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Hawaii’s World
FOR those of us who figured in the 1988 Governor's Conference on Hawaii's International Role, a dream is about to come true. Pacific Basin
conference in HonoluluThe March 17-22 gathering here of hundreds of key Asia-Pacific business leaders -- a business Pro Bowl -- should be a major help in dispelling the image of Hawaii as only a place for fun in the sun. It is the most important of all Pacific area nongovernmental business gatherings.
Our playland image has deterred many planners from daring to use Hawaii as a serious meeting place.
We have the potential to be a Geneva of the Pacific. Geneva is a playland, too, but has managed to demote that image to second place where international business is concerned.
Our 1988 conference identified significant strengths in Hawaii. Our friendly multicultural background and central location make us a superb meeting place. We are a home for science in astronomy, space tracking, oceanography, volcanology and more.
The U.S. Pacific military command is here. We have first-rate Pacific-oriented educational institutions and the East-West Center. We are a congenial base for footloose think industries and sports competitions.
We still face an uphill climb in our own image-changing efforts but have our best chance yet with the upcoming six days of Pacific Basin Economic Council meetings in Honolulu.
If the gathering is a success, PBEC intends to return in 2002, 2003 and 2004 with time out only for a pre-committed meeting in Japan next year.
PBEC has a membership of 1,000 top-of-the-line business leaders, 700 of whom may actually attend. Besides promoting their own businesses to each other, they will formulate policy recommendations on international trade to take home to their respective governments or economies -- 20 in all. Both China and Taiwan participate.
Good media coverage is expected, particularly in Asia, with a Honolulu dateline on the reports. Perhaps 200 journalists will be on hand.
ATTENDEES also will see the superb new Honolulu Convention Center and may understand why site committees recommended Honolulu for last November's U.S.-hosted meetings of the World Trade Organization (WTO), only to have President Clinton let political considerations dictate its award to Seattle.
Seattle now is best-remembered for street demonstrations by labor and environmental activists that got out of control and prevented or delayed access to its meetings.
It also was a place where the Clinton administration confronted underdeveloped nations with an agenda they were unprepared to swallow. It called for bringing labor representatives and environmentalists into the meeting hall right away instead of allowing time to digest the idea.
There is no warning yet of demonstrations in Honolulu against PBEC and there is hope there will be none of consequence, if only because PBEC is nongovernmental.
As a community we can gain much from a successful PBEC meeting and from fulfillment of the plan to return to Honolulu in future years. PBEC's permanent secretariat is in Honolulu, having been chosen over Singapore.
Its secretary general, Robert G. Lees, has become a respected figure in the business and international community here, known for a boundless supply of enthusiasm that embraces both PBEC and Hawaii.
He was at Seattle for the WTO but does not fear any similar disruptions here. He dared there to remind U.S. leaders that a Honolulu choice for WTO might have been better.
A.A. Smyser is the contributing editor
and former editor of the the Star-Bulletin
His column runs Tuesday and Thursday.