Fong looks to China
for next tourism boost

The engine that will drive Hawaii forward is tourism -- and it's just about to be refitted to handle hundreds of thousands of new visitors.

Former U.S. Sen. Hiram Fong -- the nation's first senator of Asian ancestry, who turned 93 on Oct. 15 -- doesn't join those who predict the decline of Hawaii's No. 1 industry.

The cause for his optimism: the economic expansion of China. As that nation grows and prospers, Fong predicts, it will contribute to Hawaii's tourist mix.

"I look at the Far East for growth," he said. "If you have 1 percent of the population moving as tourists, then in Hawaii, you only need 1 percent of those people to travel here."

Looking back, Fong sees that the islands' early Legislatures, including those he served in while Hawaii was a territory, were mistaken in rushing the balance of power toward unions.

"When the Democrats got control of the Legislature (in 1962), they changed the laws and unionized it more than many other states," he said.

"It would be better if we had a more businesslike environment," said Fong, a Republican and self-made millionaire. "There was too much of a liberal element (in the early Legislatures).

"You know, no state is like our state, because we have a big military establishment which provides for a large civilian work force, and now they are all unionized," he added.

Achieving a political balance will take a long time, Fong said: Removing established liberal Democrats hasn't been easy in the past and will be equally difficult in the new millennium.

"Little by little, you have to even the playing field, but it takes time."

Persistence is something Fong can appreciate. A son of poor immigrants from China, he became a Hawaii political force in the postwar era, through retirement from the U.S. Senate in 1977. He has been chairman of some of Hawaii's major firms, including Finance Factors, and Grand Pacific Life Insurance Ltd.

About this Series The Honolulu Star-Bulletin is counting down to year 2000 with this special series. Each installment will chronicle important eras in Hawaii's history, featuring a timeline of that particular period. This is the final installment. Series Archive Project Editor: Lucy Young-Oda Chief Photographer:Dean Sensui