Kiribati has no ambassador or embassy in the United States. It doesn’t even have a mission to the United Nations, and allows New Zealand to vote on its behalf by proxy. There is, however, an honorary consulate in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Honorary Consul General is Mr. William E. Paupe, a lawyer in Hawaii who assumed the position on April 16, 1990. A former USAID director in Fiji, Paupe has contributed to the 2008 presidential campaign of John McCain and was a delegate to the 2008 Republican Party Convention.  Paupe has been linked to the 1987 coup attempts in Fiji. Former Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra accused the U.S. of providing $200,000 to Apisai Tora, the leader of the opposing Labour Party. Bavadra suggested that these funds were provided via Paupe,