A leap of faith in China
The truth of the matter is I believe the Senate has leaped before they looked, which is a big no-no! We learn in our formative years to “look before you leap” and yet the Senate seems to have jumped off the EVS-TAP cliff without doing their homework (knowing it will work).
Based on what I have read, the Senate was following Hofschnieder based on his word. I do want to thank our Delegate Kilili for weighing in to support the EVS-TAP, which relieved some of the trepidation fearing Washington might be angered by the EVS-TAP for Chinese. But I have to respect Kilili’s judgement as he knows more about the temperament of the U.S. Congress than I do. But it is exactly issues like this is the reason I wrote about the need for other officials to weigh-in on issues because I trust Kilili far more than Jude.
However, there is still the dilemma as to “what will the Chinese government do?” and “what will be the response of Congress?” So to a large degree the CNMI is taking a “leap of faith” without knowing what the final results will be, which has been my concern all along with this matter. Then there is also the Japanese tourist market that needs to be considered, especially when the geopolitical theater is so uncertain with China. I just know things (the variables) have changed since Trump because the present lawmakers and President in Washington views anything “Trump or China” as bad news, especially when the fight against and for immigration is a very hot topic now in D.C.! Good luck, as they say.
The CNMI will literally be playing with fire that can even spread if this quest for the EVS-TAP backfires and more often than not people get burned playing with fire. I do know that the CWs complained and now the Feds control our immigrations and the CWs have to leave by 2029. History has taught that trying to circumvent the power of the Feds with this EVS-TAP without so much as a word or attempt to gain any consensus with our-fathers-in-Washington is playing with fire! My biggest concern has always been the government of China as we have no influence on their decisions and there is the fact that there is always something negative or adverse in America that is associated with China. The future will certainly be very uncertain at the very least with this leap of faith to China.
I guess the decision has been made to “forget about Japan,” with all this focus on China which I view as an awful mistake, as China may be a quick-fix like the Casino but we see how that turned out. The CNMI will be “all-in for China,” again, as the Japanese are not going to mix with the Chinese here regardless of their economy nor what we do. Our governor chose wise and safe with Japan but the business sector wants China which is where we stand as a people caught in the middle again facing genuine economic disagreement and uncertainty. But this is one time that I pray I’m wrong, as I can only pray Kilili is right and there won’t be any backlash from D.C. I also wish well for the business community and all of us, if we continue down the road to China. The failed casino has already proved the lost Japanese market and we can’t trust China’s Government that is part of the RICO case for putting money in Ralph DLG Torres’ election and the fact that it’s never a good idea to get in bed with America’s rivals. I still believe our leaders need to be trying to work with our ally Japan as their will be fewer risk over time, as we don’t know what can happen with a “leap of faith in China.”
Ambrose M. Bennett
Kagman III, Saipan
Letter
