SYDNEY - One of Australia's government tourism agencies, Destination New South Wales (NSW), launched a new campaign Monday that will see Chinese tourists brought to rural communities in parts of the state. The move is part of a partnership with a travel agency in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Over 1.2 million Chinese tourists made their way to Australia last year, with that figure set to increase exponentially over the next decade, and this program aims to take the incoming visitors off the regular beaten track, and bring them to two of Australia's most picturesque towns, Dubbo and Mudgee. Minister for Tourism in NSW Adam Marshall said in a statement that this is the first time a campaign has partnered with an overseas agency to bring tourists directly to these rural local hubs. "The aim of this campaign is to encourage travellers to explore rural and regional areas of our state by extending their trip beyond the fringes of Sydney," Marshall said. "This campaign is expected to initially deliver around 500 tourists to different towns across rural and regional NSW, who will inject almost 1 million Australian dollars (739,700 US dollars) into those local economies." Troy Grant, a NSW minister who is the local representative from Dubbo lauded the move, saying that the tourists from China will relish the "beautiful landscapes, delicious produce, and attractions," including the zoo, that the area has to offer. "The positive flow-on effects of this campaign will be felt with more overnight stays and more tourist dollars ending up in the pockets of local businesspeople," Grant said. The Year of Tourism between China and Australia 2017 is crucial from a trade, geopolitical, and tourism perspective, according to Tourism Australia managing director John O'Sullivan, who said earlier in the year that one of the other key benefits, is shared culture. "This partnership is about the understanding of countries, and the understanding of cultures, and in both countries, tourism is a big business," O'Sullivan said. Mudgee, named by the original Australian Indigenous people, translates to "nest in the hills" and is known worldwide as a top red wine producing region with many wineries to explore. Dubbo is home to the Taronga Western Plains Zoo, which houses over 700 animals who are able to roam its 300 hectares of land. As part of the campaign, China's tourists to Australia will visit the zoo in Dubbo, travel the next day for winery tours in Mudgee, and then travel back to Sydney, via the Blue Mountains region. tyvek event wristbandscustom rubber bandsblack rubber wristbands24 hour wristbands coupon codedebossed wristband24 hour wristbandscustom rubber bracelets
An aerial view of Yongxing Island, home to the government of Sansha, China's southernmost city. [Photo/Xinhua] Resolution sought after agency moved under Armed Police Force National lawmakers on Friday passed a resolution specifying the authority and responsibilities of the newly reshuffled China Coast Guard. The resolution, which serves as the legal basis for the Coast Guard, makes it clear that the force is tasked with cracking down on illegal activities at sea, safeguarding security and order of maritime operations, protecting the marine environment and ecosystems, regulating the fishing industry, and coordinating and training local governments' maritime law enforcement. It also lists responsibilities mentioned in current laws that now belong to multiple government departments but will be assigned to the Coast Guard. The resolution was adopted at the bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the top legislature. General Wang Ning, commander of the Armed Police Force, said that existing rules on the Coast Guard's powers and responsibilities have become outdated. They need to be modified for the force to carry out maritime law enforcement operations with the move from the former State Oceanic Administration to the Armed Police Force, he said. The Coast Guard now has new command systems, operational mechanisms and coordination patterns, he said, while briefing the legislators about the draft resolution on Tuesday. In addition, some clauses in current laws and regulations pertaining to the Coast Guard have become inconsistent with the force's new status and missions, so amendments are necessary, he said. Amending multiple laws, however, usually takes a long time. Timely passage of a specific resolution on the Coast Guard's new authority and responsibilities was needed to grant a legal basis for the new force's operations, Wang said. The Coast Guard was established in July 2013 as a result of a government reorganization, merging several organs administered by separate government departments that independently conducted law enforcement operations on the sea, such as the maritime police under the public security authorities and anti-smuggling police under the General Administration of Customs. It was affiliated with the State Oceanic Administration but also took guidance and instructions from the Ministry of Public Security. In March, the central leadership issued a massive reform plan of many bodies of the Communist Party of China and the central government, which included the transfer of the Coast Guard to the Armed Police Force. The Coast Guard is now undertaking a host of reform measures arranged by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Central Military Commission, Wang said. The Armed Police Force itself was placed under the unified control of the CPC Central Committee and Central Military Commission as of January. Under the new command chain, Armed Police units take orders directly from the force's headquarters, which, likewise, follows directives from the Central Military Commission instead of instructions from both the commission and the State Council. Cao Yin contributed to this story.
