Richard Brudvik-Lindner
on
“Chinese in NZ: Immigration of the Other Brother”
~ Next meeting: Friday 28 June ~
The full pdf of this newsletter is available at: NZCFSNelsonJune2013.pdf
Richard Brudvik-Lindner was born in mid-western USA and brought up in the South. He moved to Nelson with his wife, Lori, and their two Chinese daughters in 2010. With a background in communications and marketing, he now teaches social studies and history at Nelson College and is passionate about his new profession and about helping his delightful daughters understand their place in their new homeland.
“All of us, all of our families, all of our ancestors came to the land we now call New Zealand from another place. Two of those groups – Maori New Zealanders and British New Zealanders – are enshrined in our nation’s foundational document: te Tiriti o Waitangi. Two years after that document was created the first Chinese immigrant arrived in New Zealand – the first of our other brothers.
Though Chinese people make up the third largest ethnicity in Aotearoa/New Zealand, they have not historically found a warm welcome, and have in fact found that their immigration to this country has been suppressed, for over a century. How did we get to this place? What is the story?
While Chinese people have contributed greatly to the birth and prosperity of a fledgling nation, their role in our society is unclear. From the early position of neither citizen nor subject, Chinese Kiwis are today the third culture in a self-professed “bi-cultural nation”. As we enter what is likely to be the Chinese century, have we made peace with our nation’s Chinese heritage, and how are we likely to welcome the next waves of Chinese immigrants?”
As usual, we will begin at 5.30 p.m. and then enjoy our buffet meal (cost $12), at 6 p.m.. Our speakers will begin about 7 p.m.. Friends and visitors are most welcome but please notify Barbara when you contact her so we have accurate numbers for the meal.
Friday 28 June .. Hearing House .. 5:30 pm
To arrange catering, please ring:
Barbara Markland ph. 544 4712 by Tuesday 25 June
or e-mail: [email protected]
ENGLISH TEACHER FOR SHANDAN BAILIE SCHOOL: A suitably qualified person is being sought to take up this position in September. Shandan Bailie School has a unique nature through its legacy with Rewi Alley, and the educational approach of ‘hands and mind together’ – combining academic and vocational training. NZCFS has a long term relationship with the school, and teachers living and working here can enjoy the benefits this brings. Contact Dave Bromwich at [email protected].
LAST MEETING: Marilyn Gibbs and Lillian Li-Kurtovic entertained us with stories and photos from last year’s NZCFS Prominent Persons and Leaders Tour and their participation in two significant conferences: the Friendship Forum in Changchun, Jilin Province, and the International Sister Cities Conference in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. We very much appreciated their many insights and thoughts and we certainly enjoyed hearing all about their experiences. Thanks, Marilyn and Lillian.
2013 SUBSCRIPTIONS: Thanks very much to those who have paid their 2013 subscription on time – it is hugely appreciated. We don’t want to lose anyone as a member – especially when our membership was up 20% last year – so reminder subscription forms will be emailed or posted out with this newsletter so the last few can bring your payment to the next meeting. Please make sure you let us know if any of your details have changed when you return the form so that we can make sure our records are up to date.
Single $15 Couple $25 School $25 Corporate $30
MEMBER NEWS: We are very pleased to welcome several new members:
• Yolanda Persico came to our March meeting after seeing the notice in the paper and has since joined. She is looking forward to travelling to China later this year.
• It was great to see new member David Bell at our last meeting. David and Rita live in Wakefield and export Glendenings home-made shortbread to many countries, including China: www.glendenings.co.nz
• Alvin Schroder is a relative of Appo Hocton and has participated in several of our activities in the past.
• Local law firm Pitt & Moore is now a corporate member of our branch and we look forward to welcoming Mike McMellon, a partner in the firm with a particular interest in immigration, and Zhang Hui (John), who works there part-time and is currently studying for his Masters in Accounting at NMIT.
President Christine and Bruce Ward are currently enjoying the food and sunshine in Tuscany. Fortunately, while they had been in Eastern Europe after their river cruise, they had left before the floods arrived.
Congratulations to Lark Ann Ming, Lori and Richard Brudvik-Lindner’s daughter. In a very close finish, Lark and her three team mates took second place in the National Literature Quiz competition held at the National Library in Wellington last week. Team St. Joseph’s Intermediate competed against 12 other schools for the national title.
To read more: http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/8800623/St-Josephs-Lit-Quiz-team-finish-second
DIVERSE CHINA TOUR October 8 – 30, 2013: With a feast of scenery, culture and history this is a further tour in the highly acclaimed “Projects” series, and includes a visit to a NZCFS project cooperative, where we meet our project partners and rural communities, and experience real rural life first hand.
The comprehensive itinerary takes you beyond, to diverse cultural and geographical environments with travel from Yan’an, Shaanxi, in the north, to Guilin, Guangxi, in the south, through exceptional places not often included in tours. This tour will take you to dramatic, iconic scenery and diverse ethnic communities, from modern history and ancient towns, to tastes of culture old and new. It will reward both old China hands and those new to China with rich experiences and memories and many photographic opportunities.
With over twenty years experience in China, and leader of earlier tours, your NZ tour leader will be NZCFS President Dave Bromwich. Joining the group in China is the very popular Wang Fang, who has accompanied four previous NZCFS tours as the in-China guide. She receives the highest accolades from those in previous groups who have enjoyed her warmth, sense of humour, and dedication to making your time the most enjoyable.
For more information, see nzchinasociety.org.nz/news/tours-to-china/ or contact Dave Bromwich direct at [email protected] or phone 06 877 9930.
Please help us by advertising this incredible itinerary to all your family, friends, colleagues and any groups you might belong to.
VISITORS TO HUANGSHI: It is wonderful to report that several Nelsonians have been visiting our Sister City recently. Ferry van Mansum and Aukje Both called in after a trip down the Yangtse River and spent time with Xu Zugui, while Bill Findlater, Chief Executive of the Nelson Regional Economic Development Agency took a group of Nelson business people to China towards the end of May. As well as Huangshi, this delegation visited Beijing, Guangzhou and Yangjiang, which recently signed a Friendly City partnership with Nelson, to explore new business opportunities for the region, as well as expanding on the relationships formed on previous visits to China.
NATIONAL CONFERENCE 2013: Nelson branch was well represented by Royden Smith, Kathy Beatson, James Dyer and Barbara Markland at this year’s NZCFS conference in Christchurch.
The conference theme was ‘Chinese Culture’ and this was very much in evidence with cultural interludes that included song, dance and an illusionist. One session was ‘hands on’ participation with paper cuts, calligraphy, tai chi, and chopstick games. Judy Livingstone had a presentation of photographs taken on the NZCFS Photography Tour running during breaks, and there was an exhibition of ‘Chinese Traditional Painting and Art’. Mr Jayson Zhang, husband of the Chinese Consul-General in Christchurch, read some of his poetry and his book “The Beauty of New Zealand” was launched. This is a wonderful work with photographs of New Zealand scenes, and poetry in English and Chinese written by Mr Zhang.
Speakers included Mr Peter Chin, former Mayor of Dunedin, on ‘The Importance of Sister Cities in China for New Zealand’; Consul-General Mme Tan Xiutian on ‘Building a stronger Sino-Kiwi relationship through Culture’; Dr Adam Lam on ‘The Confucius Institute as a Bridge for New Zealand-China Friendship’; George Andrews on the ‘Rewi Alley Friendship Exchange Fund and Simon Deng Li Fund’; Ms Janine Morrell-Gunn on the ‘Prominent Persons and Leaders Tour 2012’; and Dave Bromwich on ‘Shandan and NZCFS Today and Future Directions’.
Christchurch branch is to be commended for their conference. It can’t have been an easy task to put it all together after the trauma of the last two years! It was all most enjoyable, friendly, and informative – once again demonstrating the incredible work being done by the NZCFS in many spheres of New Zealand China relations.
Election of officers: Retiring after 5 years of sterling, dedicated work as National President, Eric Livingstone was presented with Life Membership of the Society and Dave Bromwich was appointed as his successor. Dave brings an extensive knowledge of China to his new role and we will look forward to welcoming him back to Nelson in the not too distant future.
Other elected officers are: North Island Vice President (Northern): George Andrews, North Island Vice President (Central): Bernie Richmond, South Island Vice President: Dave Adamson, National Executive: Margaret Cooper, Sally Russell, Deborah Rhode, Tony Tian and Miao Fan. Sylvia Yang and John Hodgson were later co-opted to continue to develop their youth and Chinese language initiatives.
Distinguished Service Award: Congratulations to Royden Smith who received a Distinguished Service Award at conference, for his outstanding service to National Executive. Royden has reluctantly decided not to stand for national office but had been National Treasurer for 5 years and then South Island Vice President for the last year. It was evident from the thanks he was offered as others made their speeches that his contribution has been valued in many different aspects of National Executive work. We know Royden is indispensable within the Nelson branch and it was great to see his work recognised at the national level. – Barbara Markland
NZCFS MEDIA TOUR TO CHINA: With a grant from the Simon Deng Li Fund, and organised and led by George Andrews, the NZCFS has been able to fund a group of journalists to visit China. Many of you may have already seen some of the resulting articles in the “NZ Herald”, the “Sunday Star-Times” and the “Otago Daily Times”. Look out for more to come, including in “The Listener”, but examples include:
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/business/259307/china-success-down-get-and-go-go-go
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10886319
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10888010
TERRIFIC TRAFFIC!
– Ferry and Aukje Both
China is like other countries and sometimes the treasurer has to announce ways to make up significant national shortfalls, but there is an easy way in this country: instruct the police to hand out fines. No, they do not have to hide behind trees to catch nearly innocent drivers with lead in their shoes, nor patrol in unmarked cars to make criminals out of ordinary citizens who are unaware of yet another change in the local traffic rules. I mean, driving somewhere for 20 odd years and all of a sudden you have to go 20 km slower, or do you really notice a new stop sign at some corner? Nelson car owners easily recognise this, don’t they? Without doubt, we are well behaved drivers with the occasional flaw and a sometimes malfunctioning auto-pilot. What we in NZ are missing is creativity, we just follow the rules.
Driving lessons in China are a joy to watch; whole benches full of people are enjoying the sun, a cigarette and a chat while looking at utes trying to drive forwards and backwards through two hanging lines with metal rings. To make it more interesting, they have to drive over a little ramp with just two wheels, a great trick. The top speed on the track must be about 5 km/hour and the other candidates are sitting in the cab as well, dying to get their turn. In a way, this is exactly what traffic is like in China, carefully looking after your own car, driving slowly and not getting scratches and if there happen to be people around, remember we are talking about the most populated country in the world, ignore them. Everyone has to look after themselves and the shining automobile is king or, maybe over here, emperor!
As a pedestrian, you might think you are doing the right thing to walk on the footpath, but do not keep your hopes up. Cars are there too because that is where the car parks are. So hardly anyone walks there, instead they use the streets. Zebra crossings are another accident waiting to happen. The general rule is that you could slow down……….
But the miracle of being free from any obligation in Chinese society is shown when drivers come to a round-about; if there is a possible shortcut and, thinking about it, there are several, Chinese drivers go for it. The first few weeks here are torture when taking taxis, the worst offenders, because they are, of course, expected to drive on the wrong side of the road for us New Zealanders, but in their creative craze they often do not. Hence “creativity kills” – that is what should be printed on the cigarette packets in big Chinese characters.
On the positive side, people are incredibly tolerant and do not drive fast like our boy racers. A steady 40 km in fourth gear is how you fail your driving licence in good old Kiwistan but it is normal here, weaving their way through traffic lanes and missing potholes in the road, while honking their horn. Never a dull moment because, if anything is wrong with your car, it is not the klaxon. The result is that no-one even attempts to look around when there is a loud sound near you. Remember the story from Beijing that an ambulance was not allowed any space, in spite of all the audible and visual signs, and came too late to resurrect a heart patient? That is why!
When you enter town there are traffic signs to warn you not to do any of the above, but do they know the principle of making citizen’s arrests to help the police? I wish! It would make me feel a lot safer crossing the streets or walking the footpaths in town while handing out a fine – forget about the language barrier here.
But there is hope! For the last few months the police have more strictly controlled the traffic rule that you have to actually stop for a red light.
If you don’t, you get demerit points and they add up quickly. This is such a novelty for many that people stamp on their brakes even when the light turns orange; a lot safer for pedestrians but not for the cars behind them!
