Post by NZBC on Nov 20, 2015 20:30:56 GMT 12
Oldest Chinese association launches new book
David Fung is the author of Turning Stone Into Jade, a book on the history of the New Zealand Chinese Association.
Karina Abadia / Fairfax NZ
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History shouldn't repeat itself, author David Fung says.
That's why a poll tax which was imposed on the Chinese during New Zealand colonial times needs to be common knowledge, the 81-year-old says.
The tax was in place during the 19th and early 20th centuries, and was removed in 1944.
It cost Chinese workers £10 to enter the country in 1881. The tax was increased to £100 in 1896.
This discriminatory law and others are included in Mr Fung's book Turning Jade into Stone: The History of the New Zealand Chinese Association (NZCA).
It covers the 80 years of the association's history as well as the broader context of Chinese New Zealanders.
An event to celebrate the book launch was held at Alexandra Park in Greenlane on July 12.
Gold miners arrived in 1865 but before that there were whalers, Mr Fung says.
Many moved here because living conditions in China in the late 19th century were very tough, his wife Esther Fung says.
"There was civil war and natural disasters like flooding and famine. By the 1880s a considerable amount of Chinese had come to New Zealand.
"That was the reason for the introduction of the poll tax - there was talk of 'yellow peril'," she says.
In 2002 the prime minister of the time Helen Clark gave an official apology for the tax.
"It never used to be taught in schools," Mrs Fung says.
"It's one of those things you brush aside because it's not flattering to your history."
The biggest challenge to Chinese New Zealanders these days is maintaining their heritage, Mr Fung says.
"Most young Chinese New Zealanders growing up don't know the mother tongue.
"They are just like any other Kiwis so what we try to do in the NZCA is help them to keep up with the language and culture."
There's also a desire to share the culture with the wider public with things like the lantern festivals and Chinese New Year festivals, Mrs Fung says
"For all those years we were regarded as a secretive community. You looked different therefore it was easy to single you out.
"We regard ourselves as New Zealanders. But previously Chinese people were just foreigners here." www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/70217905/Oldest-Chinese-association-launches-new-book