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Hawaii greets Leaders from Hawaii Chinese organizations waved American and Chinese flags yesterday as the man expected to be China's next leader arrived in Honolulu for his first official visit to the United States.
Chinese leader
Hu Jintao kicks off his
first official U.S. visit
with a Waikiki lunchStaff and wire reports
Vice President Hu Jintao gave no speech during his morning arrival at Hickam Air Force Base but issued a prepared statement calling Hawaii "a brilliant pearl on the Pacific Ocean" and "a bridge linking the East and West culture."
Those who attended a luncheon yesterday at Hilton Hawaiian Village said Hu spoke those words in a toast and also paid tribute to Sun Yat-sen, the leader of the 1911 revolution that ended imperial rule who is revered in Taiwan and mainland China as the founder of modern China. Sun Yat-sen was educated at Iolani School and started China's first revolutionary organization in Honolulu.
"The people of Hawaii gave Sun Yat-sen valuable support which China will never forget," he said.
East-West Center president Charles Morrison said Hu, who "spoke from his heart" without notes, "said all the right things."
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About 50 peaceful protesters waved a banner at Hu's motorcade as he arrived at Hilton Hawaiian Village. They demanded China remove missiles from across the Taiwan strait."We just want him to know that Taiwan should be left alone," said Dr. Tsai Naoky of Honolulu, spokesman for the Hawaii chapter of the Taiwanese American Association and the Formosa Association for Public Affairs. "If China would give up the notion that Taiwan is part of China, the tensions in that part of the world will be resolved."
Hu changed from his traveling suit to an aloha shirt for the luncheon at the Hilton attended by 200 Hawaii business and community leaders and applauded as girls from Halau Hula Olana danced past his table.
Miss Aloha Hula 2002, Malia Ann Kawailanamalie Petersen, also performed.
"I read that he had a special interest in dancing so I explained to him about hula," Wei-wei Ojiri of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, which was hosting the luncheon, told the audience.
Ban Chan, president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, said Hu "looks very mild, very gentle and soft spoken."
"He's not well-known right now, but after this trip he will be," Chan said, adding that Hu's visit here could encourage more Chinese visitors and benefit the state's tourism industry.
Hu also acknowledged in the statement Hawaii's increased exchanges with China in recent years. In December, Cayetano led a 60-member delegation to China to promote the state.
"We are honored to be able to host vice president Hu after having been warmly received in his country last December during our state trade mission where we built stronger business, educational and tourism ties between Hawaii and China," the governor said in a written statement.
"We in Hawaii have long felt a special bond with this beautiful country and its more than a billion people as many of our own residents trace their ancestries back to China."
Leaving the luncheon, former governor George Ariyoshi said Hu seemed "very young, very vibrant and very bright."
He said Hu, 59, was a "symbol of change taking place in Asia where the younger people are taking over."
"That's very important," he said. "There comes a time when they need to transition to a younger group of leaders."
Hu's trip, his most significant step yet onto the world stage, will take him from Hawaii to New York and Washington, where he is expected to meet President Bush Wednesday after holding talks with Vice President Dick Cheney.
The U.S. visit is seen as an important step toward building an international profile for Hu, a little-known figure despite his apparent selection to succeed Jiang as Communist Party chief this year and as China's president in 2003.
The few outsiders who have met the 59-year-old Hu in China have described him as bland, competent and enigmatic.
In the afternoon, Hu visited Pearl Harbor where he presented a wreath of purple and white orchids at the USS Arizona Memorial. Then he, Adm. Dennis C. Blair, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, and their wives each dropped an orchid into the water over the sunken hull of the battleship.
Hu is traveling with an entourage that includes his wife, Madame Liu Yongqing and eight cabinet ministers.
Hu's itinerary indicates the Bush administration regards the visit as an important opportunity to get to know him.
Hu will visit the site of the World Trade Center buildings destroyed in the Sept. 11 terror attack in New York tonight. He is slated to meet U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and World Bank President James Wolfensohn. Hu moves on to Washington on Tuesday where he is to meet U.S. Congress leaders and Secretary of State Colin Powell over dinner in the evening.
On Wednesday, he will meet separately with Vice President Dick Cheney and President Bush.
In Washington, Hu is expected to exchange views with Bush and Cheney on closer cooperation on economic and counterterrorism efforts. Hu will fly to San Francisco on Thursday and leave for home Friday.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan earlier said Hu will also strongly reiterate Beijing's stance on the Taiwan issue, "the core issue of Sino-U.S. ties."
China considers Taiwan a renegade province and has threatened to invade the island if it declares independence.
The U.S. regards Beijing as the only legitimate Chinese government, but its 1979 Taiwan Relations Act authorizes Washington to sell defensive arms to Taiwan and includes a clause saying the U.S. would view a military assault by Beijing as a matter of concern.