HILO — All they are saying is give peace a chance.
HILO — All they are saying is give peace a chance.
Two County Council members are sponsoring a nonbinding resolution urging the United States to seek a peaceful and diplomatic solution to reduce tensions between the United States and North Korea.
The resolution, if passed Wednesday by the council, would be sent to President Donald Trump, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the U.S. secretaries of state and defense, Hawaii’s congressional delegation, Hawaii County mayor and Hawaii governor.
Koohan Paik, who is involved in an Asia-Pacific peace group, asked the two council members to sponsor the resolution. If it passes, Hawaii County will likely be the first local government to send such a request, Paik said.
“We need diplomacy,” Paik said, rather than Trump and Kim “flinging unlawful threats at each other.”
The tension between the two leaders escalated at the end of last month, with Trump calling Kim “rocket man,” and saying he’s on a “suicide mission,” while Kim responded that Trump was “deranged,” and will “pay dearly” for his threats, according to The Associated Press.
Paik said she asked Honokaa Councilwoman Valerie Poindexter to sponsor it as council chairwoman, and Hilo Councilman Aaron Chung because he, like Paik, is of Korean descent.
“To me, it makes perfect sense that we should be the ones to pass a resolution to promote diplomatic talks with North Korea. Our culture is centered around the concept of ‘aloha,’” Poindexter said. “Not only that, but we are at the crossroads of East and West. We should be the bridge, not in the crosshairs for war.”
Chung said he’s usually not one to sponsor nonbinding resolutions and has in the past spoken out against them. But he decided this particular one merited discussion.
“This one has been a topic of great conversation in my household,” Chung said. “This is something I feel strongly about.”
As the closest county in the closest U.S. state to North Korea, Hawaii Islanders are feeling especially vulnerable to the increased tensions between the two nations, according to resolution sponsors.
“A peaceful solution to the present situation between the United States and North Korea is of particular importance to the State of Hawaii given our geographic location and vulnerability in the event of a war between the two nations,” the resolution states. “A call by the people of Hawaii for a peaceful resolution to any serious conflict situation, not just this one, is in keeping with our islands’ most treasured ideal, that of aloha.”
The public can comment on Resolution 354 at the start of the 9 a.m. meeting Wednesday at the West Hawaii Civic Center, or by videoconference from council chambers in Hilo, the Pahoa and Waimea council offices, the Naalehu state office building or the old Kohala courthouse.
Paik is director of development with the Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action and formerly project director of the Asia-Pacific Program at the International Forum on Globalization.