STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1538

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.C.R. No. 72

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation and Culture and the Arts, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 72 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A HAWAII-TAIWAN FRIENDSHIP TASKFORCE TO EXPLORE WAYS TO STRENGTHEN, IMPROVE, AND EXPAND ECONOMIC, CULTURAL, AND EDUCATIONAL RELATIONS BETWEEN HAWAII AND TAIWAN,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the establishment of a Hawaii-Taiwan Friendship Task Force to explore ways to strengthen, improve, and expand economic, cultural, and educational relations between Hawaii and Taiwan.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office.

Your Committee finds that Taiwan and Hawaii have had an established sister-state relationship since 1993, including relationships between Honolulu and Kaohsiung City; Maui County and Pingtung County; Hawaii County and Hualien County; and Kauai County and Penghu County. In 2021, Taiwan was Hawaii's tenth-largest trade partner, with exports to the State totaling $54 million and imports from the State totaling $13 million. Your Committee further finds that before the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, Taiwanese citizens made over seventeen million trips abroad, and loosened travel restrictions provide potential for Taiwanese visitors to Hawaii to further help revitalize the State's tourism sector.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation and Culture and the Arts that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 72 and recommends its adoption.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation and Culture and the Arts,

________________________________

CHRIS LEE, Chair