East And Bays Courier | Wednesday, 14 January 2009
The Auckland Chinese Community Centre is holding its Chinese New Year Festival and Market Day to welcome in the Year of the Ox.
The event is on Saturday from 9.30am to 3.30pm in halls one and two at the ASB Showgrounds, 217 Greenlane West.
Prime Minister John Key will open the annual celebration at 10am.
There will be special acts by a troupe of folk art performers, traditional Chinese dances and songs.
A modern Chinese pop band will perform and there will be demonstrations of martial arts, tai chi, lion dances, hip hop dance and diabolo tricks.
More than 200 stalls will be selling traditional and exotic Chinese hot delicacies.
Arts and crafts will be for sale and there will be free games and rides for children.
No admission charge.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Handwriting more than a work of art
Years of hard work and skill are behind every brush stroke made by Chinese calligrapher Jingzhi Zhu.
Ms Zhu, who also goes by the name Julie, will be demonstrating her art at the Chinese New Year Festival in Greenlane tomorrow.
The city-based artist started doing calligraphy in China when she was seven years old with her father’s encouragement.
"My father was my very first teacher, he loved it very much."
He taught her for a year, before sending her to a professional calligraphy class.
From there, she studied under several famous calligraphy artists in China.
"I made huge progress and entered many national and international competitions and won many gold and silver medals."
Her work has been exhibited overseas and she is about to have her first solo show at the Corban Estate Arts Centre in west Auckland, which opens on Thursday and runs until March 1.
Ms Zhu moved to New Zealand two years ago to study a master’s programme at Auckland University, where she also teaches Chinese language and hopes in the future to also teach English.
At first it was hard to integrate her love of calligraphy with her new life because many people don’t know what Chinese calligraphy is.
"These days, many young people don’t like it. They think it is really boring because you have to practise every day and many have lost interest.
"Luckily I found the New Zealand Chinese Calligraphers Association and joined."
Members meet once a month and exchange ideas about the way they practise calligraphy.
Ms Zhu’s work has been shown at the Aotea Centre as part of a group exhibition and last year she was offered the chance to demonstrate her art at the Chinese New Year Festival.
She translated people’s names into Chinese and wrote them in calligraphy or wrote blessing words like "longevity" and "lucky" on special red paper.
Her art was so popular, she ran out of red paper and her friends had to dash out and buy more.
This year she is stocking up on paper before tomorrow’s festival.
For the new year, she writes special couplets for people to hang on their doors, welcoming the year and the good luck it brings.
Ms Zhu is going to visit her family in China next week to write their couplets.
The festival also includes a dragon dance, a troupe of performers from Hebei in China, Chinese pop group Lulu and the Puppets, and demonstrations of various martial arts.
Organiser Kai Luey says up to 20,000 people are expected to attend the event, which has attractions for all ages.
The free festival will be held tomorrow at the ASB Showgrounds from 9.30am to 3.30pm
By JANIE SMITH - Central Leader | Friday, 16 January 2009.
Ms Zhu, who also goes by the name Julie, will be demonstrating her art at the Chinese New Year Festival in Greenlane tomorrow.
The city-based artist started doing calligraphy in China when she was seven years old with her father’s encouragement.
"My father was my very first teacher, he loved it very much."
He taught her for a year, before sending her to a professional calligraphy class.
From there, she studied under several famous calligraphy artists in China.
"I made huge progress and entered many national and international competitions and won many gold and silver medals."
Her work has been exhibited overseas and she is about to have her first solo show at the Corban Estate Arts Centre in west Auckland, which opens on Thursday and runs until March 1.
Ms Zhu moved to New Zealand two years ago to study a master’s programme at Auckland University, where she also teaches Chinese language and hopes in the future to also teach English.
At first it was hard to integrate her love of calligraphy with her new life because many people don’t know what Chinese calligraphy is.
"These days, many young people don’t like it. They think it is really boring because you have to practise every day and many have lost interest.
"Luckily I found the New Zealand Chinese Calligraphers Association and joined."
Members meet once a month and exchange ideas about the way they practise calligraphy.
Ms Zhu’s work has been shown at the Aotea Centre as part of a group exhibition and last year she was offered the chance to demonstrate her art at the Chinese New Year Festival.
She translated people’s names into Chinese and wrote them in calligraphy or wrote blessing words like "longevity" and "lucky" on special red paper.
Her art was so popular, she ran out of red paper and her friends had to dash out and buy more.
This year she is stocking up on paper before tomorrow’s festival.
For the new year, she writes special couplets for people to hang on their doors, welcoming the year and the good luck it brings.
Ms Zhu is going to visit her family in China next week to write their couplets.
The festival also includes a dragon dance, a troupe of performers from Hebei in China, Chinese pop group Lulu and the Puppets, and demonstrations of various martial arts.
Organiser Kai Luey says up to 20,000 people are expected to attend the event, which has attractions for all ages.
The free festival will be held tomorrow at the ASB Showgrounds from 9.30am to 3.30pm
By JANIE SMITH - Central Leader | Friday, 16 January 2009.
Gung Hay Fat Choy!
The Lunar New Year dates from 2600 BC, when the Emperor Huang Ti introduced the first cycle of the Chinese zodiac.
Because of cyclical lunar dating, the first day of the year can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February. On the Chinese calendar, 2009 is Lunar Year 4706-4707.
On the Western calendar, the start of the New Year falls on Monday, January 26, 2009 — The Year of the Ox. If you were born in 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985 or 1997 - you were born under the sign of the ox.
Because of cyclical lunar dating, the first day of the year can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February. On the Chinese calendar, 2009 is Lunar Year 4706-4707.
On the Western calendar, the start of the New Year falls on Monday, January 26, 2009 — The Year of the Ox. If you were born in 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985 or 1997 - you were born under the sign of the ox.
2009 - The Year of the Ox. HAPPY NEW YEAR
The second animal who arrived was the serious, enduring and hard-working Ox.The coming 2009 year of the earth Ox also called 2009 year of the Bull or Buffalo is around the corner. It looks like we've got honest, candid and open natured year ahead. As you might guess, coming 2009 year of the earth Ox is dependable, calm and modest.
The ox person is not extravagant, and the thought of living off credit cards or being in debt makes him/her nervous. The possibility of taking a serious risk could cause the ox person many sleepless nights. These people are truthful and sincere, and the idea of wheeling and dealing in a competitive world is distasteful to them. It would be right to mention that people born in the ox years are rarely driven by the prospect of financial gain. These people are always welcome because of their honesty and patience. They have many friends, who appreciate the fact that the ox people are rather introverted and wary of new trends, although every now and then they can be encouraged to try something new. It is important to remember that the ox people are sociable and relaxed when they feel secure, but occasionally a dark cloud looms over such person and he/she takes on the worries of the world and tries to find solutions.
The ox person is not extravagant, and the thought of living off credit cards or being in debt makes him/her nervous. The possibility of taking a serious risk could cause the ox person many sleepless nights. These people are truthful and sincere, and the idea of wheeling and dealing in a competitive world is distasteful to them. It would be right to mention that people born in the ox years are rarely driven by the prospect of financial gain. These people are always welcome because of their honesty and patience. They have many friends, who appreciate the fact that the ox people are rather introverted and wary of new trends, although every now and then they can be encouraged to try something new. It is important to remember that the ox people are sociable and relaxed when they feel secure, but occasionally a dark cloud looms over such person and he/she takes on the worries of the world and tries to find solutions.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Sandwiches, Taiwanese style
4:00AM Wednesday Dec 31, 2008
By Lincoln Tan
Raymond Njoto says rice rolls are a cross between sushi and a Subway roll. Photo / Martin Sykes
You can do with rice what you do with bread, says Raymond Njoto, who holds the master franchise of Taiwanese rice roll chain QQ Rice for Australia and New Zealand.
"When people think about making a sandwich, they always think of bread, but you can actually make a rice sandwich as well," Mr Njoto says.
He describes the rice rolls as a cross between the Japanese sushi and the Subway sandwich, but says it is a traditional Taiwanese meal.
The rice rolls - which seem to be uniquely Taiwanese - could have been inspired by the sushi during the time when Taiwan was a Japanese colony between 1895 and 1945.
"Just picture Subway, but instead of bread, think of it as having rice as a base," says Mr Njoto.
So instead of different types of bread, you can choose from white, purple, red, brown, wheat-germ or wild rice, and fillings such as smoked salmon, spicy radish, barbecued pork and teriyaki chicken.
These are then rolled into a rice ball and, depending on your choice of grains and filling, it could well be a very healthy meal.
Taiwanese immigrant Jessie Chiang says the rice roll is a popular "picnic food" there, because it can be eaten hassle-free without the need for fork or chopsticks.
"To prepare, all we need is a plastic bag."
Rice is lined at the base of the plastic bag, the filling such as braised minced pork is added, and then it is all squeezed into a compact rice ball.
* Where to try
QQ Rice, 15-31 Wellesley St West. Rice rolls are priced from $5.20.
* Make your own
Ingredients: Steamed or boiled rice, fillings and sauces of your choice.
Method: Spread rice over a plastic wrap, add fillings and cover it with rice. Roll it tightly with the plastic wrap or plastic bag into a ball, and it's ready to be eaten. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10550083
By Lincoln Tan
Raymond Njoto says rice rolls are a cross between sushi and a Subway roll. Photo / Martin Sykes
You can do with rice what you do with bread, says Raymond Njoto, who holds the master franchise of Taiwanese rice roll chain QQ Rice for Australia and New Zealand.
"When people think about making a sandwich, they always think of bread, but you can actually make a rice sandwich as well," Mr Njoto says.
He describes the rice rolls as a cross between the Japanese sushi and the Subway sandwich, but says it is a traditional Taiwanese meal.
The rice rolls - which seem to be uniquely Taiwanese - could have been inspired by the sushi during the time when Taiwan was a Japanese colony between 1895 and 1945.
"Just picture Subway, but instead of bread, think of it as having rice as a base," says Mr Njoto.
So instead of different types of bread, you can choose from white, purple, red, brown, wheat-germ or wild rice, and fillings such as smoked salmon, spicy radish, barbecued pork and teriyaki chicken.
These are then rolled into a rice ball and, depending on your choice of grains and filling, it could well be a very healthy meal.
Taiwanese immigrant Jessie Chiang says the rice roll is a popular "picnic food" there, because it can be eaten hassle-free without the need for fork or chopsticks.
"To prepare, all we need is a plastic bag."
Rice is lined at the base of the plastic bag, the filling such as braised minced pork is added, and then it is all squeezed into a compact rice ball.
* Where to try
QQ Rice, 15-31 Wellesley St West. Rice rolls are priced from $5.20.
* Make your own
Ingredients: Steamed or boiled rice, fillings and sauces of your choice.
Method: Spread rice over a plastic wrap, add fillings and cover it with rice. Roll it tightly with the plastic wrap or plastic bag into a ball, and it's ready to be eaten. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10550083
Monday, December 22, 2008
Weijun Collins.
:00AM Monday Dec 22, 2008
By Alanah May Eriksen
Weijun Collins.
* Our lost children: Child abuse and the charities campaigning to end it
Weijun Collins has experienced abuse first hand - she was a slave for 10 years during China's Cultural Revolution.
So after reading the Herald's Our Lost Children series, the 64-year-old felt compelled to donate $1000 to a charity working to combat child abuse.
Mrs Collins, who studied early childhood education at the Auckland University of Technology in 1997, also wants to donate her time helping new parents in their homes.
Her donation will go to Barnardos, which runs a programme called Footsteps to Feeling Safe teaching children how to escape abusive situations.
Northern region spokeswoman Jenny Corry said of Mrs Collins' donation: "I think that's fantastic. It's so generous.
"We want her to know we will certainly put the money to good use. It will go directly to the children.
"If she's interested in working with us I'm sure we can use her in some capacity."
Mrs Collins was born in China into a prominent and well-educated family. When she was 10, her father, once a high-ranking official, was condemned as an enemy of the Communist Party and banished to a labour camp where he was tortured and starved to death.
Mrs Collins struggled to continue her education but her father's crime eventually rebounded on her and she was sent to the Gobi Desert in north-west China for 10 years farming wheat, maize and opium.
Forced to live in a cave with little food and minimal clothing, she laboured in sub-zero temperatures under heavy guard.
"I was humiliated, outcast," Mrs Collins said.
"No one would talk to me because of my father. I was given the heaviest work to do.
"No one wanted to be my friend. They would hold meetings just to criticise me."
But she managed to find an English textbook which she used to teach herself the language in secret. The only books allowed during that time were books written by Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong.
When she felt she was able to speak English well enough, she biked eight hours into the closest city to look for a job as a teacher, telling soldiers she had back pain and needed to see a doctor.
She was eventually offered a job teaching English as a second language in a small village and, after a battle with her minders, was permitted to work there.
She came to New Zealand in 1986 to study English after a Kiwi tourist, whom she had taken in in China, paid for her tickets.
She returned to China after a year working at a university teaching English before settling back in New Zealand in 1995.
She has since written an autobiography - Desert Rose - and married an English professor working in the engineering school at Auckland University.
She is currently writing a book on parenting skills.
The two daughters she had with her first husband also live in New Zealand and are married.
As a result of Our Lost Children, a research project into minimising brain damage to children on life support has received a $50,000 donation from Mercury Energy.
And an Auckland couple are sponsoring two families associated with Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, which has also had offers of food and clothing.
Presbyterian Support has also received donations.
By Alanah May Eriksen
Weijun Collins.
* Our lost children: Child abuse and the charities campaigning to end it
Weijun Collins has experienced abuse first hand - she was a slave for 10 years during China's Cultural Revolution.
So after reading the Herald's Our Lost Children series, the 64-year-old felt compelled to donate $1000 to a charity working to combat child abuse.
Mrs Collins, who studied early childhood education at the Auckland University of Technology in 1997, also wants to donate her time helping new parents in their homes.
Her donation will go to Barnardos, which runs a programme called Footsteps to Feeling Safe teaching children how to escape abusive situations.
Northern region spokeswoman Jenny Corry said of Mrs Collins' donation: "I think that's fantastic. It's so generous.
"We want her to know we will certainly put the money to good use. It will go directly to the children.
"If she's interested in working with us I'm sure we can use her in some capacity."
Mrs Collins was born in China into a prominent and well-educated family. When she was 10, her father, once a high-ranking official, was condemned as an enemy of the Communist Party and banished to a labour camp where he was tortured and starved to death.
Mrs Collins struggled to continue her education but her father's crime eventually rebounded on her and she was sent to the Gobi Desert in north-west China for 10 years farming wheat, maize and opium.
Forced to live in a cave with little food and minimal clothing, she laboured in sub-zero temperatures under heavy guard.
"I was humiliated, outcast," Mrs Collins said.
"No one would talk to me because of my father. I was given the heaviest work to do.
"No one wanted to be my friend. They would hold meetings just to criticise me."
But she managed to find an English textbook which she used to teach herself the language in secret. The only books allowed during that time were books written by Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong.
When she felt she was able to speak English well enough, she biked eight hours into the closest city to look for a job as a teacher, telling soldiers she had back pain and needed to see a doctor.
She was eventually offered a job teaching English as a second language in a small village and, after a battle with her minders, was permitted to work there.
She came to New Zealand in 1986 to study English after a Kiwi tourist, whom she had taken in in China, paid for her tickets.
She returned to China after a year working at a university teaching English before settling back in New Zealand in 1995.
She has since written an autobiography - Desert Rose - and married an English professor working in the engineering school at Auckland University.
She is currently writing a book on parenting skills.
The two daughters she had with her first husband also live in New Zealand and are married.
As a result of Our Lost Children, a research project into minimising brain damage to children on life support has received a $50,000 donation from Mercury Energy.
And an Auckland couple are sponsoring two families associated with Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, which has also had offers of food and clothing.
Presbyterian Support has also received donations.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
New Zealand Chinese Association (Akld Br.) Inc.
2008 Winter Newsletter
P.O.BOX 4 8 4
Gwa Leng (Gualing) Family Publication
.
Following the successful launch in 2006 of the Tung Jung Association of NZ publication, Zengcheng NZ’s, which profiled
the various Jungseng villages and families that originated from there, a number of Gwa Leng family profiles were not
able to be included due to the limitations on content on the book.
Consequently the Gwa Leng New Zealand Family History Group was established with the following aims:
to produce a contemporary historical record of Chinese New Zealanders tracing their roots back to Gwa Leng
to promote and encourage families to develop their own family histories and family trees as a record for future
generations.
A number of family profiles and family trees have already been submitted and this is a request to target those families
from Gwa Leng that we are not aware of and have not been contacted.
If you have family roots from Gwa Leng, have an interest in your genealogy, have a story to tell and are comfortable to
have it published along with other Gwa Leng families, please urgently contact Mike Wong 06 8775085.
This project is supported by the Chinese Poll Tax Heritage
2008 Winter Newsletter
P.O.BOX 4 8 4
Gwa Leng (Gualing) Family Publication
.
Following the successful launch in 2006 of the Tung Jung Association of NZ publication, Zengcheng NZ’s, which profiled
the various Jungseng villages and families that originated from there, a number of Gwa Leng family profiles were not
able to be included due to the limitations on content on the book.
Consequently the Gwa Leng New Zealand Family History Group was established with the following aims:
to produce a contemporary historical record of Chinese New Zealanders tracing their roots back to Gwa Leng
to promote and encourage families to develop their own family histories and family trees as a record for future
generations.
A number of family profiles and family trees have already been submitted and this is a request to target those families
from Gwa Leng that we are not aware of and have not been contacted.
If you have family roots from Gwa Leng, have an interest in your genealogy, have a story to tell and are comfortable to
have it published along with other Gwa Leng families, please urgently contact Mike Wong 06 8775085.
This project is supported by the Chinese Poll Tax Heritage
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Chopsticks in the Land of Cotton
The story of how Chinese immigrants found their way to the Mississippi River Delta in the late 1800s and earned their living operating small family grocery stores in neighborhoods where mostly black cotton plantation workers lived. What was their status in the segregated black and white world of that region? How did this small group maintain their culture and ethnic identity? What has happened to these merchants and their families over the years?
http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/12302.Chopsticks_in_the_Land_of_Cotton
http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/12302.Chopsticks_in_the_Land_of_Cotton
Monday, November 17, 2008
Wong becomes NZ's first Asian minister
3:47PM Monday Nov 17, 2008
Pansy Wong says her ministerial appointment sends a message to the world New Zealand is a country where anyone can be accepted and succeed. Photo / Paul Estcourt
Pansy Wong says her ministerial appointment sends a message to the world New Zealand is a country where anyone can be accepted and succeed. Photo / Paul Estcourt
Pansy Wong says her appointment as the country's first Asian Cabinet minister shows New Zealand is an open and tolerant country.
The 53-year-old ethnic Chinese MP was appointed Minister for Ethnic Affairs and Minister of Women's Affairs in the new-look Cabinet today.
Mrs Wong said she had always battled to be treated like any other New Zealander and her electorate win in Botany and her appointment as a minister sent a message to the world.
"It shows that New Zealand is a tolerant country where anyone can be accepted and succeed," she told NZPA.
She hoped her achievements would show other minorities they could succeed within mainstream parties and politics and encourage them to get involved.
Mrs Wong credited education, hard work and determination - a system of values instilled by her poor uneducated parents - as the keys to her success.
Born in Shanghai, her family moved to Hong Kong when she was five.
Her father was a seaman who was away for six months of the year and she, her mother, and two brothers lived in a small room in a shared apartment block floor populated by seven families.
"That was about 40 people. We shared one kitchen area and one toilet and one bathroom. So I experienced poverty."
Despite their surroundings, her parents were extremely proud and committed to providing an education and better life for their children.
"She held on to the dream that one day, because the living environment was so depressing, that she wanted to own her own apartment. That dream was fulfilled after six years."
In Hong Kong it was popular to take an English name. Born Yu Fong, which meant "fragrance of flowers", she chose Pansy as her English name.
"I liked it. Pansies are tough but they are also happy and kind of vivacious. It was only afterwards that I found out they don't have any fragrance."
In 1974, when she was 19, her family emigrated to New Zealand after her father, who had docked here on his travels, decided it was good place to raise a family.
Mrs Wong studied at Canterbury University, helping out in her family's St Albans fish and chip shop and Bealey Ave hamburger joint in her spare time.
"Even now I can still flip a mean burger."
It was at university that she met her Malaysian Chinese husband Sammy.
She went on to complete a Masters of Commerce degree with honours, initially working at what is now Ernst and Young as an accountant before joining Christchurch firm Smiths City where she eventually became chief financial controller.
In 1989 she was approached to enter local politics and was elected to Canterbury Regional Council, where she became known as the "$6 million dollar woman" for carving that figure off the budget.
As MMP neared Fendalton MP Philip Burdon approached her to stand for National and she agreed, in 1996 becoming New Zealand's first Asian MP by virtue of National's list.
It was during that election that she first locked horns with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters who was campaigning on an anti-immigration platform and described her as a "token" MP.
After the election she threatened to quit National if the incoming government adopted NZ First's immigration policy.
Mrs Wong said being described as token did not overly worry her because she was used to such treatment.
"Even today some people mock my accent and the way I speak."
She said if anything the barbs helped her motivation.
But she did not like NZ First's denigration of immigrants, knowing first hand how hard it was to resettle in a foreign country.
Mrs Wong said since she was elected to Parliament she has tried to represent Asian communities, but she does not see herself as a spokeswoman for all Asians, as there is a diverse range of interests and views within such a wide group.
"I think it's really important for people to see Asians as individuals rather than just a group."
- NZPA
Pansy Wong says her ministerial appointment sends a message to the world New Zealand is a country where anyone can be accepted and succeed. Photo / Paul Estcourt
Pansy Wong says her ministerial appointment sends a message to the world New Zealand is a country where anyone can be accepted and succeed. Photo / Paul Estcourt
Pansy Wong says her appointment as the country's first Asian Cabinet minister shows New Zealand is an open and tolerant country.
The 53-year-old ethnic Chinese MP was appointed Minister for Ethnic Affairs and Minister of Women's Affairs in the new-look Cabinet today.
Mrs Wong said she had always battled to be treated like any other New Zealander and her electorate win in Botany and her appointment as a minister sent a message to the world.
"It shows that New Zealand is a tolerant country where anyone can be accepted and succeed," she told NZPA.
She hoped her achievements would show other minorities they could succeed within mainstream parties and politics and encourage them to get involved.
Mrs Wong credited education, hard work and determination - a system of values instilled by her poor uneducated parents - as the keys to her success.
Born in Shanghai, her family moved to Hong Kong when she was five.
Her father was a seaman who was away for six months of the year and she, her mother, and two brothers lived in a small room in a shared apartment block floor populated by seven families.
"That was about 40 people. We shared one kitchen area and one toilet and one bathroom. So I experienced poverty."
Despite their surroundings, her parents were extremely proud and committed to providing an education and better life for their children.
"She held on to the dream that one day, because the living environment was so depressing, that she wanted to own her own apartment. That dream was fulfilled after six years."
In Hong Kong it was popular to take an English name. Born Yu Fong, which meant "fragrance of flowers", she chose Pansy as her English name.
"I liked it. Pansies are tough but they are also happy and kind of vivacious. It was only afterwards that I found out they don't have any fragrance."
In 1974, when she was 19, her family emigrated to New Zealand after her father, who had docked here on his travels, decided it was good place to raise a family.
Mrs Wong studied at Canterbury University, helping out in her family's St Albans fish and chip shop and Bealey Ave hamburger joint in her spare time.
"Even now I can still flip a mean burger."
It was at university that she met her Malaysian Chinese husband Sammy.
She went on to complete a Masters of Commerce degree with honours, initially working at what is now Ernst and Young as an accountant before joining Christchurch firm Smiths City where she eventually became chief financial controller.
In 1989 she was approached to enter local politics and was elected to Canterbury Regional Council, where she became known as the "$6 million dollar woman" for carving that figure off the budget.
As MMP neared Fendalton MP Philip Burdon approached her to stand for National and she agreed, in 1996 becoming New Zealand's first Asian MP by virtue of National's list.
It was during that election that she first locked horns with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters who was campaigning on an anti-immigration platform and described her as a "token" MP.
After the election she threatened to quit National if the incoming government adopted NZ First's immigration policy.
Mrs Wong said being described as token did not overly worry her because she was used to such treatment.
"Even today some people mock my accent and the way I speak."
She said if anything the barbs helped her motivation.
But she did not like NZ First's denigration of immigrants, knowing first hand how hard it was to resettle in a foreign country.
Mrs Wong said since she was elected to Parliament she has tried to represent Asian communities, but she does not see herself as a spokeswoman for all Asians, as there is a diverse range of interests and views within such a wide group.
"I think it's really important for people to see Asians as individuals rather than just a group."
- NZPA
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Mid-Autumn Festival - Moon Cake Recipe
Dough:
4 cups Plain flour
3/4 cup Powdered milk
1/2 tablespoon Baking powder
1 cup Sugar
4 Eggs
Filling
4 cups Red, green or lotus seed paste
20 Yolks from salted eggs
1 Egg yolk
3/4 cup Melted butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
To make Filling:
1. Put the 20 salted egg yolks on a baking sheet and bake for 10 mins.
2. Divide bean paste into 20 portions and press a salted egg yolk into each of these.
3. Roll these up into a ball with the egg yolk hidden in the centre.
To make Dough:
1. Sift flour, powdered milk and baking powder together.
2. Beat sugar and eggs together until creamy and white, about 10 minutes.
3. Mix in the melted butter.
4. Then lightly fold in the dry ingredients.
5. Divide this mixture into 20 portions.
To make the mooncakes:
1. Increase the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Roll out dough to 4 inch circles.
3. Place a portion of filling each in the centre and bring up the sides to encase it completely. Pinch cracks to seal and roll between your hands to make a ball.
4. Lightly flour the mould and press the dough ball into it, flattening it with the palm of your hand. Shake to tip out.
5. Place them on a baking sheet, brush tops with egg yolk, and bake for 30 mins.
6. Serve warm or cold.
4 cups Plain flour
3/4 cup Powdered milk
1/2 tablespoon Baking powder
1 cup Sugar
4 Eggs
Filling
4 cups Red, green or lotus seed paste
20 Yolks from salted eggs
1 Egg yolk
3/4 cup Melted butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
To make Filling:
1. Put the 20 salted egg yolks on a baking sheet and bake for 10 mins.
2. Divide bean paste into 20 portions and press a salted egg yolk into each of these.
3. Roll these up into a ball with the egg yolk hidden in the centre.
To make Dough:
1. Sift flour, powdered milk and baking powder together.
2. Beat sugar and eggs together until creamy and white, about 10 minutes.
3. Mix in the melted butter.
4. Then lightly fold in the dry ingredients.
5. Divide this mixture into 20 portions.
To make the mooncakes:
1. Increase the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Roll out dough to 4 inch circles.
3. Place a portion of filling each in the centre and bring up the sides to encase it completely. Pinch cracks to seal and roll between your hands to make a ball.
4. Lightly flour the mould and press the dough ball into it, flattening it with the palm of your hand. Shake to tip out.
5. Place them on a baking sheet, brush tops with egg yolk, and bake for 30 mins.
6. Serve warm or cold.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Fire safety in Chinese
Fire safety in Chinese
By JUDITH LACY - Tribune | Sunday, 24 August 2008
It wasn't quite the lucky 08-08-08, but the launch date of a Chinese language booklet in Palmerston North had enough eights, plus a fire safety-significant one.
The liberally illustrated 10-page booklet covers fire safety tips for around the home and has already been translated into Maori and French.
Launched on 18-08-08, the Chinese booklet is a joint initiative by the Palmerston North Fire Service and the Manawatu branch of the New Zealand Chinese Association.
Last year a group of older Chinese visited the Palmerston North fire station to learn about fire safety and co-ordinator May Needham identified a need for a Chinese language booklet.
Soon after taking up her position, Mrs Needham found older Chinese were not accessing information available to "mainstream" New Zealanders.
Manawatu Chinese Association vice president Tony Thackery told the launch the booklet would be of vital importance to many new Chinese migrants. If it assisted in saving one life or someone from serious injury, the venture had been worthwhile.
Firefighter Mitch Ormsby, who worked with Mrs Needham on the project, hoped the relationship would continue and more fire safety tools could be developed.
The booklet's development was funded by the Chinese Poll Tax Heritage Trust and COGS, with printing costs met by the Fire Service.
Representatives from the Department of Internal Affairs, Age Concern, St John and Settlement Support also attended the launch.
Settlement Support co- ordinator Shelley Davenport said getting official material in languages accessible to migrants was an ongoing challenge.
The fire safety booklet had a strong lifesaving message and was "just brilliant", she said.
By JUDITH LACY - Tribune | Sunday, 24 August 2008
It wasn't quite the lucky 08-08-08, but the launch date of a Chinese language booklet in Palmerston North had enough eights, plus a fire safety-significant one.
The liberally illustrated 10-page booklet covers fire safety tips for around the home and has already been translated into Maori and French.
Launched on 18-08-08, the Chinese booklet is a joint initiative by the Palmerston North Fire Service and the Manawatu branch of the New Zealand Chinese Association.
Last year a group of older Chinese visited the Palmerston North fire station to learn about fire safety and co-ordinator May Needham identified a need for a Chinese language booklet.
Soon after taking up her position, Mrs Needham found older Chinese were not accessing information available to "mainstream" New Zealanders.
Manawatu Chinese Association vice president Tony Thackery told the launch the booklet would be of vital importance to many new Chinese migrants. If it assisted in saving one life or someone from serious injury, the venture had been worthwhile.
Firefighter Mitch Ormsby, who worked with Mrs Needham on the project, hoped the relationship would continue and more fire safety tools could be developed.
The booklet's development was funded by the Chinese Poll Tax Heritage Trust and COGS, with printing costs met by the Fire Service.
Representatives from the Department of Internal Affairs, Age Concern, St John and Settlement Support also attended the launch.
Settlement Support co- ordinator Shelley Davenport said getting official material in languages accessible to migrants was an ongoing challenge.
The fire safety booklet had a strong lifesaving message and was "just brilliant", she said.
Poll tax kept out Chinese
Poll tax kept out Chinese
By JUDITH LACY - Tribune | Sunday, 14 September 2008
WIDE AWAKE: Jessica Wong, 11, plays with lion Hoi Gong at its awakening ceremony at Te Manawa on Monday. Inside the lion are Teh Gyu Kim (head) and Qi-Wern Lim (tail). Aluminium-framed, Hoi Gong is a lot lighter than its bamboo and rattan predecessor, which has been retired.
Hoi Gong waits patiently, sparkling in the gloom.
Manawatu is spelt out in yellow letters around its neck.
Palmerston North Deputy Mayor John Hornblow, clad in a burgundy jacket he was presented with during a visit to Palmerston North's friendship city Kunshan, approaches.
Ceremonial brush in hand, he begins dotting a red liquid on the golden lion in a series of specified steps, starting with the eyes, moving to the toes, and ending with the forehead.
So begins the awakening ceremony of the Manawatu Chinese Association's new lion, an event which last happened 18 years ago.
Monday's ceremony in Te Manawa's courtyard marked the opening of two exhibitions at the Palmerston North museum, A Barbarous Measure: The Poll Tax and Chinese New Zealanders, and one celebrating the association's 70th anniversary.
A Barbarous Measure includes photos, newspaper clippings, cartoons and poll tax associated items.
The [PndStlg]10 tax on every Chinese migrant was introduced in 1881 to make it difficult for Chinese to settle in New Zealand.
Anti-Chinese feeling is evident in a poem published in the Press in 1899, which begins:
"Heap up the Chow Man's burden
Don't let his misery cease".
A White NZ League cartoon from 1931 exhorts consumers to buy from their own race and keep New Zealand white, loosening the "Asiatic stronghold" on market gardening.
Exhibition curator Nigel Murphy told the opening crowd the aim of the poll tax was not to harm Chinese, but to exclude them from New Zealand and being New Zealanders. Unlike Britain, class was not important here; instead race was everything.
In 1896, the tax was increased to [PndStlg]100, roughly equivalent to 10 years' earnings.
In 1934 payment of the tax was waived and the legislation behind it repealed in 1944.
About 4500 Chinese paid a total of [PndStlg]308,080 between 1882 and 1934.
Mr Murphy asked, in 2008, who is a New Zealander? Does white still mean New Zealander? What is our national identity? How much of the attitude behind the poll tax still exists?
New Zealand Chinese Association president Steven Young said it was the fifth time the poll tax exhibition had been mounted in New Zealand.
Sixteen years ago the association commissioned Mr Murphy to research the tax. Until then, little was known about it and the legislative framework that gave rise to it, Mr Young said.
The tax virtually stopped the migration of Chinese women, for 40 years shaping the New Zealand Chinese community into one of "married bachelors". This had a huge negative social and cultural impact, he said.
In 2002 Prime Minister Helen Clark apologised to Chinese who'd paid the poll tax and suffered other discrimination, and to their descendants. Palmerston North MP Steve Maharey said the apology wasn't about dragging up painful memories. Instead it was so people could move on.
Mr Hornblow announced Palmerston North was the first New Zealand local authority to join the China and New Zealand Business Council, formed in 2006.
Palmerston North City Council is also working towards creating a bonsai garden at Victoria Esplanade.
* A Barbarous Measure runs until October 12. Free admission.
By JUDITH LACY - Tribune | Sunday, 14 September 2008
WIDE AWAKE: Jessica Wong, 11, plays with lion Hoi Gong at its awakening ceremony at Te Manawa on Monday. Inside the lion are Teh Gyu Kim (head) and Qi-Wern Lim (tail). Aluminium-framed, Hoi Gong is a lot lighter than its bamboo and rattan predecessor, which has been retired.
Hoi Gong waits patiently, sparkling in the gloom.
Manawatu is spelt out in yellow letters around its neck.
Palmerston North Deputy Mayor John Hornblow, clad in a burgundy jacket he was presented with during a visit to Palmerston North's friendship city Kunshan, approaches.
Ceremonial brush in hand, he begins dotting a red liquid on the golden lion in a series of specified steps, starting with the eyes, moving to the toes, and ending with the forehead.
So begins the awakening ceremony of the Manawatu Chinese Association's new lion, an event which last happened 18 years ago.
Monday's ceremony in Te Manawa's courtyard marked the opening of two exhibitions at the Palmerston North museum, A Barbarous Measure: The Poll Tax and Chinese New Zealanders, and one celebrating the association's 70th anniversary.
A Barbarous Measure includes photos, newspaper clippings, cartoons and poll tax associated items.
The [PndStlg]10 tax on every Chinese migrant was introduced in 1881 to make it difficult for Chinese to settle in New Zealand.
Anti-Chinese feeling is evident in a poem published in the Press in 1899, which begins:
"Heap up the Chow Man's burden
Don't let his misery cease".
A White NZ League cartoon from 1931 exhorts consumers to buy from their own race and keep New Zealand white, loosening the "Asiatic stronghold" on market gardening.
Exhibition curator Nigel Murphy told the opening crowd the aim of the poll tax was not to harm Chinese, but to exclude them from New Zealand and being New Zealanders. Unlike Britain, class was not important here; instead race was everything.
In 1896, the tax was increased to [PndStlg]100, roughly equivalent to 10 years' earnings.
In 1934 payment of the tax was waived and the legislation behind it repealed in 1944.
About 4500 Chinese paid a total of [PndStlg]308,080 between 1882 and 1934.
Mr Murphy asked, in 2008, who is a New Zealander? Does white still mean New Zealander? What is our national identity? How much of the attitude behind the poll tax still exists?
New Zealand Chinese Association president Steven Young said it was the fifth time the poll tax exhibition had been mounted in New Zealand.
Sixteen years ago the association commissioned Mr Murphy to research the tax. Until then, little was known about it and the legislative framework that gave rise to it, Mr Young said.
The tax virtually stopped the migration of Chinese women, for 40 years shaping the New Zealand Chinese community into one of "married bachelors". This had a huge negative social and cultural impact, he said.
In 2002 Prime Minister Helen Clark apologised to Chinese who'd paid the poll tax and suffered other discrimination, and to their descendants. Palmerston North MP Steve Maharey said the apology wasn't about dragging up painful memories. Instead it was so people could move on.
Mr Hornblow announced Palmerston North was the first New Zealand local authority to join the China and New Zealand Business Council, formed in 2006.
Palmerston North City Council is also working towards creating a bonsai garden at Victoria Esplanade.
* A Barbarous Measure runs until October 12. Free admission.
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