Manying Ip - 'Chinese in the cultural mosaic: New Zealand thirty years on', 2017-08-30

This lecture argues that the changing place of the Chinese in this country’s cultural mosaic is one of the most salient features marking New Zealand’s transformation over the last three decades and into the 21st century. As a visible minority, the Chinese have faced formidable hurdles to ‘fit in’, to find suitable employment, and to meaningfully engage with mainstream New Zealanders. Indeed, the rather bitter joke circulating among the Chinese is that any ills of New Zealand society could be blamed on them: from house prices, milk powder, jobs, health and education or their own mobility, the accusing finger is often directed at the Chinese.

After thirty years, some substantial transformation is visible and there are various ‘Chinese success stories’, many of these partly facilitated by the spectacular rise of China as an economic power. While the Chinese in New Zealand are widely seen as a useful link to the country’s second largest trading partner, and an increasingly formidable political power in the Pacific, genuine integration is yet to be achieved. Ultimately, the story of Chinese New Zealanders is that of a diasporic population, with various links to a distant sending country. With their considerable personal strengths, how can they contribute further to a better future for themselves and for their country of adoption?