International Journalists Talk APEC and Hawaii
About 1,800 journalists from news organizations throughout the Asia-Pacific region are in Honolulu this week to cover APEC.
Civil Beat interviewed several journalists about their experience in Hawaii and at the conference so far. Here’s what they told us.
‘Hawaii is like Vietnam’ 鈥 Except for the Traffic
Hawaii and Vietnam have a lot in common, said Do Duc Hoang with Vietnam Television, Vietnam.
“Hawaii is like Vietnam 鈥 the beach and the sand. I am hoping to see Pearl Harbor,” he said.
Traffic congestion is another story: 鈥淚n Hanoi, there is a lot of traffic. In Hawaii, I can travel slowly, but I can drive and move through traffic.鈥
No complaints about his APEC experience so far. “The room [media center] and staff are very professional,” Do said. “When I came here one day before APEC they did not have anything. When I came one day later, everything was here for journalists.”
APEC in Asia is Preferred
(Cynthia Thurlow/Civil Beat)
Ivan Zakharchenko, Russian journalist with Ria Novosti was unimpressed with the setup at the convention center.
鈥淔or the first time there鈥檚 no free catering for journalists. For the first time, I don鈥檛 see printers here. We could not bring printers with us here to Hawaii,” he said. “America should learn from Asia how to put on APEC.”
“The [APEC] volunteers are very helpful,” he added. “The police with the dogs and checking inside bags were very polite.”
Security is a Cinch
(Nick Castele/Civil Beat)
Cleide Klock, writing for Deutsche Welle, Germany, said security at the convention center is nothing like what she saw as a reporter in New York. She covered three the United Nations General Assemblies.
In New York, authorities shut down the area around the U.N. building. But here in Hawaii, Klock didn鈥檛 even have to go through a metal detector.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so easy,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 thought it would be crazed here.鈥
Klock is a new local, having moved to Hawaii a month ago. She said she鈥檚 already in love with the weather. Oahu reminded her of Florianopolis, the island in southern Brazil where she is from.
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