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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE CONCURRENT
                        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

 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

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