GOVERNOR LINGLE TO LEAD BUSINESS, TOURISM AND EDUCATION MISSION TO CHINA AND KOREA
For Immediate Release: May 17, 2005
“Improving Hawai`i’s Economic and Cultural Ties in Asia”
HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle today announced a 10-day mission to China and Republic of Korea, which will expand Hawai`i’s business, educational and cultural opportunities. The mission will focus on six primary tracks: business, education, tourism, architectural and tourism development services, technology and culture and the arts. Trip participants will leave June 8 and return June 19.
“This important mission to China and Korea demonstrates that our Administration is continuing our commitment to strengthen our relationship with our neighbors in Asia to build the kind of economic and cultural relationships that will diversify and enhance Hawai`i’s economy and provide expanded educational opportunities for our young people,” said Governor Lingle.
More than 40 Hawai`i businesses will build on the Governor’s important economic mission by traveling to these Asian countries, on a separate but coordinated business mission organized by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT). University of Hawai`i officials and state legislators will also participate in the mission.
“Last year’s China mission, sponsored by DBEDT, laid a strong foundation for our local businesses and our dynamic island image,” said Ted Liu, DBEDT director. “This year’s mission, which includes Korea, is a natural evolution of our efforts to maintain and build key business and government relationships that will enhance our tourism, economy and state in general.”
Governor Lingle will spend two days each in Shanghai, Beijing and Ghangzhou, during which she will meet with national and local government officials, university officials and a variety of business leaders from China’s emerging markets, from industries such as high-tech and tourism to import-export.
The Governor will also meet with U.S. Ambassador to China, Clark Randt, as well as Hawai`i’s expatriate business leaders and residents.
Major events in Shanghai for the Governor include remarks at the 6th International Symposium on Asia Pacific Architecture. Hawai`i architecture, planning and design companies are showcasing their resort and tourism development talents during “Hawai`i Day” at the symposium.
The Governor will also visit with more than 80 members of China’s travel industry and travel media to promote travel to Hawai`i from China, which was up 34.3 percent in 2004. Shanghai is viewed as a city with huge potential growth for Hawai`i’s travel industry, which hopes to benefit from relaxed visa requirements for Chinese citizens that went into effect this year. Chinese residents can now travel to the U.S. on business and leisure visas for up to 18 months. They can now also travel multiple times back and forth between China and the United States.
“Hawai`i has a tremendous opportunity to benefit from the new visa changes, especially from residents in Shanghai where the demand and financial means to travel is strong,” said Marsha Wienert, Hawai`i tourism liaison. “We also see great potential for increased travel from Korea. Excluding Japan, Korea currently generates more visitors to Hawai`i than any other Asian nation.”
Governor Lingle will tour the Zhangjiang Tech Park and Biotech Center in Shanghai, which the Chinese government has designated to develop its pharmaceutical industry. She will also join officials from the Hawai`i International Film Festival at the Shanghai International Film Festival opening. Shanghai and other areas of China are a potential market for Hawai`i-focused television and film programming. The Administration is working to foster its arts and culture relationship with China and to encourage Chinese film production crews to come to Hawai`i. The Governor will also meet with officials from the National Tourism Administration and China Broadcasting Institute.
“I applaud Governor Lingle for her ambitious travel efforts to improve economic and cultural ties between China and Hawai`i,” said Zhong Jianhua, consul general for the People’s Republic of China in Los Angeles, who will accompany the Governor during the mission.
In Beijing, the Governor is tentatively scheduled to meet with President of the People’s Republic of China Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao as well as preside over the opening of the official Hawai`i Business and Tourism office, which will make Hawai`i only the second U.S. state to be granted an official tourism office by the Chinese government. She will also attend University of Hawai`i Day at Beijing University, where several joint program agreements will be signed in areas such as U.S.-China studies, culinary arts and tourism training.
“We are pleased to be able to offer our students the opportunity to expand their educational and cultural opportunities,” said David McClain, University of Hawai`i interim president. “The University of Hawai`i system will continue to promote our education and training services which are among the very best in the nation.”
Governor Lingle will visit China’s equivalent to Silicon Valley, Zhongguancun Tech Park, to witness the signing of a technology collaboration agreement between the DBEDT agency that fosters Hawai`i’s tech development, High Technology Development Corporation (HTDC), and Zhongguancun International Incubator, Inc. (ZII). The agreement will result in the opening of the state’s first technology development office outside Hawai`i which will be located at ZII’s incubator site in the Tech Park. The two organizations will support the development of their respective technology markets by providing mutual incubator space for interested tech companies doing business in Hawai`i and China.
In Beijing, Hawai`i’s Integrated Development Group (IDG) of 10 Hawai`i architecture, design and planning companies will sign an agreement with the government of the Tibetan Autonomous Region to build a world-class resort in Lhasa, Tibet. This resort, the first of its kind in Tibet, will incorporate elements of Tibetan architecture and culture into the design. The Tibetan government is also expected to sign a tourism training agreement with Brigham Young University-Hawai`i.
In Guangzhou, China’s largest and most prosperous southern city, Governor Lingle will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the State of Hawai`i-Guangdong Province Sister-State relationship. Governor Lingle is the first sitting Governor to visit this Province and will sign an anniversary reaffirmation agreement. Eighty percent of Hawai`i’s Chinese residents trace their roots to the Guangdong Province. Governor Lingle and delegates will attend a “Gala Hawai`i” cultural concert for 3,000 people to celebrate this special Hawai`i-Guangdong relationship. The Guangdong Province is China’s manufacturing powerhouse, producing 40 percent of the country’s exports.
The Governor will also preside over a UH system-wide agreement with Zhongshan University
(Sun Yat Sen University). The agreement includes special programs conducted by UH-Hilo’s U.S.-China Center and a proposed agreement for a joint executive Masters of Business Administration with UH-Manoa’s College of Business Administration. The Governor will address students and government officials on the topic of “Leadership in the 21st Century—The Vital Government-Education Partnership.”
Governor Lingle will visit the birthplace of China’s first post-revolutionary president, Sun Yat Sen, who was educated in Hawai`i, as well as meet with members of the Hawai`i Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
Governor Lingle will spend four days in South Korea where she will meet with national and local government officials. The Governor will primarily focus on improving Hawai`i’s ties with the local tourism industry and encourage future business and tourism opportunities for Korean investors and travelers. She will greet U.S. military officials and visit Hawai`i-based troops, as well as visit the well-fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that serves as the border between North and South Korea.
The Governor will meet with Korean Airlines President and CEO Yang Ho-Cho as well as key Korean travel industry leaders at the “Aloha Festival Dinner” sponsored by Hawai`i Tourism Korea. She will discuss Hawai`i’s ongoing business ties with more than 100 Korean executives who regularly do business in Hawai`i, and open the Hawai`i Business Briefing for Korean investors and business leaders.
Governor Lingle will tentatively meet with Korean Prime Minister Lee Hae-Chan and is scheduled to meet with the Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon. The Governor will travel to the island of Jeju, Korea’s popular travel destination, to re-emphasize the importance of Hawai`i’s Sister-Province relationship during a meeting with Jeju’s Governor, Kim Tae-Hwan.
The Governor’s final day will be spent visiting and thanking Hawai`i-based troops in Seoul during “Military `Ohana Day” before returning to Hawai`i.
“Governor Lingle has made it an absolute priority to visit with our local troops every chance she gets,” said Major General Robert Lee, state adjutant general. “It is important for them to know that we, along with their families and friends, miss them and support their great service to this country.”
Governor Lingle and two other staff members’ expenses will be paid for with state funds, while three other staff members will personally pay for their trip expenses. Other expenses for three cabinet members and government officials will be paid for by their department’s respective budgets. Expenses for DBEDT attendees will be paid for out of its budget and partially underwritten by local businesses taking part in the trip. The mission is expected to cost the following for the Office of the Governor: $16,500; Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism: $47,650; University of Hawai`i: $50,000; Hawai`i Tourism Authority: $5,000; Department of Defense: $11,600.
This mission is open to businesses, organizations and individuals who are interested in taking advantage of the numerous economic and cultural opportunities in China and Korea.
During the trip, Hawai`i businesses and entertainers will be promoting music, performing arts, visual arts, film and digital media and arts-related product development. Highlighting this mission will be a series of concert performances in each of the cities featuring Grammy nominee Amy Hanaiali`i, the Ka`ala Boys and performers from the Polynesian Cultural Center.
Overview of the Governor's 2005 China-Korea Mission (PDF format)
Highlights of Governor Lingle's Itinerary for 2005 China-Korea Mission (PDF format)
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For more information, contact:
Lenny Klompus
Senior Advisor – Communications
Phone: 808-586-7708
Russell Pang
Chief of Media Relations
Phone: 808-586-0043
Ramsay Wharton
Communications Specialist
Phone: 808-586-7257
Francis Lum
Chief of Protocol
Phone: 808-586-0004
Ted Liu
DBEDT Director
Phone: 808-586-2355
Marsha Wienert
Tourism Liaison
Phone: 808-586-2362
Major General Robert G.F. Lee
State Adjutant General
Phone: 808-733-4246
