APEC 2011 Hawaii — Live Blog Archive — Nov. 10
Here’s the APEC live blog from Nov. 10.
They may have come to the land of surf and sun — and yet the thousands of reporters covering APEC in Honolulu this week will spend much of their time in a giant windowless room at the Hawaii Convention Center.
The irony is not lost on the journalists.
Read the whole story here.
Posted by on at 7:52PM HST (37 minutes ago)
Another APEC day comes to a close – but we know the parties are just getting started.
Posted by on at 7:40PM HST (49 minutes ago)
It may be fitting that President Barack Obama is staying at the Hilton this week.
The sprawling hotel complex has many buildings to choose from, including one called Alii Tower — alii meaning “chief.”
On its website, the Hilton says Alii Tower guests “experience superior luxury, subtle elegance and personalized services fit for kings and queens.”
The amenities include private guest reception and registration, and a private fitness center, pool, sun terrace and whirlpool.
We figure if the Commander-in-Chief has his choice, Barry O. will stay in the Alii Tower’s Presidential Suite(layout below), which features an expansive parlor the size of three standard hotel rooms “with spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and Waikiki Beach.”
Because of the security zone that will be in place from Friday night until Saturday night, Obama and the First Lady could conceivably stroll along the empty beach between the tower and the Hale Koa hotel next door.
— Chad Blair and Michael Levine
Posted by on at 4:49PM HST (3 hours ago)
The Falun Gong protesters in Hawaii this week have come from across the globe: Taiwan, Japan, South Korea. There are some locals in the crowd, too.
We’ve got the full story.
Posted by on at 4:36PM HST (3 hours ago)
About 100 Hawaiian Telcom employees walked off the job Thursday after labor negotiations fell apart between the phone company and IBEW local 1357.
Picketers wearing signs that read “It’s Not Company Need, It’s Corporate Greed!” filled the sidewalk outside the company’s corporate headquarters on Bishop Street in downtown Honolulu.
The union said it did not time the strike to happen during APEC.
Read KITV’s .
Posted by on at 3:46PM HST (4 hours ago)
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner meets with ASEAN Finance Ministers in Honolulu today. Below are a few pictures taken by Ed Morita from .
Posted by on at 3:27PM HST (5 hours ago)
We’ve updated our story about the Molokai chopper crash. Five bodies pulled from the wreckage.
Big loss for Blue Hawaiian tours — Hawaii’s largest helicopter tour company.
Read the full story.
Posted by on at 3:10PM HST (5 hours ago)
If you thought today’s morning commute was fun, you’re in for a treat!
The Honolulu Department of Transportation Services has just announced that drivers should prepare themselves emotionally for “the temporary closure of major roads, including the H-1 freeway, from time to time through November 15.”
In the middle of this morning’s rush hour, the H-1 and other roads between the airport area and Waikiki were closed for approximately 40 minutes for the arrival of China President Hu Jintao.
U.S. President Barack Obama arrives Friday night, will be headed to Ko Olina over the weekend, and a fundraiser on Monday. The motorcade will be heading to and fro.
And, of course, there are thousands of other government officials from more than a dozen other countries to worry about.
— Michael Levine
Posted by on at 3:02PM HST (5 hours ago)
An influx of tourists from China would be huge for Hawaii’s economy — if only it were easier for them to get a visa.
Delegates from around the globe are in Honolulu this week, which makes it a good time to focus on the local impacts of international relations.
Honolulu City Council members Stanley Chang and Tulsi Gabbard held a press conference this morning to talk about the economic consequences of the United States’ restrictive visa program.
When they do come to Hawaii, Chinese tourists outspend even the Japanese.
Read the full story here: Honolulu Council: Chinese Visitors Could Save U.S. Economy
— Michael Levine
Posted by on at 2:23PM HST (6 hours ago)
Fire crews have pulled four bodies from a helicopter that crashed on east Molokai.
The helicopter belonged to tours. Five names were on the flight manifest, Maui County Spokesman Rod Antone told Civil Beat.
The initial 911 call came at 12:23 p.m., he said.
— Nanea Kalani
Posted by on at 1:35PM HST (6 hours ago)
Three people are dead after a helicopter has crashed on Molokai.
The helicopter went down approximately 300 yards from Kilohana Elementary School.
Kilohana Elementary School Principal Richard Stevens told that the helicopter is on fire, however it does not appear that the flames are spreading.
Ian Gregor, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration Pacific Division, told Civil Beat in an email:
“This is all I know, and it is very preliminary: A helicopter with at least three people on board went down on the east end of Molokai. The helicopter is engulfed in flames. Fire crews told us they pulled three fatalities from the aircraft but don’t know if there is anyone else inside.”
Gregor couldn’t say whether anyone on board is in Hawaii for APEC.
Posted by on at 1:14PM HST (7 hours ago)
China President Hu Jintao smiled and waved on the tarmac before climbing into a car this morning and heading for Waikiki. He stopped traffic (literally) all along the way.
Hu is the first of the big three to land in the islands. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev flies in tomorrow. So does U.S. President Barack Obama, who will be the last of the evening to arrive.
Leaders will be watching closely in Honolulu if Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda brings Japan into talks on theTrans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a step that would leave China conspicuously on the outside of the US-brokered pact, reports.
— Sara Lin
Posted by on at 12:21PM HST (8 hours ago)
It’s been reported that the president and his large entourage — which fly in to Hickam AFB Friday night — will be staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village during APEC. Makes sense, as it is next door to the Hale Koa, where a red-carpet dinner and “cultural program” is scheduled Saturday night.
Civil Beat has learned that the White House has also booked dozens of rooms at the JW Marriott Ihilani Ko Olina. That makes sense, too, as that’s where APEC leaders will lunch on Sunday and where the president will hold a “wrap up” press conference.
Ko Olina is also the location of a on Monday. Maybe the president will play golf all day, giving West Side commuters a break before he jets on to Australia Tuesday morning.
—Chad Blair
Posted by on at 12:02PM HST (8 hours ago)
Posted to Sen. Daniel Inouye’s on Thursday was this photo, from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s appearance at the East-West Center:
Posted by on at 11:53AM HST (8 hours ago)
About 130 Falun Gong activists from all over the world hoped to greet Chinese President Hu Jintao as he arrived in Honolulu for APEC Thursday morning.
The group gathered along Ala Moana Boulevard by Ala Moana Park across from the shopping center, because they had heard Jintao might be passing on the way to his hotel for the international conference. They are here to raise international awareness about Chinese persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, said Nico Chen, an activist from Taiwan.
The activists, hailing from places like Taiwan, San Francisco, New Zealand, Canada and Hawaii, quietly held banners and practiced their five exercises in the grass.
“We knew the presidents of a lot of countries would be here, and we decided maybe we could get help in asking the Chinese government to stop persecution,” Chen said.
Notably missing from the tranquil scene were police. Organizer Ben Maloney from Boston said some officers stopped by earlier and left a business card.
The Falun Gong practitioners said they each paid their own way to be here and raise awareness about their religion.
— Katherine Poythress
Posted by on at 11:20AM HST (9 hours ago)
A member of the Philippine House of Representatives who is known for his critical views on globalization said today that APEC is a “useless organization” that has failed to serve as a nonpartisan, multilateral organization that works on regional problems.
Walden Bello, in his keynote address at the Moana Nui conference, said that Asia-Pacific economies are caught up in a rivalry between the two dominant powers, China and the United States.
Because of that rivalry, the rights of indigenous peoples and migrant workers are being ignored. As well, the growing problem of climate change is wreaking havoc in Asia as seen in droughts, wildfire and floods.
What to do?
“I think people should go out in the streets and protest,” Bello said. “We must make sure the world sees that this (APEC) is an irrelevant meeting from which people are marginalized.”
— Chad Blair
Posted by on at 10:40AM HST (9 hours ago)
State Sen. Will Espero has written a letter to William Aila, director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, asking him to reconsider his decision to close Iolani Palace during the APEC conference.
“If protestors showed up at UH or City Hall, I don’t think these places would be closed down to the public,” Espero wrote. “Why should Iolani Palace be any different? If there is a desire to avoid negative publicity, then I believe it is wrong policy.”
Espero said he agreed that security of the palace is “paramount.” But he suggested that deputy sheriffs from the Capitol could do foot patrols on palace grounds.
“Let us showcase our culture and history to the world,” Espero wrote. “The history of the Hawaiian Kingdom and the monarchy must not be suppressed or hidden due to a handful of protestors.”
— Chad Blair
Posted by on at 10:02AM HST (10 hours ago)
Today’s rush hour backups were an example of what motorcades are going to do to traffic.
It’s going to be a day of traffic delays as world leaders — and their security and entourages — begin arriving in Honolulu, Department of Transportation spokesman Dan Meisenzahl told Civil Beat this morning.
“The real problems are going to be today when the motorcades start hitting the H1 and Nimitz highway,” he said.
Soldiers and police are stationed at overpasses, he said, and will close off traffic so the motorcades can pass through.
Meisenzahl said he saw 10 to 15 minutes delays coming from the east side this morning.
Posted by on at 9:34AM HST (10 hours ago)
The Moana Nui Conference — focused on globalization’s impact on indigenous cultures — kicked off the the first public day of its three-day conference this morning at the Church of the Crossroads near UH Manoa.
Jon Osorio, in his opening remarks, said, “While the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is spending millions and millions of dollars to bring people here and pay for security and cordon off a whole section of this city, this partnership — churches, an international forum on globalization — to put together a conference at something under $25,000. It’s cheap.”
The appreciative audience gathered at the church’s sanctuary laughed and applauded.
The church’s Rev. Kyle Ann Lovett, in her opening prayer, asked for divine guidance “that we might change the paradigm that has held sway for so long … that we might be gentle upon this Earth and meet each other as equals.”
— Chad Blair
Posted by on at 9:15AM HST (11 hours ago)
The next motorcade you spot could be that of China President Hu Jintao, who on Oahu sometime in the past hour.
He is one of the highest profile delegates attending the APEC conference, and he plans to have a bilateral meeting with President Barack Obama on Saturday.
According to Chinese government-run news organization Xinhua News Agency, the Chinese leader will bring toAPEC a message of “improving global economic governance, shifting the growth method, promoting economic globalization and regional economic integration.”
from Xinhua News Agency.
Posted by on at 9:11AM HST (11 hours ago)
Notice issued that everything is running now.
Posted by on at 9:05AM HST (11 hours ago)
Nanea Kalani reports that traffic is moving again…
Posted by on at 9:02AM HST (11 hours ago)
What’s the opposite of a self-fulfilling prophecy? Despite all the talk and anticipation of terrible APEC traffic delays, the H1 west was eerily empty at 8:15 Thursday morning.
It was so quiet, in fact, that when I arrived at the freeway entry ramp from Waialae Avenue, I was nervous I would find a barrier that everyone else knew about and avoided. This is normally rush hour — my least favorite part of the day.
But today, a commute downtown that normally takes me 45 minutes, took 10.
Knock on wood, but I have yet to experience the first APEC-related traffic delay. Heck, if traffic is like this the rest of the week, let’s host APEC from now on.
On a more serious note, it appears from Twitter that a lot of local businesses are granting mini vacations to their employees so they don’t have to battle APEC traffic. Maybe this is why those of us still on the roads are experiencing such smooth commutes.
—Katherine Poythress
Posted by on at 8:59AM HST (11 hours ago)
Jammed at the Middle Street merge.
Westbound H1 temporarily closed by police. Eastbound H1 toward the airport is open, but blocked up with cars that aren’t moving.
Two military helicopters circled overhead nearby before appearing to land at Fort Shafter.
Posted by on at 8:53AM HST (11 hours ago)
“Go West, young man,” that classic motto of American expansionism, has more to do with the Asia-Pacific than ever before.
That was the message in an NPR piece about APEC and the White House’s fundamental shift toward engaging Asia in the 21st century.
Read the , which explains why it may make sense for President Barack Obama to leave Washington in order to exert his global influence.
Then read Civil Beat’s earlier coverage about why the White House believes it’s in the nation’s best interest for Obama to leave the country, despite concerns about jobs at home. The president will travel to Australia and Indonesia after his time in Hawaii.
Posted by on at 8:41AM HST (11 hours ago)
While Honolulu residents are taking to Twitter to vent about APEC-related disruptions, some have their frustrations aimed squarely at Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle. Here’s a sampling:
Read more about what kinds of APEC-related discussions are taking place online.
Posted by on at 7:55AM HST (12 hours ago)
Currency manipulation is one of the issues that President Barack Obama and China President Hu Jintao are expected to discuss during APEC. The two to meet in a bilateral meeting in Honolulu on Saturday.
China has been under intensifying scrutiny on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are split on whether the U.S. should penalize China for undervaluing its currency to gain a trade advantage.
Obama is facing pressure from those who say the U.S. cannot allow the practice to continue. (Sen. Daniel Inouye is among those who warn that penalizing China could prompt a trade war.)
But, as the , the issue is also controversial in China. In an article published on Thursday, the newspaper reports that Obama is expected to argue that — given the economic turmoil in Europe — faster appreciation and a reliance on domestic demand is in China’s interest.
Read the .
Posted by on at 6:47AM HST (13 hours ago)
The U.S. Coast Guard and the Honolulu Police Department say there’s no threat after investigating a “suspicious boat” at Pier 38, according to Hawaii News Now.
The “false alarm” arose after miscommunication with a boat as it approached the shore near the Young Brothers loading dock overnight.
Read the
Posted by on at 6:27AM HST (14 hours ago)
Small businesses across Hawaii were told that APEC would help them flourish. But some businesses near theHawaii Convention Center are seeing profits dip as road closures and traffic keep customers at bay.
The manager of Japanese restaurant Akasaka that the restaurant is losing thousands of dollars per day as a result of the conference. Read the .
Across Waikiki, plate lunch mainstay Rainbow Drive-In seemed similarly frustrated. Check out a Twitter post that the eatery sent out on Wednesday:
Posted by on at 5:51AM HST (14 hours ago)
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has a busy Thursday planned in Honolulu. Here’s a look at what she’s up to, according to the State Department:
• Delivering remarks on “America’s Pacific Century” at the East-West Center
• Bilateral meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi
• Bilateral meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba
• Bilateral meeting with Kevin Rudd
• Bilateral meeting with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang
• Co-hosting a dinner for foreign and trade ministers with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk
Posted by on at 5:36AM HST (14 hours ago)
