【latex版】水贴

New resorts, cable cars and casinos threaten unspoiled landscapes as tourism sector struggles to balance modernisation and development with conservation

Fred Trinh sometimes closes his eyes and pictures the lane that drew him to Phu Quoc in 2011 – a double row of palm trees, barely concealing the sea, meandering down a red dirt road. But the 39-year-old Vietnamese-Canadian businessman opens his eyes again and reality crashes in. He can barely see that road through the shantytown of migrant workers drawn to the island’s reckless resort boom.

“The first time I came back, I marvelled at its coastlines and just how beautiful, raw and natural it was,” Trinh says of the island in the Gulf of Thailand. “Now bulldozers are cutting up this raw beauty to make it into something more recognisable to tourists – familiar global hotel chains and resorts.”

ased on annual high school play and musical rankings from the magazine Dramatics, which date back to 1938, NPR charted the most popular plays by decade. For a variety of reasons — cast size, family-friendliness, and licensing — the oldies still reign.

Investigations found Guo allegedly accepted bribes “personally and through his family members” in exchange for granting promotions in the military, Xinhua reported, citing the Politburo.  The announcement came ahead of the People’s Liberation Army’s anniversary tomorrow.

The report said that in line with party disciplinary rules, the Central Committee decided on April 9 to put Guo under investigation. “His acts seriously violated party discipline and left a vile impact,” the Politburo said.

Xu Caihou admitted to taking bribes in exchange for granting favors and promotions before dying from bladder cancer in March.

Before retiring in 2012, General Guo had ascended to the apex of China’s military establishment as a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission. He ranked above General Xu, the other vice chairman toppled on corruption charges, and both men served in the Politburo, one of the party’s innermost rings of power.

But starting earlier this year, General Guo went through the now-established pattern of defenestration for Chinese officials charged with graft. In rumors and online, he acquired the nickname of “the wolf of the northwest,” a reference to the region where he had spent time earlier in his career, and also to his reputation for voracious greed.

His family came under scrutiny, and in March the Chinese military confirmed that his son, also a senior officer, was under investigation for corruption. Chinese magazines and newspapers also revealed allegationsthat the son and his wife had enriched themselves in illegal property deals using military-owned land.