Frontpage words - January 6, 2010
by Kristine Kwok in Beijing
SCMP, page A1 and A7 January 6, 2010
1. China is planning to develop tourism in the disputed Paracel archipelago
- The Parcel archipelago is 'disputed' because both China and Vietnam claim they are part of their country. An archipelago is a group of islands -
2. The State Council announced last week that China planned to turn the Paracels into a tourist destination, prompting protests from Vietnam
- provoking -
3. Details of Beijing's plans ... remain sketchy
- rough, incomplete -
4. formal tourist visits to the islands could start this year following a trial run involving a group of mainland tourists
- test -
5. the only structures are some rudimentary "guesthouses"
- basic -
6. their use would be based on scientific feasibility studies
- studies that find out what is doable and what isn't -
7. a plan was shelved in 2007 after strong protests from Vietnam
- postponed -
8. ..said that China had "indisputable sovereignty" over the islands
- definite ownership -
9. Malaysia has developped a resort on one of its atolls
- islands of coral that encircle a lagoon partially or completely (see image below) -