Editorials
Thursday, September 2, 1999Gore’s embarrassing
Russian friendsONE of the credentials Al Gore has liked to cite in his campaign for the White House is his vice-presidential role in U.S.-Russian diplomacy, but it is beginning to backfire.The issue: Vice President Al Gore has come under fire for his support of a Russian government tainted by charges of corruption.
Reports of alleged money laundering involving billions of dollars channeled through the Bank of New York link Russian organized crime with the highest levels of Russian government. As allegations reach President Boris Yeltsin's inner circle, Gore's proximity is becoming a liability.
Republican presidential candidates Elizabeth Dole and Steve Forbes have been quick to blame Gore for possible diversion of U.S. aid to Russia for illegal uses. In a radio spot, Forbes calls on Dole and Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers to apologize for loans from the International Monetary Fund that the U.S. could have blocked.
Now Gore's Democratic challenger, Bill Bradley, has added his voice, calling American assistance to Russia "misdirected and ineffective."
The former senator from New Jersey and professional basketball star said, "Russia is struggling with its transformation to an open, free-market nation." Bradley declared, "Several factors, including shortsighted U.S. policy, have contributed to this struggle. Our assistance and lending policies have done very little to further our strategic goals, the needs of the Russian people or the cause of Russian reform."
Reform politicians embraced by the West are now in disrepute in Russia because of rampant organized crime that controls 40 percent of the country's economy. Corruption not only has allowed the so-called "Russian mafia" to expand but probably has facilitated its growth.
Placing the blame on Gore is questionable, as cutting off Western aid would not have cleansed Russia. However, a record of unwavering support for a Kremlin reeking of corruption is hardly an asset for an American presidential campaign.
Diplomacy with Russia has become a campaign issue, and Gore has some explaining to do.
Illegal immigrants
The problem of illegal immigration by sea from China is striking closer to home. The Coast Guard intercepted a cargo ship carrying about 75 passengers and crew that had drifted for a month in the North Pacific and towed it to Midway last week.
The passengers were all from China and apparently intent on entering the United States illegally. They were undernourished and dehydrated, but none apparently had more serious health problems. They were housed in a gymnasium on Midway while the vessel, the 140-foot Yu Xing, was being towed to Honolulu.
Immigration officers were interviewing the passengers on Midway to determine their status. If they face no danger of retribution, they will probably be returned to China.
This is the seventh ship carrying illegal Chinese immigrants intercepted in the Pacific in the last five months, and evidently the one that came closest to Hawaii. Others have been stopped off Guam, the U.S. West Coast and British Columbia.
The problem on Guam became so serious that Gov. Carl Gutierrez asked for federal assistance in "a crisis triggered by an escalating mass influx of aliens from the People's Republic of China."
This is a resurgence of a phenomenon that first appeared early in the decade. In 1992 a Taiwanese fishing boat carrying nearly 100 illegal immigrants from China entered Honolulu Harbor but officials detained all of them before they could flee into the city.
The aliens typically pay thousands of dollars to the smugglers for their passage, to be repaid through work in Chinatown sweatshops in major cities such as Los Angeles and New York. The passengers often endure unsanitary and unsafe conditions during the voyage and require medical treatment.
The latest incident should be taken as a warning to local officials to prepare for further smuggling attempts, including possible landings in Hawaii.
Kalalau Valley
Many of the artifacts of Hawaii's pre-Western contact past have been lost, but there is a renewed determination to preserve what has survived. Regrettably, some of the visitors to one of the most remote sites of Hawaiian prehistory have shown scant regard for preservation.
State archaeologists report that campers and long-term squatters have caused extensive damage to stone walls, temples and other archaeological sites in Kalalau Valley on Kauai's Na Pali coast. In addition, illegal campers often leave trash scattered throughout the valley.
Some of the campers do not have the required state permits. Only 60 persons are allowed to camp in the valley each night. A state conservation official said more than 30 persons have been cited for violations in one day, but there are a number of violators who come back repeatedly.
Evidently stronger sanctions are needed to protect this precious resource.
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
