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Editorials
Tuesday, March 21, 2000Business meeting is
a chance to shineFOR decades Hawaii's leaders have envisioned a role for the islands as a meeting place of the Pacific, a place where East meets West. That dream has been partially realized in several ways. But the current meeting of the Pacific Basin Economic Council sets a new standard.The issue: The Pacific Basin Economic Council is holding its annual general meeting here for the first time.
PBEC is no insignificant organization. Its members are business leaders representing more than 1,100 businesses in 20 economies. PBEC members account for more than $4 trillion in global sales and employ more than 10 million people.
With about 1,400 business executives from all over the Pacific region in attendance -- as well as several high-ranking present and former government leaders -- the council is holding its annual general meeting here for the first time since its formation in 1967. The hope is that the organization will make Honolulu the permanent site for these meetings.
In addition to the immediate benefits to the visitor industry in hosting a convention of considerable size, the conference offers the potential of new investment in the islands. Seiji Naya, director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, pointed out that the meeting provides "a unique opportunity for Hawaii to showcase our technological capabilities and for our business leaders to meet with their Asia-Pacific counterparts."
This is a chance to counter the widespread impression that Hawaii is nothing more than a playground -- an impression that has worked to the islands' disadvantage. Business executives from many countries in the region can see for themselves that there is a lot more to Hawaii.
The Pacific Basin Economic Council is comprised of private business executives and sets no official government policies.
However, it takes positions on policy issues and can exert influence on government decisions, particularly on trade and investment issues. It also cooperates with international organizations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the World Trade Organization.
THIS year's agenda includes, in addition to trade liberalization, such subjects as sustainable development, economic implications of globalization, a new international financial structure, military security, health care and food systems. These are weighty subjects and the council's deliberations are likely to be reflected in governmental decisions down the line.
Hawaii has obvious advantages as a mid-Pacific meeting place and it's about time that PBEC made use of them. Now that its members have had the opportunity to assess those advantages, we hope they will decide to come back soon.
Waimea rock slide
THE lives of North Shore residents and workers have improved since the state opened a temporary road across the beach at Waimea Bay Saturday.
The road was immediately put to good use -- 11,790 vehicles crossed in the first 24 hours after it was opened. Heavy trucks and buses are barred. This compares to nearly 20,000 vehicles a day before the highway was closed.
Although those immediately affected were understandably impatient, the state got the job done rather quickly. The task now is to implement a permanent solution to the rock slide problem that forced the closing of Kamehameha Highway. State transportation officials are looking at three possible solutions.
These entail cutting back the rock face along the highway by 20 feet, building a so-called avalanche shed, which would serve as a roof over the highway to protect motorists from falling rocks, and extending the highway farther from the rock cliffs.
A Transportation Department spokeswoman said experts will continue to explore the cliffs above the highway while transportation officials ponder the alternatives.
Opening of the temporary road has taken some of the pressure off, but the decision on the permanent solution must be made as soon as possible.
Mass suicide
THERE were fears that the advent of the new millennium would spark mass suicides, and that seems to have happened in Uganda in East Africa, where 330 bodies have been found at a hilltop church after a fire at the compound of the 10-year-old Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God. It was the biggest mass suicide since the 1978 Jonestown, Guiana, suicides of 913 people.
One of the leaders of the sect, Joseph Kibweteere, a former Roman Catholic priest, had reportedly predicted the end of the world last Dec. 31. When that didn't happen, he moved the date up to Dec. 31, 2000.
Following the deadly blaze, rural people who lived near the compound said members had told them about a sighting of the Virgin Mary and said something big was going to happen. Last week, sect members feasted after selling their possessions and telling friends goodbye.
In the wake of the disaster, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni warned the nation's religious leaders against those who might endanger the lives of the unsuspecting. Such warnings seem particularly urgent in this period, when the passing of the millennium stimulates apocalyptic thoughts.
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited PartnershipRupert 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
