A cargo ship loaded with containers leaves a port in Haikou, Hainan Province, China, on May 17, 2021. STR/AFP via Getty Images
The Chinese regime has released data in recent days to tout its success with the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) since its launch a month ago. However, the official data don’t match local business owners’ and residents’ lived experience, as they have continued to complain about the sluggish economy and the soaring prices of daily necessities.
Scholars pointed out that the Hainan FTP is not truly a port for free trade, as it’s still under the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) system and isn’t governed by the rule of law or judicial independence from the communist regime.
