Thousands evacuate as Fukishima nuclear emergency is declared

[Jan Klimkowski]

And this little curiosity via Zero Hedge, denied and probably not true, but....

An Odd Directive From The Chinese Ministry Of Truth: "Delete All Rumors Of Japan Elites Emigrating To Hainan Island"

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/15/2011 13:46 -0400

While we were scouring the latest directives disclosed by the Chinese Ministry of Truth, conveniently leaked on a weekly basis by the China Digital Times, we encountered this oddity:

State Council Information Office: Plans for Japanese to Immigrate to Hainan Island, China

April 2, 2011

From the Ninth Bureau of the State Council Information Office: All websites are asked to monitor interactive spaces and immediately delete rumors similar to the following: "Breaking news: Japanese elites discussing plan to emigrate to Hainan Island, China."

Questions arise: why is China so focused on removing any trace of this rumor? Is it because it is false (probably not the smartest thing, as anyone disseminating it would merely discredit themselves)? Or, perhaps, because it is true?

Pushing the scales to the opinion that it could well be the latter is Bloomberg's report that following massive economic leaks well in advance of Chinese data release (most recently presented on Zero Hedge), "those responsible will be punished."

(snip)

And for those curious, here is an interesting tangent on just what Hainan Island is from Xinhua:

HAIKOU, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Hainan, an island province in southern China, is planning to develop six uninhabited islands this year, according to local official sources.

"The islands are to be developed as tourist sites," said Zhao Zhongshe, head of the Department of Ocean and Fisheries of Hainan Province, stressing that no real estate projects will be developed on the islands.

An island census carried out in the 1980s showed that China had more than 6,500 uninhabited islands, or 93.8 percent of the total number of islands. The results of an ongoing island census will be released this year.

From 2003 to 2005, a frenzy of island development swept China's coastal areas, but was later called off by the central government over conservation concerns.

On March 1 last year China promulgated the "Law on Island Protection", which allows for the development of uninhabited islands with the approval of provincial governments or the State Council.

Under the law, new development projects on uninhabited islands will be subject to strict environmental impact assessments.

However, such development has stirred controversy among those concerned about the difficulty of protecting the islands.

According to Duan Deyu, vice director of the Ocean and Fisheries Bureau of the tourist city of Sanya in Hainan Province, divers destroyed and stole the coral, and tourists spoiled the vegetation of scenic spots.

"We had inspections, but it was hard to control since there are so many tourists," Duan said.

"The uninhabited islands are scattered around and protecting them could be even harder," he added.

An unnamed official in charge of the development of the Wuzhizhou Island, one of six islands set for development, warned of economic risks for investors.

"Enough money and a thorough plan are necessary to build service facilities," he said.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/odd-dir...nan-island