Editorials
Tuesday, October 8, 1996
Starvation makes
N. Korea vulnerable
REPORTS of food shortages in North Korea are not new, but South Korean President Kim Young-sam has come up with a startling new claim. Kim says about 1,000 North Koreans are believed to be dying every day of starvation. Even the privileged military are facing shortages, Kim told a meeting of government and political party leaders.
This is no propaganda fantasy, although there may be disagreement about the extent of the disaster. International Red Cross officials working in North Korea have reported severe shortages. A spokeswoman for the World Food Program said she thought the figure of 1,000 deaths a day was high, "but the situation there is extremely critical."
The new report underlines the fragility of the standoff between North and South Korea, especially in view of the inscrutable, unpredictable regime in Pyongyang. The famine could threaten the Communist government's grip on the country and prompt it to attack the South as a diversion. The recent capture of a North Korean submarine and capture of the men who went ashore was another unsettling development.
The North Korean economy has collapsed and the government can't afford to buy food. It has appealed for international aid. About 40,000 tons arrived in August and September, some of it purchased with donations by the United States. Even South Korea has helped, but cut off aid after the submarine was discovered.
The Clinton administration should be using the food crisis as leverage to try to get the North Koreans to adopt a more conciliatory policy toward the South. Kim Jong-il, the apparent leader in Pyongyang, is confronted with a crisis. He should be made to realize that the United States is willing to help - provided North Korea changes its belligerent ways.
Candle in the wind
TOMORROW night, from 7 to 8 p.m. at Central Union Church, a candle will be lit for each of the 13 people in Hawaii who have died this year at the hands of their so-called "loved ones." The candlelight vigil, honoring the victims and survivors of domestic violence, is part of the YWCA Week Without Violence and Domestic Violence Awareness Month. On Thursday, starting at noon at Aala Park, a Men's March Against Violence will wend its way to Skygate Park for a rally. Men, women and children will walk in unity to convey their common disdain for domestic abuse. Quite enough wax has been melted already at candlelight vigils for the victims of family violence in Hawaii.
Filling a vacancy
THE state auditor has questioned the use of federal funds to increase the compensation for a Health Department division chief. The explanation - that the salary offered by the state is too low to attract applicants and something had to be done - is persuasive, in view of the nature of the job.
The STD/AIDS Prevention Branch deals with prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS. It seems important enough to keep this position filled with a qualified person that taking such measures was warranted under the circumstances.
Growth at HPU
WHILE the state university struggles with budget cuts, tuition increases and reduced enrollment, a private institution is flourishing. Hawaii Pacific University reports a 6.75 percent increase in enrollment at its two campuses, to 5,512 students. Total enrollment, including students at military bases, is 8,270. It is the 18th consecutive increase in enrollment at HPU.
Growth of private colleges and universities is desirable to provide students with alternatives to the University of Hawaii system. HPU has clearly found a successful formula with its curriculum and its downtown campus, supplemented a few years ago with the former Hawaii Loa campus in Windward Oahu. Meanwhile the UH has seen a 17 percent drop in the freshman class at the Manoa campus.
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited Partnership
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