WHEN Chinese President Jiang Zemin stopped in Honolulu earlier this week, his 24-hour stay was orchestrated with precision, but not by a single finicky maestro -- several people wielded batons. Behind the scenes
of Jiang Zemin’s visitThe state's point person was Brenda Lei Foster, executive assistant to Governor Cayetano. In August, when official word of Jiang's stop-over arrived, Foster met with advance teams from China. Her fluency in Mandarin and knowledge of international affairs helped to expedite communications.
Foster coordinated with CINCPAC and the Department of State. She contacted hotels and security officials. When a proposed itinerary was drawn up, she dispatched it to Beijing for approval and then on to Washington for Clinton administration concurrence.
Meanwhile, Al Joaquin mobilized his U.S. Secret Service staff in the islands for the "high-profile protectee." The operation is so hush-hush that the special agent in charge won't even disclose how many people were involved, although he did admit extra agents were furtively flown in for the job.
The Secret Service hovered around Jiang whenever he was in public, even swimming alongside when the president plunged into the waters off Waikiki Beach. The First Tourist characterized his ocean dip as clean and refreshing, much to the delight of the publicity-conscious HVCB.
While Jiang splashed, first lady Vicky Cayetano was worried about staging a splash. It would be her first state dinner at Washington Place since marrying the governor earlier this year.
Instead of fretting about washers and dryers as the CEO of United Laundry, Mrs. C was concerned about ironing out details with the kitchen staff. For example, food had to be presented in bite-sized pieces, since members of the Chinese delegation would eschew knives and forks in favor of chopsticks.
In light of the event's formality, Vicky was pleasantly surprised when Jiang asked her to sing "Aloha Oe" while he strummed a steel guitar. It was a spontaneous performance that pained Jiang's control-freak protocol officer but charmed the crowd.
As the gala unfolded inside, Joshua Cooper and 100-200 other supporters of Amnesty International threw a welcoming party of their own outside on the sidewalk fronting Beretania Street. They held candles, chanted loudly, strung a paper "lei of human rights" on the fence at Washington Place and attracted press attention to their criticisms of China's human-rights record.
Members of the Chinese contingent, forgetting which country they were in, demanded that the rowdies be silenced by revoking their "permit" to protest or confiscating their bullhorns. No way. Does the First Amendment ring a bell? "The demonstration was so successful, I felt bad," says Joshua, who is pursuing his Ph.D. in political science at UH.
The next morning, he and his crew capped their previous day's activities -- a protest at the Arizona Memorial, a mini-hunger strike and the candlelight vigil -- by writing "Free Tibet" in the sand in giant letters right outside Jiang's oceanfront suite.
FOUR people on Oahu with four different missions, all accomplished through careful planning and follow through. Their combined efforts compelled Jiang to tell Vicky Cayetano as he left for the mainland, "I will always remember this visit."
Chalk up another unforgettable Hawaiian holiday. Until we meet again.