By Emmanuel T. Erediano
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
DELEGATE Kimberlyn King-Hinds supports Gov. David M. Apatang’s request for the reinstatement of Annex VI of the U.S.-China Air Transport Agreement to lift restrictions on air service between the CNMI and China.
In his testimony before the Department of the Interior’s Interagency Group on Insular Affairs in Washington, D.C., the governor told federal officials and leaders of U.S. territories that air access is essential for the CNMI. “It is how the Commonwealth’s economy functions and how the island community stays connected to the rest of the U.S.,” he said.
In her remarks, King-Hinds called on the CNMI’s federal partners “to take concrete steps to remove barriers slowing the CNMI’s economic recovery.”
“We have seen visa and entry policies imposed without regard to their disproportionate impact on island economies. We have been excluded from international agreements, and the agreements that do benefit us have been ignored. Yes. I am talking about Annex VI. We have seen restrictions placed on the very tools we rely on to grow our own economy. This is not action. This is not credibility. And this does not build capacity. So let us talk about action,” the CNMI delegate to the U.S. Congress said.
She said Governor Apatang has been clear and consistent in outlining what is needed to help the CNMI revive its economy. King-Hinds stressed that “these are not requests for bailouts.” She added that the governor’s requests do not require new federal spending and that the Commonwealth does not ask for special treatment.
“They are requests for federal restraint, for clarity, and for decisions already within the administration’s authority to resolve,” King-Hinds said.
She said the governor has put forward lawful, achievable requests. “Yet too often the federal government appears more responsive to conspiracy theorists and dilettantes than to the people actually responsible for keeping our communities functioning. If we are serious about peace through strength, then we must appreciate nuance and elevate substance over the spectacle,” the congresswoman said.
King-Hinds said the CNMI needs approximately 500,000 visitors annually for its tourism industry to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Because of federal restrictions on the types of flights the CNMI can receive and the types of visitors it is allowed to attract, we are currently projected to fall roughly 360,000 visitors short of that threshold,” she said. “That gap represents closed businesses, lost jobs, declining revenues, and weakening public services.”
She added that the CNMI needs eight flights a day to sustain basic economic stability. “Today, we are barely at four, and that number is declining. We need four additional flights a day to keep the economy from collapsing. What is the federal government doing today to remove obstacles to this recovery? The goal is clear. The task is achievable. We know what needs to be done. What is missing is action. The CNMI is not just a dot on a map. It is American soil. It is a military community and a veteran community. It is a logistics and training hub. And it is a living demonstration of American commitment in the Pacific,” King-Hinds said.
Emmanuel “Arnold” Erediano has a bachelor of science degree in Journalism. He started his career as police beat reporter. Loves to cook. Eats death threats for breakfast.
