By Charles E. Morrison

(Note: This commentary first appeared in The Honolulu Advertiser on July 31, 2011.)

The East-West Center is a Hawai‘i-based, federally-supported institution, long a key part of U.S. outreach to the countries of the Asia and the Pacific and a fixture in Honolulu.

When a House committee recently voted to eliminate the 1960 authorizing legislation for the Center, friends and alumni were alarmed, even though few observers believe the bill has any likelihood of becoming law.

Lee Howell of the World Economic Forum presents the keynote address at the International Graduate Student Conference.IGSC co-chairs Apinya Jantunyarux & Asmatullah Junejo (center) with presenter Lee Howell and EWC directors and board members.

By Edward J. Shultz

(Note: This commentary originally appeared in The Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Oct. 16, 2012)

The recent eruption of protests throughout the Muslim world points once again to the stability of our globe being threatened by people with the intransigence of fundamentalists. It was fundamentalists in the United States who produced a reprehensible video vilifying the Islamic faith, and it was fundamentalists throughout the world who took to the streets to protest this affront to their faith and culture. In East Asia we are witnessing a somewhat similar escalation of tensions as fundamentalists in China, Korea and Japan push these three countries down an increasingly volatile path leading to growing animosities. And regrettably this is a verbal slugfest among U.S. allies and friends.

Taiwan Deputy Defense Minister Andrew Nien-Dzu Yang briefed an audience of international relations specialists at EWC on Feb. 27 on current Taiwan security issues, including cross-strait relations with mainland China, U.S. arms sales, regional territorial disputes and more.

The East-West Center community is saddened by news of the recent passing of the Center’s first leader, Murray Turnbull, and longtime arts and exhibits coordinator Jeanette "Benji" Bennington.

"Murray Turnbull was the father of the concept of bringing the young people of the Asia Pacific region together, and the East-West Center was established because of him," said EWC President Charles E. Morrison. "And Benji was an incredible, invaluable resource during her decades of service at the Center. She embodied the EWC spirit, and her legacy remains with us all.”

Navigating a Future for the East-West Center

By Charles E. Morrison

Keynote address at the EWC/EWCA International Conference

Naha, Okinawa
17 September 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 25, 2015) – Nine college students from the Pacific Islands and Timor-Leste who are studying in Hawai‘i on East-West Center-administered scholarships are wrapping up six-week internships in Washington, D.C. designed to offer them professional experience and help expand their understanding of American society.

Remarks of East-West Center President Charles E. Morrison

Friends of the East-West Center Annual Meeting
Nov. 9, 2016

Thank you Puongpun, for a generous introduction. I also want to thank the Friends of the East-West Center for inviting me to speak and all of you for coming.

Name in the News

New Head of the East-West Center Returns to Hawaii

By Maureen O’Connell
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Jan. 27, 2017

When Richard R. Vuylsteke left his post as president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong to become the East-West Center’s 11th top executive at the start of the new year, he was eager to begin work at his Honolulu alma mater of sorts.

On May 14, 1960, US President Dwight Eisenhower signed into law the act of Congress that established the East-West Center as a place “where scholars and students in various fields from the nations of the East and West may study, give and receive training, (and) exchange ideas and views.”