Page 4, Portland Observer, July 3,1985
EDITORIAL/OPINION
————
——— —
—
Far East Trade Class
by Robert Lothian
A Call tor U.S. Disinvestment
Time Is R unning O ut in
South Africa
By John Conyer»
There is now only one responsible
course that the United State* tan
tik e in South Africa: disinvestment.
U.S. economic investment in
South Africa offer* the majority of
South African* little relative benefit,
but directly and materially »trenjfth
era the system that so violently op
presses them This is inconsistent
with our principles In the eye* of the
oppressed majority, foreign firm* art
mere bricks in the wall o f apartheid
This is inconsistent also with our
long term interests We must now gel
out
all the way out
while doing
so can still lie perceived in a positive
light
The United States today is the
largest trailer, second largest foreign
investor, and the source of one third
of all international credit in South
Africa. Those who argue that disin
vestment would hurt more than help
the oppressed black South Africans
nnsperceive the fundamental nature
nt our investment in that country
Weldon Powell
Honored
A . W eldon Powell, a 19-year
member o f the Portland chapter was
honored with the chapter Service
Aw ard o f the Association o f G o v­
ernment Accountants (A G A ) in
U.S. FIRMS
employ approxi
mately 66.IMX) hlack South Africans
less than 1 percent of the entire
black South African population. At
the same time they control 70 percent
of the computer market, 45 percent of
the oil market, and 35 percent of the
automotive and truck market, all of
which together constitute the jugular
vi in of this highly sophisticated garri-
son state While U.S investment may
provide employment for a relative
few. millions upon millions of South
Africans have become measurably
worse off during a jteriod in which
foreign investment has increased
StuHies conducted on the relation­
ship between foreign investment and
the oasing of apartheid, including one
bv the Carnegie Foundation, consi*
ti ntly tell of the fortification of the
upartheid structure, increases in
Plat k impoverishment, und the gener­
al inlensific ation of violent repression
that lias accompanied foreign invest­
ment in South Africa One study by
Charles Sonkina of Capetown Uni­
versity. for example, found that the
number of people below a minimum
living standard on the government-
created -homelands" increased from
4.9 million to 8.9 million from 1960
and 1980. a peril,<1 in which our
i. vestment increased ajiproximately
‘aid percent
It is against this backdrop that
there has lieen w idespread support for
disinvestment not only in the United
Nations but also in South Africa.
Black tabor, religious, and political
leader* have taken the lead in this
drive despite the threat of severe
retribution by the state The two
largest black trade union federations,
the Federation of South African
Trade Unions (FO SA TU ) and the
forced to cancel his speech in Johan­
nesburg because of increasing distrust
and resentment of Americans in
South Africa, how will U.S. firms he
treated as the tendencies toward vio­
lent civil war ini rease on a daily basis
— firm* which in the South African's
eyes are in tacit collusion with the
apartheid machine’’ The managing
director of Goodyear Tire and Kubber
Co.'s South African subsidiary pre
dicta that, "foreign companies are
going to be the target That is where
the dissident blacks will focus. We art
right in the tinderbox"
The choice is clear To remain in
South Africa is to reinforce the ten
dencies toward a violent and bloody
civil war, to risk alienating the hearts
and minds of the South African peo­
ple. and to make it more likely that
the inevitable post apartheid govern
ment will for generations be a foe of
the United States, in which case U.S.
firms would then be forced out on a
one wav ticket To disinvest, on the
other hand, it to assert ouraelves
clearly on the side of the South
African people, a policy which will be
consistent both with our principle«
and long-term interests.
We must now constructively dis­
engage from South Africa. The longer
we wait, the less able we will be to
extricate ourselves nobly and intelli­
gently from this dangerous situation
We must not repeat the myopic mis­
takes of the past Our national values
and interests are on trial Common
sense requires withdrawal
Council of Unions of South Africa
(CUSA), both recently issued strung
statements calling for foreign disin­
vestment. Labor leaders in particular
have spoken out against foreign in­
vestment because of the fortifying
impact it has on a system that sepa
rates hlack workers from their fami
lie* and pay* them less than one-sixth
the wages of their white counterparts,
offering foreign firms a low-wage ha­
ven.
While the South African govern
ment continually insists that disin­
vestment will have no impact on the
repression and violence in South A fri­
ca, it has vigorously fought against it,
hiring s vast array of lobbyists to
battle disinvestment legislation in the
United States, and. under its Terror
.am Act, making the advocacy of
disinvestment in South Africa an "act
of treason." a crime that can be
punishable by death Indeed, it was
only after the threat of disinvestment
had been developed in Congress, that
Pretoria, for the first time, took any
concessionary steps — announcing,
for instance, the suspension of the
homeland policy in which the govern
ment violently evicts families from
their communities Through these
and other actions. Pretoria has unwit­
tingly made it abundantly clear the
extent to which disinvestment threat
ens to undermine the apartheid sys
tern.
T IM E IS running out in South
Africa for the fanatic white minority
and it* ingenious and malevolent
mechanisms by which it creates
phantom “homelands" and adminis­
ter» the legalized enslavement of 22
million blacks. If Sen Edward Ken
nedy. one of the most vocal anti­
apartheid American leaders, was
♦
Congressman John Conyera it a
Democrat from Michigan'» l i t Dia-
trict.
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PORTLAND OBSERVER
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The f t * «
them.
Tw o things to keep in mind about
Japan, he said, are the Shintu reli­
gion and feudal clannishness.
Sluntuism demands respect for
elders and authority. Clannishness
shows up in the interlocking rela­
tionships o f Japanese corporations
and banks.
“ I t ’ s a type o f feudalism that has
come down through the ages,” said
Golson. “ They channeled it back
into economics and it works very
well, making them very d ifficu lt to
compete w ith ."
Doing business with a Japanese
firm means learning Japanese or
hiring a translator, said James
M ongrain, a Far East trade special­
ist with U .S. National Bank o f O re­
gon. A ll forms used by the Japanese
in their transactions are in their
language, an outgrowth o f their
market success, he said.
Business owners should travel in
the Far East and take six months or
more to learn, said M ongrain.
"T h e y want to get to know y o u .”
Particular attention should be
paid to currency exchange rates and
fluctuations, which can turn an
otherwise profitable deal into a loss,
he said.
But you w on’t have that problem
in the city state o f Singapore — the
currency there follows the dollar
and has destabilized by only 35< in
ten years, according to M ongrain.
Something to watch fo r in doing
business with China, he said, is that
all transactions go through the cen­
tral bank, which means that it can
take up to 35 days for the money to
come through.
C R A IG O S M A R K E T
Holiday Special
Healthwatch
(C o n tin u a d fro m p ag e 10)
show important relationships be­
tween diet, life style and health.
There is room in Am erica for low
cost programs in prevention as well
as high cost, high tech medicine
which has already exceeded the
financial abilities o f over one quar­
ter o f our population.
Lung cancer and the millions of
deaths that have resulted from its*
lethal grip, represent one o f the
saddest occurances in Am erica to­
day. Not only do we lose loved ones
through the agonizing course o f ir­
radiation and chemical therapies
(that remain unproven regarding an
increase in real survival), hut by
virtue o f our miopic focus on fin d ­
ing a "c u re” through drugs, we
ignore the most im portant factors
such as prevention,
alternative
modes o f treatment, and a change
o f national tobacco policies.
Next Week: Conclusion o f this
discussion on lung cancer, why the
Am erican Cancer Society has failed
to produce effective new approaches
to lung cancer, and the direct rela­
tionship between tobacco subsidies
and death.
Spareribs
$179
lb.
Chicken wings..............................................................................99
R ib s.................................................................................. $1.79 lb.
Western Family charcoal..................................................... $2.89
Mustard g reen s......................................................................... 39C
(White they last!
And always rem ember, w hen you're
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• W A IIW Q RICH. T h a t's
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doing If th ey try a c ar wax
lng hind r a is e r
page 2
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Bo« 3137 Portier*! Oegon 9730»
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Anotiahon - Founded IM S
the award, it was noted that M r.
Powell o f the Portland chapter, has
been a driving force and a good
example for the newer chapter m em ­
bers to follow. W hile retired, M r.
Powell continues to he an active
chapter member, bringing a sense o f
history and a comm itm ent to serv­
ice. His very successful small busi­
nessman training programs and his
service as secretary and historian re­
flect his absolute dedication to the
chapter.
M r. Powell resides in Portland.
Oregon.
Golson said business owners must
learn something o f the history and
culture o f Far East nations if they
expect to trade successfully with
106 N. Beech
Phone: 280-0434
Portland Observer
•At MR' ■
member
ceremonies at the Annual Profes­
sional Development Conference in
the Tow n and C ountry H o tel, San
Diego, C alifo rn ia, on June 26,1985.
The chapter Service Aw ard is
conferred on individuals who are
active members o f the Association
for consistently im portant contribu­
tions to the development and en­
hancement o f a chapter over long
periods o f time.
The award was presented by A G A
National Pres. H arold L . Stugart.
In the accompanying citation to
China with ten Oregon firms is
planned for November, he added.
M arylhurst
professor
George
Small business owners are getting
some tips on Far East trade oppor­
tunities in a summer course spon­
sored by M arylhurst College.
H ow to trade with Japan. China.
Korea, Taiw an, Hong Kong and
Singapore w ill he covered in depth
by local experts and executives with
many years o f experience. Career
opportunities w ill also be discussed.
The course offers nuts and holts
inform ation
that
mystifies
the
mechanics o f business in the Far
East. Such inform ation is increas­
ingly valuable as Oregon develops
ties with a sister state, Fujian, in
China. Oregon already has long­
standing ties with Japan and other
Pacific Rim nations.
According to D r. Jim M anning,
director o f the International Trade
and Commerce Institute at Portland
State University, a Fujian trade
delegation came to Oregon recently
ready to spend $.168 m illion.
"T h e y take the sister state rela­
tionship very seriously, they want to
do business in O reg o n ," said M a n ­
ning. Over $15 m illion worth o f
Oregon goods have already been
shipped to Fujian, he said.
The Chinese are turning more
than ever before toward capitalism,
and they are willing to bend the
rules to negotiate deals with A m eri­
can firms, especially for high tech­
nology items, M anning said.
He retold the China experience of
Oregon high tech magnate Norm an
W inningstad. W inningstad wanted
to fly his executive jet over China
but officials said no. They compro­
mised with an agreement that he
could fly with a Chinese co-pilot.
M anning spoke during the first
session o f the class at the U .S. Bank
Plaza downtown.
The International Trade and
Commerce Institute is available as
a resource to local businesses, said
M anning. An economic mission to
A lfre d i
Henderson, Editor/Publisher
A l Williams, General Manager
288 0033
National Advertising Representative
Am algam ated Publishers. Inc
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