Post by NZBC on Jun 8, 2013 19:45:30 GMT 12
Pam Dunn,
沈倩萍
沈倩萍
沈倩萍
沈倩萍
, diplomat—Zhang Da (Jurng Daai)
張大村
張大村
張大村
張大村
Who would expect to find a vivacious New Zealand born Chinese woman in the corridors of
power in Beijing? Not many, but at the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing, you will find Pam
Dunn (nee Chong).Pam, who is a Mandarin speaker (her Chinese name is
沈倩萍), is the Deputy Head of Mission (second in charge)at the New Zealand
Embassy in Beijing, China. With more than 20 officers from New Zealand representing ten government agencies and around 80 localy hired staff, it is presently New Zealand’s largest embassy in the world. The embassy represents the New Zealand Government in China on a wide range of matters - political, trade and
economic, agriculture, tourism, education, immigration, de fence and many other areas.
Pam was born and raised in Wellington. Her parents are Shum Woon 沈垣昌and Susan黄群笑 Chong. Shum,
who has retired from his watchmaking business, was a former president of the Tung Jung Association. Both Pam’s
grandfathers immigrated to New Zealand from Guangdong. Her paternal grandfather沈柏容, was from Jungsen, Jurng Daai village增城, 張大村, and was a well-known figure around Chinatown (Haining Street) in Wellington. Her maternal grandfather 黄世興came from 增城,黄沙頭村.
Pam met her husband, Ross Dunn, when he had just moved to Wellington from Dunedin and was introduced to him by a mutual friend. Ross is an English teacher and has taughtat Porirua College, Wellington College, the International School of Beijing and the Shanghai American School. They have a 10 year oldson, Caleb, who currently attends the Western Academy of Beijing as a fifth grader.As a child, Pam went to Mt Cook Primary School, a multinational inner city school in Wellington wheremany of the pupils were recent immigrants and spoke little English. The principal at the time, Walter Hirsh, would later becomeNew Zealand’s race relations conciliator.
After attending Wellington East Girls’ College, Pamgraduated from Victoria University of Wellington w
ith a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Bachelorof Arts (Hons) degree in International Politics. She was awarded the Sir John Marshall scholarship for the top political science student in her final BA year.
In her career with the Ministry of Foreign Affairsand Trade (MFAT), Pam has focused largely on Asian
affairs. During the early 1990s, she underwent two years’ full
time intensive Mandarin language training, at Victoria University and at Beijing Normal University, as most New Zealand diplomats posted to China are expected to be able to readand converse in Chinese.
Prior to her current posting, Pam worked in the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing during the mid-1990s.She returned to China in 2002, where she was the New Zealand Consul-General in Shanghai, a position which she held for three years. She returned to China for her third posting in 2008. She is by no means the most experienced China hand working in the embassy, as the present Ambassador, Carl Worker, is on his fourth China posting, and Trade Commissioner Alan Young first arrived in Beijing in 1976. Another colleague, Serena Chui, is a fellow
“NZBC” – she’s a sixth generation New Zealand Chinese from Central Otago, from the Sew Hoy family.
Through her work, Pam has met a number of senior Chinese leaders, in-cluding Presidents Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, and Premiers Zhu Rongji and Wen Jiabao. She has also met several leaders at the provincial and
local levels. Through New Zealand’s development assistance projects,Pam has also had the opportunity to travel to some of China’s poorest and remotest areas. During her stints back in Wellington with MFAT, Pam
has managed units responsible for South Asia, Southeast Asia and North Asia as well as human rights. She also worked closely with Asia New Zealand Foundation,which promotes a greater understanding and knowledg
e of Asia amongst New Zealanders, in one of her roles.Pam’s interests include reading (especially biograpies and Chinese history), travelling – she has been to 23 provinces in China so far – and exploring Beijing’s streets and alleyways (hutongs) on foot. Beijing alsohas many cultural performances and excellent theatres and concert halls, so the family enjoys going to see Chineseopera, the acrobats and modern music.
Her work in the Embassy keeps her pretty busy though, so itis always a relief when Mum and Dad come to visit and help out with the childcare and running the household.While Pam enjoys trying China’s many varied cuisines, nothing can beat Mum’s Cantonese cooking.Pam will be based in China for at least another couple of
years.For more information on the work of the Ministry of ForeignAffairs and Trade and its embassies overseas, see
www.mfat.govt.nz
This article was written by Gordon Wu
www.tungjung.org.nz/images/stories/newsletters/2010/Autumn_Issue_2010_amended_.pdf
Standing in front of the New Zealand Embassy Outside the Gate of Heavenly Peace, Beijing, with Ross and Caleb
沈倩萍
沈倩萍
沈倩萍
沈倩萍
, diplomat—Zhang Da (Jurng Daai)
張大村
張大村
張大村
張大村
Who would expect to find a vivacious New Zealand born Chinese woman in the corridors of
power in Beijing? Not many, but at the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing, you will find Pam
Dunn (nee Chong).Pam, who is a Mandarin speaker (her Chinese name is
沈倩萍), is the Deputy Head of Mission (second in charge)at the New Zealand
Embassy in Beijing, China. With more than 20 officers from New Zealand representing ten government agencies and around 80 localy hired staff, it is presently New Zealand’s largest embassy in the world. The embassy represents the New Zealand Government in China on a wide range of matters - political, trade and
economic, agriculture, tourism, education, immigration, de fence and many other areas.
Pam was born and raised in Wellington. Her parents are Shum Woon 沈垣昌and Susan黄群笑 Chong. Shum,
who has retired from his watchmaking business, was a former president of the Tung Jung Association. Both Pam’s
grandfathers immigrated to New Zealand from Guangdong. Her paternal grandfather沈柏容, was from Jungsen, Jurng Daai village增城, 張大村, and was a well-known figure around Chinatown (Haining Street) in Wellington. Her maternal grandfather 黄世興came from 增城,黄沙頭村.
Pam met her husband, Ross Dunn, when he had just moved to Wellington from Dunedin and was introduced to him by a mutual friend. Ross is an English teacher and has taughtat Porirua College, Wellington College, the International School of Beijing and the Shanghai American School. They have a 10 year oldson, Caleb, who currently attends the Western Academy of Beijing as a fifth grader.As a child, Pam went to Mt Cook Primary School, a multinational inner city school in Wellington wheremany of the pupils were recent immigrants and spoke little English. The principal at the time, Walter Hirsh, would later becomeNew Zealand’s race relations conciliator.
After attending Wellington East Girls’ College, Pamgraduated from Victoria University of Wellington w
ith a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Bachelorof Arts (Hons) degree in International Politics. She was awarded the Sir John Marshall scholarship for the top political science student in her final BA year.
In her career with the Ministry of Foreign Affairsand Trade (MFAT), Pam has focused largely on Asian
affairs. During the early 1990s, she underwent two years’ full
time intensive Mandarin language training, at Victoria University and at Beijing Normal University, as most New Zealand diplomats posted to China are expected to be able to readand converse in Chinese.
Prior to her current posting, Pam worked in the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing during the mid-1990s.She returned to China in 2002, where she was the New Zealand Consul-General in Shanghai, a position which she held for three years. She returned to China for her third posting in 2008. She is by no means the most experienced China hand working in the embassy, as the present Ambassador, Carl Worker, is on his fourth China posting, and Trade Commissioner Alan Young first arrived in Beijing in 1976. Another colleague, Serena Chui, is a fellow
“NZBC” – she’s a sixth generation New Zealand Chinese from Central Otago, from the Sew Hoy family.
Through her work, Pam has met a number of senior Chinese leaders, in-cluding Presidents Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, and Premiers Zhu Rongji and Wen Jiabao. She has also met several leaders at the provincial and
local levels. Through New Zealand’s development assistance projects,Pam has also had the opportunity to travel to some of China’s poorest and remotest areas. During her stints back in Wellington with MFAT, Pam
has managed units responsible for South Asia, Southeast Asia and North Asia as well as human rights. She also worked closely with Asia New Zealand Foundation,which promotes a greater understanding and knowledg
e of Asia amongst New Zealanders, in one of her roles.Pam’s interests include reading (especially biograpies and Chinese history), travelling – she has been to 23 provinces in China so far – and exploring Beijing’s streets and alleyways (hutongs) on foot. Beijing alsohas many cultural performances and excellent theatres and concert halls, so the family enjoys going to see Chineseopera, the acrobats and modern music.
Her work in the Embassy keeps her pretty busy though, so itis always a relief when Mum and Dad come to visit and help out with the childcare and running the household.While Pam enjoys trying China’s many varied cuisines, nothing can beat Mum’s Cantonese cooking.Pam will be based in China for at least another couple of
years.For more information on the work of the Ministry of ForeignAffairs and Trade and its embassies overseas, see
www.mfat.govt.nz
This article was written by Gordon Wu
www.tungjung.org.nz/images/stories/newsletters/2010/Autumn_Issue_2010_amended_.pdf
Standing in front of the New Zealand Embassy Outside the Gate of Heavenly Peace, Beijing, with Ross and Caleb