boao is likely to become the preferred place for Chinese leaders to interact with the rest of the world in informal surroundings.
Japan also has indicated that it is likely to use Boao as a meeting place and a testing ground for new ideas. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was one of the few heads of government to come to Boao, bringing with him the man in charge of implementing the Japanese reform programme, Heizo Takenaka. Before it grows, however, Boao will have to be clear about what it is. At present, it is billed as a non-governmental Asian regional forum.
This it certainly is not. For one thing, given the heavy backing of the Chinese Government, it can hardly be described as non-governmental, in the way that the World Economic Forum, which it aspires to emulate, is. It is also not, strictly speaking, a forum for all of Asia. South Asia, the Middle East (or West Asia as it should be properly known) and Central Asia were hardly represented.
Except for Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, there was little representation from Southeast Asia. Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia's Prime Minister, who was present at some of the initial meetings, was a notable absentee this time. His absence is thought to be linked to the sudden resignation of the Boao Forum's first secretary-general, the well-respected Malaysian diplomat Ajit Singh.
Officially, Mr Singh resigned for personal reasons, but it is speculated that the real reason was differences of opinion with Jiang Xiaosong, the property developer who is turning Boao into a resort. Mr Jiang was influential in getting the forum to set up its headquarters at Boao.
The linking of the fortunes of the forum and the development of Boao could detract from the organisation's credibility.
The Boao Forum could develop into a major meeting place for China and the rest of the world. But there is a lot of work to be done to get the concept and the organisation right.
Thomas Abraham is the Post's Editor
