Vanessa Chong

The executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Hawaii chapter wants to encourage "common sense" free speech during APEC

By Vicki Viotti

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Oct 28, 2011

~~<p>ACLU-Hawaii, never an organization to shrink from controversy, is running toward it these days, arms wide open. The event, perhaps the highest-profile gathering in the local chapter's history, is November's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, drawing heads of state and other leaders from 21 nations.</p>
<p>It's also going to draw protest, from groups with various reactions to trade proposals under review by the top brass. And that's all fine with Vanessa Chong, who, after 27 years in the top chair, still loves ACLU's civil-liberties mission: Defend the Bill of Rights.</p>
~~

ACLU-Hawaii, never an organization to shrink from controversy, is running toward it these days, arms wide open. The event, perhaps the highest-profile gathering in the local chapter's history, is November's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, drawing heads of state and other leaders from 21 nations.

It's also going to draw protest, from groups with various reactions to trade proposals under review by the top brass. And that's all fine with Vanessa Chong, who, after 27 years in the top chair, still loves ACLU's civil-liberties mission: Defend the Bill of Rights. Login for more...