Forward vs. backward thinking

Our governor has chosen wisely for us and we as a people need to get on board and start moving forward in the same direction and stop looking in the rearview mirror at China. EVS-TAP is an attempt to circumvent our fathers in Washington, especially since it was recommended by the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump, which had supported China!

Jude has poli-tricked the entire Legislature, preying on their desperation to do something stupid, even taking us backwards to 2019 Trump-GOP stuff. But that ship has sailed as all the variables for getting tourists from China have changed drastically and there is still the fact that the Japanese are not coming if the CNMI is to be a Chinese tourist’s destination.

Those who are crying China don’t get it and are only thinking about and seeing dollar signs but the adverse effects by the feds possibly being angered at us for putting our eggs in China’s basket does not justify the potential damage, as the feds may even say no more tourists from China.

There are three kinds of people when it comes to our economy: Those who make things happen, those who fight against things happening and those who just watch things happening. We need more people, especially in government and business sector making things happen, as the CNMI must change in a lot of different ways if we are to find any resemblance of prosperity. The business community comes together when they are losing money but if they would put half the energy they put into pleading for China into things and promotions like “special hotel packages” in Japan, having the governor deciare a Japan Day or Week and other things in Japan that can entice the Japanese to come, the potential for their return can grow exponentially. But the hotels and businesses are not doing any promotions in Japan, thinking that opening the door for the Chinese will solve their problem. That’s a lazy and the cheap way out. To put it simply, too many have gotten into the lazy thinking that investors and the Chinese will come and save us without us doing any work. Heck, as bad as we need new attractions, no one is working on the theme park I suggested for the CNMI to become a regional destination. But we have those trying to stop things like the Amelia Earhart Monument, which appeals to world travelers who number in the millions.

The reality is we must start thinking outside the traditional box of our tourism and start doing the work. We should have learned by now to do our homework. If we were all on the same page, there would be promotions in Japan, as there are millions of people in Japan who can afford to come to the CNMI but we are busy seeking China and doing nothing new to entice the Japanese! Why is the business sector crying like children wanting the governor to fix their problem when they should have seen this day coming? They should be acting like adults and doing the work to change things for the better. The reality is we must go back to the basics to rebuild our tourism industry that started with Japan—it’s just that simple!

Kudos to Corrections Commissioner Anthony Torres for thinking outside the box to make things better for the CNMI and Guam and to Rep. Propst for weighing-in to support this new approach. It was far more convincing coming from a lawmaker like Rep. Propst that we the people should support this new approach as the new reality is this is the kind of forward outside-the-box thinking that we need to get out of this hole Ralph and crew dug for us all. We need to do all we can to execute the plan and goals of the governor, as fighting among ourselves is not the solution. Stop thinking back on China and start moving forward with the new program. I will reiterate: the governor has chosen wisely with Japan and it’s time for everyone who wants the CNMI to be successful to become a team player.

Ambrose M. Bennett

Kagman III, Saipan

Letter