Post by NZBC on Aug 7, 2007 20:41:14 GMT 12
www.beehive.govt.nz/Documents/Files/Chinese%20Heritage%20media%20kit.doc
New Zealand has been lauded as the first country in the world to apologise to its ethnically Chinese citizens for discriminatory legislation specifically aimed at them or their forebears. The worst of this legislation imposed a punitive Poll Tax on early Chinese settlers.
The Government has announced a set of initiatives designed to support the apology, and acknowledge the history and experience of the early-settler Chinese New Zealand community.
The initiatives are substantially based on feedback received from consultation with the early-settler Chinese community. That consultation established that Poll Tax payers and their descendants were not seeking individual compensation, but they hoped for the means to inform the wider public about the history, hardship and unique experience of early Chinese New Zealanders. They also wanted some assistance for community efforts to maintain culture, heritage and language.
New Zealand has been lauded as the first country in the world to apologise to its ethnically Chinese citizens for discriminatory legislation specifically aimed at them or their forebears. The worst of this legislation imposed a punitive Poll Tax on early Chinese settlers.
The Government has announced a set of initiatives designed to support the apology, and acknowledge the history and experience of the early-settler Chinese New Zealand community.
The initiatives are substantially based on feedback received from consultation with the early-settler Chinese community. That consultation established that Poll Tax payers and their descendants were not seeking individual compensation, but they hoped for the means to inform the wider public about the history, hardship and unique experience of early Chinese New Zealanders. They also wanted some assistance for community efforts to maintain culture, heritage and language.