Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Travel guide - Where does Christmas Island belong?

Where does Christmas Island belong?

Christmas Island is an Australian overseas territory. It is located 360 kilometers south of Java Island and 1,400 kilometers northwest of Australia. It covers an area of ??135 square kilometers and has a population of 1,960 people (2008). The official language is English, and Cantonese is widely spoken among the Chinese. . It was a territory of Singapore before 1958. 63% of the total population are Chinese, making it one of the few areas in the world where Chinese are the main people, except for China and Singapore.

Phosphate mining is the mainstay of Christmas Island's economy. In addition, tourism is becoming an increasingly important industry. About 70% of the island's area is a national park, with unique flora and fauna resources. You can see the Christmas Island red crab migration that is the only one in the world. There is small-scale food crop cultivation and fishing, but most of the food is imported.

In 1989, in order to protect the natural environment and rare animals and plants, about 70% of Christmas Island was opened as a national park. Since 1992, the Australian government has started a reconstruction plan on Christmas Island. As of January 31, 2002, it had invested A$137 million in infrastructure construction. A casino-hotel complex opened in 1993 and collapsed in April 1998. In January 1998, the Asia Pacific Space Center Company announced plans to build a communications satellite launch base on Christmas Island, with an investment of more than 800 million Australian dollars. The Australian government announced an investment of A$100 million in June 2001 to support the project, part of which was used to expand the existing airport, build a new seaport and expand existing roads.

The residents of the island do not have the right to democratic autonomy. The Australian government appoints a Christmas Island administrator, who is responsible for secretarial, education, postal, police, communications and port tax work. A locally elected council is the political representative of the islanders. Almost all island residents are Australian citizens or residents under the terms of the Christmas Island Act and the Citizenship Act. Primary and secondary education is based on the Australian Curriculum. There is an airport on the island with weekly charter flights; there are roads and a railway used to transport phosphate from the southern plateau to Feiyu Bay Port.