THE NEW regional honorary consul for China, Wang Tsanfen, visited Phuket today and was asked whether it was possible to establish an honorary consul specifically for Phuket.

The suggestion was made by Vice Governor Treerayut Eamtakul, who met Ms Wang because the Governor, Wichai Praisa-ngob, was at a meeting in Bangkok.

Vice Governor Treerayut said that Chinese people were becoming an important tourism target for Phuket so establishing an honorary consul on Phuket made sense. Ms Wang is based at Haad Yai, in Songkla province.

The third innovative quarterly meeting of Phuket's honorary consuls next month is expected to be broadened with invitations going to the US embassy, China and Japan to also send representatives. Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore may also be invited.

Phuket's ''mini-UN'' has so far seen the 16 honorary consuls based on Phuket or their representatives gather twice so far this year to discuss important issues with about 16 of Phuket's top authorities, including the Governor and police chiefs.

Today Ms Wang thanked Vice Governor Treerayut for prompt notification whenever Chinese citizens were in trouble, one of several initiatives that the honorary consuls have consistently raised.

The meeting has become the most clear avenue for raising the collective concerns of tourists and expat residents. As a two-way exchange of ideas, it has also allowed Phuket authorities to make suggestions, too, to the honorary consuls.

At the last meeting, Phuket police released details of the number of expats who have been involved in crimes as victims and perpetrators, demolishing the well-entrenched myth that crimes involving expats as victims on Phuket are excessively large in number.

Ms Wang's predecessor was involved in raising the issue of extortion by jet-ski operators on Phuket last year, helping to prompt the introduction of a world-first insurance scheme that appears to have eased the number of rip-offs.