On December 23, the opening ceremony of the Huayang South China Sea Exhibition was held in Haikou. Wu Shicun, Chairman of the Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance and Chairman of the Academic Committee of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, and Zhang Zhenming, Deputy Director-General of the Publicity Department of the Hainan Provincial Committee of the CPC, delivered remarks. More than 100 experts, scholars, and representatives from domestic maritime-related administrative agencies, think tanks, universities, enterprises, and relevant government departments attended the ceremony.
Wu Shicun noted that, drawing on extensive and credible historical sources, the Huayang South China Sea Exhibition combines archival documents, visual materials, and historical shipwreck artifacts from the South China Sea to systematically present the history of China's jurisdiction, development, and the livelihoods of its people in the South China Sea. By letting historical facts speak for themselves, the exhibition seeks to clarify certain misperceptions about the South China Sea in international discourse, gradually reshape the international community's accurate understanding of the issue, and expose with solid evidence the "false narratives" advanced by the United States, Western countries, and some claimant states regarding the South China Sea.
The exhibition aims, on the one hand, to present China's claims and rights in the South China Sea to the international community in an objective, fact-based manner, and on the other, to popularize South China Sea knowledge among the domestic public, promote patriotism, and enhance ocean awareness as well as a sense of responsibility for safeguarding South China Sea rights, particularly among the younger generation.
Zhang Zhenming pointed out that the Huayang South China Sea Exhibition is a major outcome of Huayang's efforts to explore new models for the development of new-type privately run think tanks, and a vivid example of building a new paradigm for a China-led narrative on the South China Sea. Looking ahead, he said, the exhibition should continue to enrich its content, deepen research on the South China Sea and Hainan, and develop an original theoretical framework, thereby opening new avenues for telling the "South China Sea story" and the "Chinese story" to the international community.
He added that the Huayang Center should actively explore a distinctive pathway for privately run think tanks, cultivate an internationalized and multidisciplinary talent pool, and better serve national strategies and the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port.
The Huayang South China Sea Exhibition Hall is located within the Haikou office area (Jiangdong New Area) of the Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance, with a floor area of approximately 300 square meters. The exhibition is organized around five themed sections:
(1) Historical Origins of the South China Sea;
(2) History of Safeguarding China's Rights and Interests in the South China Sea by modern Chinese Governments;
(3) Practices of Safeguarding China's Rights and Interests in the South China Sea since the Founding of the People's Republic of China;
(4) South China Sea and the South China Sea islands in Chinese and Foreign Maps;
(5) Selected Research of Huayang Center in support of Major National Strategies Related to the South China Sea.
The exhibition will be open to both domestic and international audiences through a combination of on-site and online formats.
