Government Briefs

Five of Taiwan's Pacific Islands allies were among 25 founding members of a new organization to promote "democracy, peace and prosperity." The Democratic Pacific Union is the brainchild of Taiwan Vice President Annette Lu and aims to create among other things a Pacific university and a center for women's development. Solomon Islands Minister of National Planning and Aid Coordination Fred Fono spoke to the inaugural meeting about the shortcomings of globalization.
-GN

CNMI

The general election on Nov. 5 will have four gubernatorial candidates. Incumbent Governor Juan N. Babauta and Lieutenant Governor Diego T. Benavente are seeking re-election under the Republican Party. Former Governor Froilan C. Tenorio and running mate Antonio A. Santos are running as Democrats. Current House Speaker Benigno R. Fitial and Vice Speaker Tim P. Villagomez are candidates of the Covenant Party, while former House Speaker and incumbent House member Heinz S. Hofschneider and David M. Apatang are running as independents.
-FSR

Cook Islands

The Ministry of Education went into damage control to slam the Education For All Global Monitoring Report 2005 by UNESCO that heavily criticized government's commitment to education. The report highlights high dropout as early as primary school levels and recorded the Cook Islands with the lowest budget proportion for education compared to all countries studied in the Asia-Pacific region. Secretary for Education Ken Matheson says that UNESCO figures are incorrect.
-UKM

Papua New Guinea

Global human rights watchdog Human Rights Watch has slammed the Papua New Guinea government for turning a blind eye to police brutality. The organization in a recently released 124-page report entitled "Making Their Own Rules: Police beatings, rape and torture of children in Papua New Guinea" condemned the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary for using "extreme physical violence" against children. The group has urged international donors to pressure the PNG government to take action.
-AR

Kiribati

Commissioner of police Ioeru Tokantetaake has signed the Code of Practice that empowers police to arrest people on the spot for ill-treating children and women. Female sergeant Titan Kabwata is heading a new unit, the Kiribati Police Family Assistance and Sexual Offenses. Tokantetaake says Kiribati is one of the first countries in the region to start this exercise.
-BB

Marshall Islands

Marshall Islands Minister of Finance Brenson Wase warned that soaring government employment is reaching unsustainable levels and needs to be controlled. The government payroll increased from $19 million annually to $30 million between 1999 and 2004.
-GJ

Samoa

Samoa's Parliament has rejected the report by the Swiss based Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), which had investigated a complaint by the Opposition alleging bias by the Speaker Toleafoa Faafisi in his running of Parliament. The complaint followed the banning of Opposition member Dr. Asiata S. Vaai for questioning the impartiality of the speaker. The report by IPU upheld the complaint and recommended reinstatement of the member.
-AT

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands has announced that it will adopt a new "single ballot box" system at the upcoming national elections in early 2006, to replace the current system using one box per candidate that is thought to be open to vote-buying. Cabinet had earlier passed a decision to defer its implementation until after the 2006 elections, citing the need for more education and public awareness. However, in response to widespread reaction from the public, the government was forced to revisit the decision.
-BE

25 YEARS AGO In Pacific Magazine. . . Joseph A. Stoll, Jr., manager of the Guam branch of Merrill Lynch, sits in front of a large color photograph of his family, spreads his hands, and says that Guam's economy will ultimately do well because of the island's stable government, and American-type schools. These factors make it ideal as a regional center for American companies that wish to do business in the Orient. In the same vein, visiting economic specialists John Kavanaugh and Paul Sage advised that Guam would do well to court companies that wish to do business in Asia. Kavanaugh said that hundreds of companies that export to Europe and Latin America do not export to Asia because they are unfamiliar with the area. "Guamanians are not only Americans," explained Kavanaugh, "but Asians as well, and they are comfortable with Asia." However, Matt Lonac, special assistant to Governor Paul Calvo, believes that as a general rule companies prefer to have their offices where they do business. "So far the companies we have approached are not interested in moving to Guam," he said. Senator Al Lamorena, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee of the Guam Legislature, believes that Guam's infrastructure is unable to support a large number of regional offices. "Take the telephone system," he says. Stoll believes that if a private company took it, service would be improved. Jessie Perez of the Guam Economic Development Authority is vehement that it should stay out of private hands, citing the failure of the Franklin Bank and the economic difficulties of Chrysler Corporation as horrible examples of how private enterprise can fail.