專家建議海南省更名南海省 省內官員提案支援

South China's island province of Hainan should be renamed "Nanhai" Province, meaning "South China Sea" in Putonghua, suggested a former tourism official, which would highlight China's sovereignty over the vast region.

近日，一名國家旅遊局前任官員建議，將中國南方島嶼省份海南省更名為南海省（普通話中意為“中國南海”），這樣就能夠突出顯示中國對該廣大地區的主權。

"The current name 'Hainan' only refers to the island, while 'Nanhai' would fully represent the vastness of the region, which includes over 2 million square kilometers of water," Wei Xiao'an, secretary-general of the China Tourism Leisure Association, told the Global Times

中國旅遊協會休閒度假分會祕書長魏小安在接受《環球時報》採訪時表示：“目前'海南'這個名字僅僅指海南島，而'南海'則可以完全代表該200萬平方公里海域的廣闊地區。”

Wei's comments come after an article he published in 2015 was recently reposted and has gained traction online, with skeptics arguing that the move is unnecessary and would cause lengthy administrative procedures.

在魏小安做出這番評論之前，他在2015年出版的一篇文章最近又被重新報道了，並且在網上吸引了極大的關注，而持懷疑態度的人則認為此舉沒有必要，並且將會導致冗長的行政程式。

Separately, three provincial political advisers from Hainan submitted a proposal to rename the province "Nanhai" at a meeting attended by members of Hainan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in January this year, news portal reported.

據新聞入口網站中國經濟網報道，在今年一月的中國人民政治協商會議海南省委員會的一場會議上，三位海南省政治顧問提交了一份議案，提議將海南更名為“南海”。

They also suggested that Hainan should invite experts and officials to conduct a thorough feasibility study and draft a plan on the renaming "in view of the national interest," said the report.

該報道稱，他們還建議，鑑於國家利益，海南省應該邀請專家和官員進行深入的可行性研究、然後起草更名的計劃。

"Nanhai" could also help strengthen people's awareness of the South China Sea and that China has indisputable sovereignty over the region, Wei noted.

魏小安指出，“南海”這個名字也能夠幫助加強人民對南海的意識，認識到中國對該地區擁有無可爭議的主權。