HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

314

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

encouragING the proliferation of democracy, protection of human rights and economic openness in Vietnam by means of a sister-province affiliation with the Province of Thua Thien-Hue in Vietnam.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, various organizations and numerous individuals have expressed concerned about continued human rights violations and political oppression in despotic regimes, communist states, and other closed political systems whose governments were birthed during the Cold War as satellite and/or client regimes of the former Soviet Union; and

 

     WHEREAS, with the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 26, 1991, people around the world have not only sought after democratic transition in their governments, but also economic openness, making oppressive, controlling governments increasingly under pressure and strain to retain their legitimacy and relevance in the post Cold War World; and

 

     WHEREAS, the development and proliferation of mass communication technologies in the form of mobile phones, PDAs, laptop computers, and the global internet have made physical borders meaningless, and allowed information and ideas to travel freely, despite even the strictest degree of controls; and

 

     WHEREAS, in the September 2003 issue of International Studies Quarterly, a recognized scholarly, peer reviewed academic journal of the American Political Science Association, an article was published entitled "Causes of Peace: Democracy, Interdependence, and International Organizations, 1885–1992" by John R. Oneal, Bruce Russett, and Michael L. Berbaum, noted that "Using distributed-lags analyses, we find that economically important trade does have a substantively important effect in reducing dyadic militarized disputes, even with extensive controls for the influence of past conflict"; and

 

     WHEREAS, the proliferation of democracy and free trade has influenced even traditionally despotic and religiously ultraconservative regimes such as Iran to create "free zones" such as Kish Island, where oppressive controls are greatly relaxed, serving as a vector for democratic infection to the entire government; and

 

     WHEREAS, interaction and regular engagement between the United States of America and the State of Hawaii with Vietnam, may very well increase interdependence and cooperation, thereby resulting in not only improved diplomatic relations, but also the possibility of cultural exchange, leading to heightened calls for democratic reform in Vietnam; and

 

     WHEREAS, there are historical precedents exemplifying the common desire to maintain a close cultural, commercial, and financial bridge between ethnic Vietnamese living in Hawaii and their relatives, friends, and business counterparts in Vietnam, such as the previously established sister-city relationship between the City and County of Honolulu and the City of Hue, which is the capital of the Province of Thua Thien-Hue; and

 

     WHEREAS, a similar state-province relationship between the State and the Province of Thua Thien-Hue, whereby exchanges and cooperation could be established in the areas of business, trade, agriculture, environmentally and culturally sensitive tourism, sports, public health, education, economic development, and humanitarian assistance, would reinforce and cement this common bridge of understanding and mutual assistance between the ethnic Vietnamese of both the State and the Province of Thua Thien-Hue; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Province of Thua Thien-Hue, like Hawaii, has an agricultural economy that is based upon sugar cane, fruits, and flowers, and aquaculture crops, such as shrimp; and

 

     WHEREAS, the city of Hue, capital of the Province of Thua Thien-Hue has been designated as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization because its cultural and natural properties are considered to be of outstanding universal value and must be protected; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Province of Thua Thien-Hue's unique cultural and historical significance and natural beauty are important resources on which to base an environmentally and culturally sensitive tourism industry; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii's long experience and expertise in tourism, agriculture, and aquaculture could be shared with the Province of Thua Thien-Hue; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature encourages the proliferation of democracy, protection of human rights and economic openness in Vietnam by means of a sister-province affiliation with the Province of Thua Thien-Hue in Vietnam; and 

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor is requested to keep the Legislature fully apprised of any progress made in establishing the relationship in order that the Legislature may be involved in its formalization to the extent practicable; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Province of Thua Thien-Hue be afforded the privileges and honors to which Hawaii extends to its other sister-states and provinces; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to:

 

     (1)  The Governor of the State of Hawaii;

     (2)  The Director of the Department of Business, Economic               Development, and Tourism;

     (3)  The President of the United States through the

          Secretary of State;

     (4)  The President of the United States Senate

     (5)  The Speaker of the United States House of                      Representatives;

     (6)  Hawaii's Congressional Delegation;

     (7)  The President of Vietnam through its San Francisco             Consulate General; and

     (8)  The Governor of the Province of Thua Thien-Hue in              Vietnam.

 

 

 

Report Title: 

Legislative recommendations; Hawaii State-province relations with Vietnam