Low taxes. Duty-free shopping. Sandy beaches. The Communist Party even wants to put people on yachts.
China wants to turn Hainan province, an island the size of Maryland in the South China Sea, into a free-trade port and international commercial hub. The island, with 9.5 million full-time residents, is offering new incentives to transform the snowbird haven into a destination for global companies, jet-setting financiers and sophisticated shoppers alike.
China already has a place like that: Hong Kong, with 7.5 million people. But the future of the former British colony has been thrown into doubt. After last year’s pro-democracy protests, the Chinese government has brought Hong Kong to heel with a stringent national security law and a crackdown on dissenters. It is not clear whether the events have permanently damaged the longtime bastion of economic liberty.