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Editorials
Tuesday, February 22, 2000‘Baywatch’ subsidy
may not be neededTHE plea for state aid to save the television series "Baywatch Hawaii" was much ado about nothing -- or at least the situation was not as serious as it was described to the state Legislature. It appears that "Baywatch" will survive and stay on here without additional state support, which is reassuring. "Baywatch" provides Hawaii's visitor industry with many hours of valuable exposure, but providing more assistance would be a tough call.The issue: The owners of the television series "Baywatch Hawaii" say the executive producer's appeal for state aid was "inappropriate."
There seems to have been miscommunication within the "Baywatch" management. The show's owners said a request for millions of dollars in state aid by the show's executive producer and creator was "inappropriate and ill-timed." The producer, Greg Bonann, had said earlier that the hour-long lifeguard series would be discontinued unless it got another $2.5 million in state aid.
Frank Pantini, vice president of creative service for Pearson Television, said the series will return to Hawaii whether it gets financial aid or not. He said Bonann "went a little bit overboard" in making statements that were not entirely correct. Pantini said the company is discussing with the state some additional help with its budget but declined to discuss specific amounts.
A state House committee has approved a bill that provides state financial assistance to film and television productions. But committee members say it should not be considered a "Baywatch bailout" bill.
There is little doubt that a popular television series based in Hawaii is good for tourism. Until "Baywatch" arrived on the scene a year ago, there had been no long-running Hawaii-based series on TV since "Magnum, P.I." Losing the series would be a setback.
The state agreed to contribute $3.1 million to bring the show here, but it was assumed that would be the end of the subsidy. Bonann's request for more aid was a disappointment.
We generally oppose government subsidies for private business, but when promotional considerations are involved the rules have to be flexible.
Requests for government aid, such as "Baywatch's," should be considered strictly in terms of cost and benefit to the state. On that basis, assistance to the Miss Universe contest, the Pro Bowl and other sports events, and movie and television programs may be justified. However, care must be taken to ensure that the state gets its money's worth.
China’s threat of war
FOUR years ago China tried to intimidate voters in Taiwan's first direct presidential election by launching missiles into the Taiwan Strait and conducting military exercises nearby. The effort didn't work.
Instead it prompted the Clinton administration to dispatch two aircraft carrier groups to the area and created a backlash in favor of Lee Teng-hui, the Kuomintang leader, who won handily.
With another presidential election coming up on March 18, Beijing has issued a new policy paper on Taiwan, warning that continued refusal to negotiate unification might result in war.
This was an addition to previously stated warnings that a declaration of independence or foreign intervention could trigger an attack.
The issuance of the policy paper was evidently timed to affect campaigning for the election, but it's unlikely to produce dramatic changes in the candidates' positions. Public opinion on Taiwan is strongly opposed to unification -- and Taiwan, unlike China, is a democracy, with free elections.
Taiwan's presidential election has turned into a close race between three leading candidates, including the standard-bearer of the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party.
The party advocates independence, but its presidential candidate, Chen Shui-bian, has said that if he was elected he would not declare independence because Taiwan is already a sovereign state. The statement did little to mollify Beijing, which remains suspicious of his intentions and opposed to his candidacy.
James Soong, who appears to be Beijing's preferred candidate, proposes to end a five-decades-old ban on direct trade, transport and mail links between Taiwan and China.
Soong was ousted from the Kuomintang for launching a maverick bid to challenge the ruling party's candidate, Lien Chan, who has also called for closer ties with China, including direct trade, regular summits and a "hot line" between Taipei and Beijing.
The party's position has been that Taiwan should not declare independence but is already a sovereign state. It does not rule out unification, but says it cannot be considered until China becomes democratic.
President Lee incurred China's wrath last year by declaring that negotiations with China should be conducted on a "state-to-state" basis but has refused to back off.
The new policy statement from Beijing must be considered a tactic of psychological warfare rather than an indication of a real intention to initiate an attack on Taiwan.
China knows such an attack would ignite a crisis of huge proportions that could engulf it in a conflict with the United States. But the leadership apparently thinks that a bit of blustering could influence the course of the election. It might -- or it might backfire.
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
