Hilly opposed the election of Snyder Rini as Prime Minister on 18 April 2006, alleging that bribes were used to gain votes for Rini and that the election "was controlled and influenced by outsiders".Bernard Lagan, "Island mobs burn out Chinese", Times Online (UK), 20 April 2006. In May 2006, Hilly became Minister of Commerce, Industries and Employment under Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. However, in August 2006 he was dismissed from that position, a decision that he said was primarily due to an agreement between his National Party and the People's Republic of China in 2005; the Solomon Islands recognises the Republic of China (Taiwan)."Solomons minister says party's China ties behind sacking", Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation text web site (nl.newsbank.com), 7 August 2006.
