Hawaii showed aloha in search for hikers

Many congratulations to the police, fire department and all the others involved in the rescue of the two Danish girls who were missing and found a week later.

The search for the two hikers has been covered intensely here in the Danish media, and it has touched me deeply how concerned and helpful the people of Hawaii were, and how they handled this situation.

The effort that the search team put into finding the girls, and the hospitality from the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii represented by Darrell Large, who has offered hotel rooms and other support for our countrymen, is overwhelming.

Again many congratulations and thanks to the people of Hawaii.

Esben Stage
Copenhagen, Denmark
Via the Internet

On behalf of the kingdom of Denmark, I would like to thank the Hawaii people for their effort in finding the two Danish hikers. Thanks so much!

Kim Laursen
Via the Internet

Residents share thrill of hikers' happy ending

I don't know any of the details yet, just that the two missing hikers have been found alive and well -- but my heart is singing! It's absolutely wonderful that their families' journey to Hawaii has a happy ending!

I know that my thoughts and feelings are shared by many. I've made many phone calls to share the good news with friends who had expressed their worry and caring. Their hearts are singing along with mine!

Caroline L. Dunn

Quotables "Of course we got scared sometimes. Marianne was scared of spiders and rats the first day, but she got over that." Anitta Winther 20-year-old Danish hiker After she and her friend, Marianne Konnerup, also 20, were found in the Koolau mountains after being lost for eight days "They were gone for so long it's unreal how they survived. After a week, we were looking for a dead body." Thomas Yoza Expert Hawaii hiker Among those who went out in search of the two lost hikers and who finally heard their calls for help

Many Taiwanese support reunification

China has been painfully trying to work with Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui for a peaceful unification through dialogue; Lee finally agreed to this in 1992.

However, since then, Lee has been using excuses not to observe the mutual agreement.

Then, on July 9, he announced that Taiwan is "an independent state."

Now Lee is wasting millions of dollars in Washington, D.C., seeking the support of conservative and anti-China Sens. Jesse Helms and Robert Torricelli. China warned, but Lee has ignored.

It is common sense that any military conflict in the Taiwan Straits is against the best interests of the people of Taiwan and the People's Republic of China as well.

Did you know there are millions of people in Taiwan who opposed Lee's independence movement? How about that?

Any tension or conflict between China and the U.S. is contrary to the best interests of the two countries as well as the peace and prosperity of the East Asia and Pacific region.

Hung Peng Lee
Via the Internet

Kauai fruit stand expansion is questionable

I have been following the expanding fruit stand controversy with growing dismay (Star-Bulletin, Aug. 16, "Fruit stand debate divides Kilauea").

Having lived on Kauai for more than 20 years, I am very attached to the beauty of the green agricultural lands of our island. So I am having trouble understanding why someone who has not obeyed the permitting laws can set up such a huge operation with the potential of pushing our precious ag lands toward commercial use.

The beauty of Kauai is what makes it unique. It's what tourists come to see and what locals love and must preserve at all costs.

Therefore, why does the Kauai Planning Commission allow Kauai Organic Farm's lawyer to abuse the process by presenting last-minute changes to the original proposal without allowing community members even a copy to see, much less an appropriate amount of time to comment?

Leonie Dabancourt
Kapaa, Kauai
Via the Internet

Quotables "Imagine what we could do today. It would be nice and peaceful, but the jails would be crowded." Officer Eddie Croom Curator of the Honolulu Police Department Museum Noting that back in Hawaii in 1904, islanders could be sent to jail for offenses including "peddling fish," "straggling," "violating the Sabbath" and "disturbing the quiet of night"

Governor tries to help minimum-wage earners

Bruce Tetreault (Star-Bulletin letters, Aug. 6) must think there are a lot of blooming idiots in America, because every state has a minimum wage.

Whether one should raise the minimum wage is neither a "dumb question" nor a partisan issue. Indeed, it was a Republican-controlled Congress and a Democratic president who passed a law increasing the federal minimum wage in 1997.

Governor Cayetano is asking whether it's time to raise Hawaii's $5.25 minimum wage as a means of helping over 3,000 people who will have exhausted their five-year maximum eligibility period for welfare assistance by Dec. 1, 2001.

No doubt, the issue is worthy of serious public debate.

Kathleen Racuya-Markrich
Press Secretary
Office of the Governor

Misinformation about Marianas' 'sweatshops'

Your Aug. 11 editorial, "Saipan settlement," continues to purvey misinformation. This is an injustice not only to the Northern Mariana Islands' apparel industry, but to people who aren't aware that it's the NMI vs. the Department of the Interior. This U.S. department is serving as a nerve center for ruination of the Marianas' textile industry on behalf of U.S. textile labor unions.

The single magical pill being proposed by Sen. Daniel Akaka isn't the appropriate answer either. Nor would it resolve age-old beliefs constantly being regurgitated by liberals. Did your newspaper verify such assertions of "beatings, forced abortions, vermin-infested quarters, barbed wire, armed guards and 12-hour work days"? How do these abuses compare to sweatshops in New York and California?

John S. DelRosario, Jr.
Saipan
Via the Internet

Legislature Directory
Hawaii Revised Statutes
UH student news Ka Leo O Hawaii

---

Write a
Letter to the Editor

Want to write a letter to the editor? Let all Star-Bulletin readers know what you think. Please keep your letter to about 200 words. You can send it by e-mail to letters@starbulletin.com or you can fill in the online form for a faster response. Or print it and mail it to: Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or fax it to: 523-8509. Always be sure to include your daytime phone number.