Editors Comment by Pesi Fonua

After the announcement by the Chairman of South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO), Hon. David Basua (PNG), on October 21 that the SPTO had rejected Taiwan...’s application for membership after China pledged annual funding, there was a feeling among Pacific journalists that the division among Pacific Island governments over China'’s 'One China Policy' was going to take centre stage at the 2005 Forum Meeting scheduled to start on Tuesday, October 25 in Papua New Guinea.

The notion of China taking center stage was further consolidated on October 22 when the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Sir Michael Somare, complained to a Pacific journalist of the unfair report by New Zealand and Australian media on corruption in the region, particularly Papua New Guinea when, he said, "there is corruption everywhere in the world." Sir Michael in consolation said that Pacific Island countries were no longer alone with only New Zealand and Australia as friends. "We are not on our own now, we have Japan and China."

Pacific Plan

Any thought that China was stealing the show by simply buying a membership in SPTO was quickly put to rest this morning, October 23 when Rex Horoi, the Executive Director of the Foundation for the People of the South Pacific, and Moses Havini the International Representative of the Republic of Bougainville, who were attending a regional Civil Society meeting, told Pacific journalists that there is an urgent need for the 2005 Forum Meeting to make some definitive decisions on some of the issues raised in the popular Pacific Plan.

Rex outlined a Civil Society proposal to be presented to the Pacific Forum today, calling for continuing aggressive consultation between Forum smf the Civil Society on the Pacific Plan, particularly on the four founding pillars of the plan, which are Security, Governance, Economic growth and Sustainable Development. He stressed his belief that there was a lack of consultation with Pacific people, and a big percentage of the Pacific Islands population have no understanding whatsoever of the Pacific Plan.

Human Rights

Moses Havini, from Bougainville and a Human Rights activist, highlighted his belief that decolonization was still an urgent issue for the Forum to deal with. He said that the most urgent were the West Papua issue, French Polynesia, New Caledonia and for a democratic system of government for Tonga.

Regionalism and the Pacific Plan is back on center stage a day before the Pacific Island Forum was due to be officially opened on Tuesday October 25.

Greg Urwin, the Secretary General of the Forum Secretariat, gave Pacific Journalists a run down of some of the Forum Agenda, such as the proposed introduction of a new category of Forum membership, Associated members, and the urgency to address the health issues of HIV/AIDS and Avian flu.

By the afternoon of October 23, most the 16 Pacific Forum leaders have arrived in Port Moresby, excepting for the Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard.

The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark arrived in PNG on the evening of October 22 on a Royal New Zealand Air Force 757 aircraft, accompanied by Hon. Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, the Prime Minister of Samoa and Mrs Gillian Malielegaoi; and Mr Oscar Manutabi Temaru, President of French Polynesia and Mme Marie-Madeleine Temaru. The Hon Helen Clark left again on October 23 on a short visit to the Solomon Islands.