Editorials
Wednesday, September 25, 1996
Ethics rulings on
golf invitations for officials
IT has been a common practice for state and county officials to play in pro-am golf tournaments and accept sets of golf clubs as mementos, but it was always a bad idea. Now it's official: The state Ethics Commission has ruled that the practice of playing in exclusive tournaments violates the state ethics code if the invitations were extended in order to influence actions by the state. Even if there are no efforts to influence a state official's decisions, officials are prohibited from accepting golf clubs and other expensive gifts that tournament participants receive.
The ruling came in the form of advisory opinions and carried no penalties for the officials involved. Although none of the officials was identified in the opinions, former Budget Director Yukio Takemoto acknowledged that he was among them.
The commission's executive director, Daniel Mollway, explained that it did not recommend sanctions because it gave the officials the "benefit of the doubt" and assumed they did not realize they were in violation. Participation in golf tournaments had become "customary or traditional" for officials, which could have left the impression that it was permitted.
That will no longer be the case. The act of making the advisory opinions public serves notice that such practices will no longer be tolerated. Officials should go farther and reject golf tournament invitations even in the absence of any attempt to influence decisions, because acceptance could raise suspicion.
There is no need to prohibit acceptance by officials and legislators of small gifts of nominal value, but this goes well beyond that. Hawaii officials should be held to a higher standard if they are to regain the public's trust. These rulings will help.
Disputed islands
A potentially dangerous dispute involving Japan, China and Taiwan is festering over a chain of tiny islands northeast of Taiwan. Although the governments involved are trying to play down the controversy, nationalists seem bent on inflaming the issue. The dispute has spread as far as Honolulu's Chinatown, where signatures have been collected on protest petitions. Demonstrations against alleged Japanese militarism have been held in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
The uninhabited islets and reefs involved are called the Senkakus in Japanese and the Diaoyus in Chinese and lie 100 miles northeast of Taiwan. The dispute has transcended ideological differences to unite Taiwan and mainland Chinese against Japan in a revival of old animosities.
The United States does not have a direct role in this conflict, but the presence of the U.S. Seventh Fleet could provide a restraining effect if violence seemed imminent.. This is another example of the value of the continued U.S. military and naval presence in East Asia.
University funding
ALTHOUGH the pain suffered by the University of Hawaii as a result of state-mandated budget cuts is real, it is hardly unusual. Many state universities have experienced cuts of similar or even greater magnitude in recent years when the economy went into recession and state revenues fell. But some have fared better than the UH because they have become less dependent on state funding and obtained private donations to take up the slack.
Efforts to attract private contributions, particularly from UH alumni, were virtually nonexistent for many years but are now being made on a limited scale. Like alumni of private institutions and other state universities, UH alumni will have to realize they have a responsibility to give back to the university that provided them with an education. More corporate contributions also should be solicited. Increasing tuition, although painful, is another essential step.
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Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor