Daniel K. Akaka

Mr. President, on the occasion to mark his completion of his service as an Air Force Fellow here in the United States Senate and subsequent transfer to the Pentagon, I wish to recognize Maj. Matt C. Hasson for his outstanding service to our country. In his 2012 assignment as an Air Force Fellow, he served as a member of my staff.

Major Hasson was born in Camden, NJ. He graduated from Greenway High School in Phoenix, AZ, in 1990. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in politics from Arizona State University and a master's degree in mass communications from San Diego State University. He is also a graduate of Air Command and Staff College, Squadron Officers School, and the Air Force Legislative Fellows program. Major Hasson has vast experience in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific region as well as a tour in Operation

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and celebrate the 75th anniversary of the opening of a historic and famously popular Manhattan attraction--the Hawaiian Room at the Hotel Lexington in New York City. Throughout its 30 years of quality cultural performances, its authentic and captivating shows were widely praised for giving audiences not only an exotic, entertaining experience, but also a raved off-Broadway production, not to be missed.

In the 1930s, the newly built Hotel Lexington at 48th and Lexington in New York City was an impressive hotel and with prestige and grandeur. At the cost of $5 million to build in 1929, the iconic hotel became an instant favorite for global leaders, celebrities, business executives, and some of America's most famous sports icons including Joe DiMaggio, who famously lived in a penthouse suite during his whole career playing for the Yankees.

The manager was Charles Rochester, and in the late 1930s, he decided to open a Hawaiian-themed room in a large unused area of the hotel to try and attract new uppercrust business to his establishment to help with ``the bottom line.'' At the time, Hawaiian and Polynesian cultures were growing in popularity and interest across the country. However, the creation of the Hawaiian Room was still a bold move not only because of the Great Depression, but also an increasingly complicated global scene as world conflicts were escalating in both Asia and Europe. Nevertheless, on June 23, 1937, the Hawaiian Room opened its doors for the first time.

The Hawaiian Room found success for an unprecedented 30 years straight in its presentation of Hawaiian culture and aloha, with the unique music and indigenous hula as its foundation. The room became a gathering place for many with Hawaii ties to share the knowledge and influence of the Hawaiian culture throughout the East Coast and the world. The venue became ``the place to be'' for celebrities in New York City, and it was the people who worked in the Hawaiian Room who made it such a success. Because of their talents, island ways, and authentic aloha many were able to enjoy a piece of Hawaii, even if they were on another ``island'' 5,000 miles away.

Recently, I was fortunate to meet with some of the gracious ladies who performed at the Hawaiian Room so many years ago. Their stories and spirit of aloha embody the qualities that made the Hawaiian Room so great for so many years.

I would like to commend TeMoana Makolo, Hula Preservation Society, and the dozens of Hawaiian Room members who worked in the room during its 1937-1966 run for their partnership and efforts in creating the Hawaii Room Archive to perpetuate this great piece of Hawaii's history. The oldest living former Hawaiian Room member is Tutasi Wilson at 98 years old, who was a featured dancer at the Hawaiian Room in the 1940s and 1950s.

Living members include Leonani Akau, Pua Amoy, Leilehua Becker, Iwalani Carino, Martha Carrell, Loma Duke, Wailani Gomes, Mamo Gomez, Mealii Horio, Mona Joy, Leialoha Kaleikini, Leialoha Kane, Manu Kanemura, Ed Kenney, Nona Kramer, Nani Krisel, TeMoana Makolo, Tautaise Manicas, Torea Ortiz, Olan Peltier, Vicky Racimo, Io Ramirez, Alii Noa Silva, Kaui Virgeniza, Tutasi

Wilson, and Janet Yokooji. Each has personally contributed to development of the first Hawaiian Room Archive by contributing their stories and personal photos to this new educational resource.

Many other esteemed Hawaiian Room members have passed on, including Alfred Apaka, Aggie Auld, Keola Beamer, Mapuana Bishaw, Eddie Bush, Johnny Coco, Leilani DaSilva, Ehulani Enoka, Leila Guerrero, Ululani Holt, Meymo Holt, Keokeokalae Hughes, Clara Inter ``Hilo Hattie,'' Andy Iona, Alvin Isaacs, Momi Kai, George Kainapau, Sonny Kalolo, David Kaonohi, Nani Kaonohi, Ray Kinney, Kui Lee, Sam & Betty Makia, Lani & Alfred McIntire, Pualani Mossman, Tootsie Notley, Lehua Paulson, Telana Peltier, Luana Poepoe, Dennie Regor, and Jennie Napua Woodd. All were legendary talents in their own right, and also contributed to making the Hawaiian Room the success it was.

Although the Hawaiian Room was in New York, it played an ever important role in the spread of Hawaiian culture across the continental United States, as well as the development of Hawaii's major industry-- tourism. The nightly exposure of business executives, celebrities, and New York's working men and women to the Hawaiian songs, sceneries, and hula at Lexington Hotel was sure to have put dreams of a Hawaii vacation in the minds of more than a few over the years.

Mr. President, as I reflect back on my 36 years of service in Congress and the Senate, I realize how fortunate I was to be mostly healthy. As we age, we pay more attention to our health. The challenge is how to maintain good health.

It was after I was struck in the shin by a stray golf ball on a Virginia course that I met a Chinese Grandmaster who introduced me to an ancient Chinese methodology for maintaining good health. This methodology was developed and tested over thousands of years--it was the ancient practice of natural healing using Qi Gong.

Grandmaster Hong Liu was born in Shanghai, China. His Mother was the director of medical care and hospitals in Shanghai. As a result of being raised in a health-oriented environment, he enrolled in the Military Medical College to become a doctor of Western medicine.

His home was always filled with visitors from the health industry, doctors, and even healers who practiced Traditional Chinese Medicine or TCM as it is popularly known today. Whenever the Qi Gong masters visited his Mother, crowds of sick people would gather seeking treatment. He would watch intently as these people were treated by those masters.

Grandmaster Hong became interested in one of the healers who lived outside of Canton high up on a mountain in a cave, Master Kwan. During the time of the Cultural Revolution, Chairman Mao's wife banned all ancient medical traditions--healers escaped imprisonment by living in remote caves in high mountains outside the cities. This interest in ancient Traditional Chinese Medicine conflicted with his role as an army officer practicing in a military hospital. All doctors were scheduled for duty in the hospitals and were expected to perform routine duties. His days were scheduled with long hours of patient care leaving very little spare time. Medical doctors who did not perform their duties and who did not work diligently were reprimanded and sometimes demoted. For 8 years, he spent all of his spare time studying Qi Gong and traditional Chinese medicine under Master Kwan. This meant taking the train to Canton and then traveling many miles outside the City to a mountain called Golden Cock to get to Master Kwan's cave. Grandmaster Hong or Master Hong became an apprentice of Master Kwan and then became a Qi Gong Master in 1979. Grandmaster Hong came to the United States in 1990 and has practiced Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Getting back to that golfing incident, I did not worry much about the golf injury after icing it because it seemed to have healed. It was not until a week later when I flew back to Hawaii and was at my physician's office for a regular checkup that it was discovered the inside of the wound had not healed and was infected. My physician prescribed treatment for the infection, but a family friend asked if I would consider additional treatment in complement with my physician's medical care. This was my introduction to natural healing and to Grandmaster Hong Liu, we call him Master Hong, who is a Grandmaster of Natural Healing, which includes Feng Shui, herbs, exercise, martial arts and nutrition. This introduction was the start of a remarkable journey for me into the world of natural healing using proper breathing, movement through exercise, and nutrition to nourish and heal.

This natural healing method seemed too simple, but what I learned over time was that illness occurs when the natural flow or circulation of the energy canals or pathways in our body are blocked, but this can be remedied again with proper breathing, exercise, and eating nutritionally. Injuries to the body are remedied in the same manner with the addition of herbs. The Qi of Qi Gong is that natural energy that runs through those canals in our body like blood flows through veins. That energy is what keeps us living, and if that Qi is circulating property or flowing freely, then we are healthy. The simple ``science'' of Natural Healing is viewed as an approach to remove the blockages that occur when the energy does not flow freely and balance the internal organ energy. The ultimate goal in Traditional Chinese Medicine is balance--the body should be balanced naturally--seems simple.

Master Hong has not only been good to me--he is good to the people of Hawaii. He has held free seminars and events. His foundation holds free, weekly senior programs because he recognized the demographics of the aging population, its rapid growth globally, and the issues with affordable healthcare. He developed and offers a weekly self-healing program for seniors that includes exercises and nutritional information for them to get healthy and stay healthy. For the past 9 years, he's given immunity events to the community. People attend these events to get free patches to help boost their immunity systems. The immunity events are held on the hottest and the coldest days of the year because those are the most potent days for the effectiveness of those patches. The events originally started out as asthma events since Hawaii has had 30 years of volcanic activity which affected the respiratory systems of many Islanders. Those asthma events evolved into the bigger bottom line picture or the source of the problem which is the immunity system.

Master Hong is the founder of the Natural Healing Research Foundation in Hawaii. The foundation is his basis for advancing remedies for the major diseases affecting humanity by promoting the time honored natural healing practices of Eastern medicine in complement with Western medicine to attain that goal. The marvel of the remedies of natural healing is that it offers simple yet effective healing programs that work with conventional practices and have no side effects. The foundation reaches out to the community providing information and training in disease prevention and offering proactive solutions to maintain optimal health.

Master Hong was proclaimed a ``Living Treasure'' not only in his homeland of China but also in the State of Hawaii because of his research of various diseases, cancer, drug addictions, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease to name a few, and his devotion to teaching preventive health care. He has also authored ``The Healing Art of Qi Gong'' by Warner Books.

The basic simpleness of all of this knowledge is that this energy is all around us, but you need to work at keeping the movement of this energy moving or circulating in order to be healthy and balanced. I learned that foods of a certain color were specific to different organs. Foods white in color, mushrooms, ginger, garlic are for the lungs and skin, while foods that are black in color, black beans, black sesame, seaweed, are for the kidneys.

There is so much that I have learned from Grandmaster Hong Liu, and there is more learning to be done when I get back to Hawaii. What I do know is that the Traditional Chinese Healing methods he used in complement with my regular physician improved my health.

I will continue to learn from this Grandmaster, and I continue to be

grateful for my health and wellbeing. It has been about 8 years of learning and exercising and eating right for me, but in that time I have seen an industry boom in natural health care and products--what a coincidence. All of this makes me more aware of how fortunate and timely my meeting Grandmaster Hong Liu was to promote the balance and wellbeing in my life. Thank you, Grandmaster Hong for what you have done not only for me but for the people of Hawaii.