Kiribati
2022; University of Hawaii Press; Volume: 34; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/cp.2022.0007
ISSN1527-9464
Autores Tópico(s)Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies
ResumoKiribati Guigone Camus (bio) Reviews of the Federated States of Micronesia, Guåhan (Guam), the Marshall Islands, Nauru, and Palau are not included in this issue. Kiribati Given its vulnerability to fluctuations in its currency exchange rate and the cost of imported basic products, the Republic of Kiribati is one of the most dependent Pacific Island countries on external financial support (which comes from the United States, the European Union, New Zealand, Australia, and China). Global warming and its impacts—sea-level rise, submersion, flooding, erosion, soil and freshwater salinization, alteration of marine resources hit by ocean acidification and deoxygenation, and cultural and legal dilemmas caused by climate migration (ipcc 2019)—increase this dependence. Therefore, Kiribati's international relations are among the government's top concerns. In this regard, and in the context of the covid-19 crisis, which affected both the island economy and social life, July 2020–June 2021 was the year that saw President Taneti Maamau's confirmation of the diplomatic alliance with the People's Republic of China at the expense of Taiwan. Elected in 2016 and reelected in 2020, Maamau has engaged his country in diplomatic, political, economic, and ecological turns for the past five years. Previously, other presidents had chosen the same approach. Between 1994 and 2003, Teburoro Tito, now permanent representative of Kiribati to the United Nations, also gave his diplomatic preference to the People's Republic of China. In 2002, at the end of Tito's second mandate, the opposition and the population strongly criticized the uncertainty of a landlease assignment that he had provided to Beijing. Located in North Tarawa (in Bikenibeu village), the site had received a Chinese satellite observation base. Tito then lost the 2004 presidential election to Anote Tong. Tong ended the lease, switched diplomatic relations to Taiwan, and maintained this decision during his three terms. He focused on major national and international issues: employment for a steadily growing population (1.48 to 1.63 percent per year since 2018); improvement of youth education; and, of course, the fight against climate change. By 2015, Tong had served the maximum number of terms according to the constitution. In early 2016, I-Kiribati people renewed their Parliament—a process that takes place every four years. Since Kiribati's independence in 1979, its political organization has hybridized the British and American systems. It is based on a unicameral legislative body, or Parliament, Te Maneaba ni Maungatabu (The House of Assembly). Parliamentary sessions are held three times a year for a period of several weeks and are broadcast on local radio. Women are in the minority [End Page 168] (eg, of eighteen women candidates in 2016, only three were elected as members) but fight for better representation. Today, Parliament consists of forty-six members. Forty-four are directly elected and represent the twenty-one inhabited atolls of the nation, and the forty-fifth, elected by mps but chosen outside of Parliament, holds the title of Speaker of the Maneaba. The Speaker has very important decision-making powers: he schedules and closes the sessions and can take part in interpreting the constitution. The forty-sixth member, appointed by the Rabi Council of Leaders, represents the Banaban community of Rabi, whom the British colonial administration resettled in Fiji to clear the way for phosphate mining on Banaba, and who remained in Fiji after both countries became independent. Since 2016, the attorney general is no longer a member of Parliament. Each parliamentary election sees at most two or three political parties competing relatively informally. Although international partners have long called for governance transparency, family ties and personal affinities often outweigh political interests. It is not uncommon for members to switch parties during their careers or even their terms. In 2016, Tong's party, the Boutokan te Koaua (btk, or Pillars of Truth) Party opposed the Tobwaan Kiribati Party (tkp, or Embracing Kiribati Party), which is a merger of the Maurin Kiribati Party (Protect Kiribati Party) and the United Coalition Party. By giving Tong's party the majority of votes, the voters allowed the btk to win 25 of the 46 parliamentary seats, while the opposition won only 19 seats. Nevertheless, the mps gave the...
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