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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.R. NO.              H.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE RESOLUTION
  REQUESTING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE-PROVINCE RELATIONS OF
   FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN THE STATE OF HAWAII OF THE UNITED STATES
   OF AMERICA AND THE PROVINCE OF THUA THIEN-HUE OF THE
   SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM.



 1       WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii is actively seeking to expand
 2   its international ties and has an abiding interest in
 3   developing goodwill, friendship, and economic relations between
 4   the people of Hawaii and the people of Asian and Pacific
 5   countries; and
 6   
 7       WHEREAS, as part of its effort to achieve this goal, the
 8   State has established a number of sister-state agreements with
 9   provinces in the Pacific region; and
10   
11       WHEREAS, because of the historical relationship between the
12   United States of America and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,
13   there continues to exist valid reasons to promote international
14   friendship and understanding for the mutual benefit of both
15   countries to achieve lasting peace and prosperity, as it serves
16   the common interests of both countries; and
17   
18       WHEREAS, there are historical precedents exemplifying the
19   common desire to maintain a close cultural, commercial, and
20   financial bridge between ethnic Vietnamese living in Hawaii
21   with their relatives, friends, and business counterparts in
22   Vietnam, such as the previously established sister-city
23   relationship between the City and County of Honolulu and the
24   City of Hue, which is the capital of the Province of Thua
25   Thien-Hue; and
26   
27       WHEREAS, a similar state-province relationship between the
28   State and the Province of Thua Thien-Hue, whereby exchanges and
29   cooperation could be established in the areas of business,
30   trade, agriculture, environmentally and culturally sensitive
31   tourism, sports, public health, education, economic development
32   and humanitarian assistance would reinforce and cement this
33   common bridge of understanding and mutual assistance between
34   the ethnic Vietnamese of both the State and the Province of
35   Thua Thien-Hue; and
36   
37       WHEREAS, the Province of Thua Thien-Hue, like Hawaii, has
38   an agricultural-based economy which grows sugar cane, fruits,
39   and flowers, and aquaculture crops, such as shrimp; and

 
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 1   
 2       WHEREAS, the City of Hue, Capital of the Province of Thua
 3   Thien-Hue has been designated as a World Heritage Site by the
 4   United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
 5   Organization because its cultural and natural properties are
 6   considered to be of outstanding universal value and must be
 7   protected; and
 8   
 9       WHEREAS, the Province of Thua Thien-Hue's unique cultural
10   and historical significance is an important resource on which
11   to base tourism; and
12   
13       WHEREAS, Hawaii's expertise in tourism, agriculture, and
14   aquaculture could be shared with the Province of Thua Thien-
15   Hue; now, therefore,
16   
17       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
18   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
19   of 2000, that the Governor of the State of Hawaii, or his
20   designee, be authorized to take all necessary actions to
21   establish a sister-state affiliation with the Province of Thua
22   Thien-Hue; and
23   
24       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature of the State of
25   Hawaii be fully informed of the process in establishing the
26   relationship and be involved in its formalization to the extent
27   practicable; and
28   
29       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Province of Thua Thien-Hue
30   be afforded the privileges and honors to which Hawaii extends
31   to its other sister-states and provinces; and
32   
33       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
34   Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States
35   through his Secretary of State, the Governor of the State of
36   Hawaii, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker
37   of the United States House of Representatives, Hawaii's
38   Congressional Delegation, the President of the Socialist
39   Republic of Vietnam through its San Francisco Consulate
40   General, the Director of Business, Economic Development, and
41   Tourism, and the Governor of the Province of Thua Thien-Hue.