The press release issued Sunday by U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono — the one announcing bipartisan legislation to make it easier for Chinese and Canadians to travel to the U.S. — included this paragraph:

In 2010, more than 54 million Chinese citizens travelled abroad.[2]  Europe welcomed 3.7 million of these visitors.[3] However, the U.S. only saw 800,000 Chinese visitors, of which only 62,000 came to Hawaii.[4]

Wow — footnotes in a press release! Maybe someone’s worried about fact-checking from the media, eh?

Mike McCartney, U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono and Roy Yamaguchi, Royal Hawaiian Center, Waikiki, Jan. 8, 2012.