Showing posts with label kiwi asian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kiwi asian. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Police can't extradite Westpac runaways
Keep dreamin' Westpac, you won't get another cent back! lols
From Stuff
Rotorua's runaway millionaires continue to enjoy their ill-gotten fortune in Hong Kong and there is nothing New Zealand can do about it.
Leo Gao and Kara Hurring have proved crime pays after they skipped the country in May last year when Westpac mistakenly put $10 million into Mr Gao's account.
Mr Gao had asked for a $100,000 overdraft to shore up his ailing service station business in Rotorua. Westpac managed to recover all the money but $3.8 million.
Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Loper said today the inquiry was in a state of limbo with police unable to extradite the couple from China.
"We know roughly were they are, or at least one them," he said. "But we can't get past this point."
Mr Loper said since there was no extradition treaty between China and New Zealand, police were seeking the assistance of the Chinese authorities.
Police had sent two applications to China, the first seeking information on the couple, and the second requesting to interview them. Chinese authorities had turned down the latest request.
"What happens now? Nothing," Mr Loper said.
"We do have arrest warrants. We do have Interpol warrants, so that if they do go a country where we do have an extradition treaty, we can hopefully action those warrants."
Westpac attempted to recover its losses through the Hong Kong courts last year, bidding to recoup about $660,000 Mr Gao passed through a casino and resort operator Wynn International Marketing in nearby Macau.
The bank lost its case and had to pay the casino's legal bills, after court papers were served on an Asian bank, which froze the casino's entire account, not just the money sought by Westpac.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Professor Stephen Chan Awarded OBE
From SOAS
Professor of International Relations Stephen Chan has been awarded an OBE for 'services to Africa and to higher education' in the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours list, published on Saturday 12 June.
"I hope the award is of benefit to SOAS as it seeks to project itself as an increasingly important actor in the world of educated public opinion," said Professor Chan in reaction to the announcement. "It's not an award I sought but, after several glasses of champagne, I've decided I'm very happy with it."
Professor Chan is widely respected as a distinguished academic who has made a major contribution to the academic understanding of international politics in general and African politics in particular. He has also made a significant impact on political developments in Africa through his involvement in high-level diplomacy and actions and advice on the ground.
The firstborn son of Chinese refugees to New Zealand, Stephen Chan was a national student president, publisher, newspaper editor and international civil servant before he became an academic, first in Africa and later in Britain.
He began his academic career as a lecturer in International Relations at University of Zambia in 1983 then worked briefly as a visiting lecturer at the University of Wellington before moving on to academic posts at the University of Kent, then Nottingham Trent University, where he was Dean of Humanities. He joined SOAS in 2002 as Professor of International Relations and served as Dean of Law & Social Sciences for five years from 2002 to 2007.
"Stephen really deserves this honour," said SOAS Director and Principal Paul Webley. "As both an innovative scholar and a committed humanitarian, he epitomises the best of SOAS."
Professor Chan has published 27 books on international relations and more than 200 articles and reviews in the academic and specialist press, as well as over 100 journalistic feature articles. Particularly notable are his 2002 biography of Mugabe (Robert Mugabe: A Life of Power and Violence), his 1991 book on Zambian issues (Kaunda and Southern Africa: Image and Reality in Foreign Policy) and his 2006 volume of interviews with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai (Citizen of Africa: Conversations with Morgan Tsvangirai). His most recent work is The End of Certainty: Towards a New Internationalism.
Earlier this year, he received the 2010 Eminent Scholar in Global Development award of the International Studies Association, a significant academic honour.
Professor Chan has had a long-term involvement with African causes. He participated in the reconstruction of Uganda after the fall of Idi Amin, and also advised and trained government ministries in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Kenya. He established a consortium that trained the Eritrean Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately before and after independence in 1993. He was also part of a consortium that trained the parliamentarians and ministers of post-Dergue Ethiopia from 1998-9. From 2006-7 he was a member of the Africa-China-US Trilateral Dialogue, an effort to establish a common set of principles to help govern the emerging trade wars involving the three continents.
For nearly 30 years, Professor Chan has also been involved in philanthropic work in Africa. In 2001 he established the Kwok Meil Wah Foundation, which assists young martial arts students in Africa. An expert in Karate, he teaches at numerous martial arts clubs in Zambia and Zimbabwe, the majority in deprived areas, during the evenings and weekends of his regular research visits. He also undertakes pro bono legal work on behalf of political refugees seeking asylum in the United Kingdom.
Professor of International Relations Stephen Chan has been awarded an OBE for 'services to Africa and to higher education' in the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours list, published on Saturday 12 June.
"I hope the award is of benefit to SOAS as it seeks to project itself as an increasingly important actor in the world of educated public opinion," said Professor Chan in reaction to the announcement. "It's not an award I sought but, after several glasses of champagne, I've decided I'm very happy with it."
Professor Chan is widely respected as a distinguished academic who has made a major contribution to the academic understanding of international politics in general and African politics in particular. He has also made a significant impact on political developments in Africa through his involvement in high-level diplomacy and actions and advice on the ground.
The firstborn son of Chinese refugees to New Zealand, Stephen Chan was a national student president, publisher, newspaper editor and international civil servant before he became an academic, first in Africa and later in Britain.
He began his academic career as a lecturer in International Relations at University of Zambia in 1983 then worked briefly as a visiting lecturer at the University of Wellington before moving on to academic posts at the University of Kent, then Nottingham Trent University, where he was Dean of Humanities. He joined SOAS in 2002 as Professor of International Relations and served as Dean of Law & Social Sciences for five years from 2002 to 2007.
"Stephen really deserves this honour," said SOAS Director and Principal Paul Webley. "As both an innovative scholar and a committed humanitarian, he epitomises the best of SOAS."
Professor Chan has published 27 books on international relations and more than 200 articles and reviews in the academic and specialist press, as well as over 100 journalistic feature articles. Particularly notable are his 2002 biography of Mugabe (Robert Mugabe: A Life of Power and Violence), his 1991 book on Zambian issues (Kaunda and Southern Africa: Image and Reality in Foreign Policy) and his 2006 volume of interviews with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai (Citizen of Africa: Conversations with Morgan Tsvangirai). His most recent work is The End of Certainty: Towards a New Internationalism.
Earlier this year, he received the 2010 Eminent Scholar in Global Development award of the International Studies Association, a significant academic honour.
Professor Chan has had a long-term involvement with African causes. He participated in the reconstruction of Uganda after the fall of Idi Amin, and also advised and trained government ministries in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Kenya. He established a consortium that trained the Eritrean Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately before and after independence in 1993. He was also part of a consortium that trained the parliamentarians and ministers of post-Dergue Ethiopia from 1998-9. From 2006-7 he was a member of the Africa-China-US Trilateral Dialogue, an effort to establish a common set of principles to help govern the emerging trade wars involving the three continents.
For nearly 30 years, Professor Chan has also been involved in philanthropic work in Africa. In 2001 he established the Kwok Meil Wah Foundation, which assists young martial arts students in Africa. An expert in Karate, he teaches at numerous martial arts clubs in Zambia and Zimbabwe, the majority in deprived areas, during the evenings and weekends of his regular research visits. He also undertakes pro bono legal work on behalf of political refugees seeking asylum in the United Kingdom.
Alison Wong's First novel in line for award
From NZHerald
A first novel has been shortlisted for New Zealand's top literary honour.
As the Earth Turns Silver by Alison Wong is up against works by established writers Fiona Farrell and Owen Marshall in the fiction category of this year's New Zealand Post Book Awards.
Wong took 12 years to research and write the novel, which follows the secret relationship between a Pakeha woman and a Chinese immigrant in 1920s Wellington.
"From the late nineteenth century to the 1920's, from Kwangtung, China to Wellington and Dunedin and the Battlefields of the Western Front – A story of two families.
Yung faces a new land that does not welcome the Chinese. Alone, Katherine struggles to raise her children and find her place in the world.
In a climate of hostility towards the foreign newcomers, Katherine and Yung embark on a poignant and far-reaching love affair . . . .
He came from behind and held her in his arms, told her to look again at earth and sky and water. Could she see how the world turned silver?
People died, he told her, because they were afraid. They did not go out at night on dangerous water. They did not see the earth as it turned overnight to silver."
Winners will be announced on August 27. Voting for the People's Choice Award, where readers select the recipient of a $5000 prize, opens today.
Read a review of her novel here.
A first novel has been shortlisted for New Zealand's top literary honour.
As the Earth Turns Silver by Alison Wong is up against works by established writers Fiona Farrell and Owen Marshall in the fiction category of this year's New Zealand Post Book Awards.
Wong took 12 years to research and write the novel, which follows the secret relationship between a Pakeha woman and a Chinese immigrant in 1920s Wellington.
"From the late nineteenth century to the 1920's, from Kwangtung, China to Wellington and Dunedin and the Battlefields of the Western Front – A story of two families.
Yung faces a new land that does not welcome the Chinese. Alone, Katherine struggles to raise her children and find her place in the world.
In a climate of hostility towards the foreign newcomers, Katherine and Yung embark on a poignant and far-reaching love affair . . . .
He came from behind and held her in his arms, told her to look again at earth and sky and water. Could she see how the world turned silver?
People died, he told her, because they were afraid. They did not go out at night on dangerous water. They did not see the earth as it turned overnight to silver."
Winners will be announced on August 27. Voting for the People's Choice Award, where readers select the recipient of a $5000 prize, opens today.
Read a review of her novel here.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Renee Liang - Banana (New Zealand)
Renee Liang performing 'Banana' at Funky Oriental Beats in Auckland, New Zealand
Dinkum Aliens: Chinese New Zealanders in World War II
Dr Manying Ip
Dinkum Aliens :They also served
In spite of their early arrival the the Chinese remained sojourners in New Zealand. From 1881 onwards, the Chinese were singled out as undesirable aliens and subjected to various discriminatory laws, regulations and administrative measures aimed at limiting their number. Among these were the poll-tax, tonnage ratio, thumb-printing and the literacy test.
Very few Chinese women were allowed to come, and accordingly there were few local-born Chinese babies. The Chinese were barred from naturalisation from 1908 until 1952.
In spite of their marginalised status, the hostile social climate, and their very small number (2,943 in the 1936 census), patriotic Chinese New Zealanders, mostly local-born, served in the Air Force, Army and the Home Guard............
Read more at Stevenyoung.co.nz, there's also a short list of some of the Kiwi Asians that fought in WW2. There's a lot of interesting posts on the site.
Read more about Asian ANZACs here.
Join the Asian ANZACs page.
Dinkum Aliens :They also served
In spite of their early arrival the the Chinese remained sojourners in New Zealand. From 1881 onwards, the Chinese were singled out as undesirable aliens and subjected to various discriminatory laws, regulations and administrative measures aimed at limiting their number. Among these were the poll-tax, tonnage ratio, thumb-printing and the literacy test.
Very few Chinese women were allowed to come, and accordingly there were few local-born Chinese babies. The Chinese were barred from naturalisation from 1908 until 1952.
In spite of their marginalised status, the hostile social climate, and their very small number (2,943 in the 1936 census), patriotic Chinese New Zealanders, mostly local-born, served in the Air Force, Army and the Home Guard............
Read more at Stevenyoung.co.nz, there's also a short list of some of the Kiwi Asians that fought in WW2. There's a lot of interesting posts on the site.
Read more about Asian ANZACs here.
Join the Asian ANZACs page.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Danny Lee named NZ golfer of the year
and Cecilia Cho named Golf Female Amateur of the Year.
From Stuff
Danny Lee and David Smail picked up the major trophies at the New Zealand Golf Awards function in Queenstown.
Lee took out the New Zealand Golfer of the Year for 2009, while Smail won the award for the PGA of New Zealand Professional Golfer of the Year at the Golf Awards hosted by New Zealand Golf and the NZPGA at Millennium Hotel.
Lee, the 2008 US Amateur Champion, was the only New Zealander to gain a win on a major tour in 2009, when he took out the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth.
Lee, 18 at the time, became the youngest player to win on the Australasian and European Tours, and the first amateur to win that title in more than a decade.
He went on to turn professional amid some fanfare, making six of 11 cuts on the PGA Tour including a tie for seventh at the AT&T National but he missed qualifying at the US qualifying school. Lee moved to the European Tour where his Johnnie Walker Classic win gave him exempt status.
Smail completed another outstanding season, finishing 2009 as New Zealand's only player inside the world's top 100, ranked at No 95. The Waikato golfer qualified for three of the four majors in 2009 (British Open, US Open and USPGA), making the cut in the PGA Championship.
He completed another successful year on the Japan Tour, finishing 17th on the moneylist with five top-10s, and was three times runner-up. Smail was fifth on the Australasian Tour Order of Merit with his best showings being a share of second at the NZPGA and tied for eighth at the Moonah Classic - both Nationwide co-sanctioned events.
Talented Dunedin teenager Duncan Croudis was awarded the Sir Bob Charles Scholarship which is awarded annually and established with funds donated by Sir Bob.
The scholarship is aimed at assisting New Zealand's most promising golfers and golf students, to further their education while they develop their golfing skills. They can also be used to pursue specific golf educational goals.
Croudis, 18, is the New Zealand under-19 champion and second in his age group at the Aaron Baddeley world junior championships. He will begin studies for a Bachelor of Commerce at Otago University this year.
Peter Spearman-Burn (Wellington) was awarded the male amateur of the year. He was leader of the Order of Merit, winner North Island Amateur and South Island Amateur and a quarterfinalist at the NZ Amateur.
Auckland's Cecilia Cho is the female amateur of the year. She was the leader in the order of merit and won the New Zealand Amateur among 15 individual titles won in 2009. Cho, then 14, was the leading New Zealander, amateur or professional, at last year's inaugural New Zealand Women's Open, finishing in a share of 14th place.
From Stuff
Danny Lee and David Smail picked up the major trophies at the New Zealand Golf Awards function in Queenstown.
Lee took out the New Zealand Golfer of the Year for 2009, while Smail won the award for the PGA of New Zealand Professional Golfer of the Year at the Golf Awards hosted by New Zealand Golf and the NZPGA at Millennium Hotel.
Lee, the 2008 US Amateur Champion, was the only New Zealander to gain a win on a major tour in 2009, when he took out the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth.
Lee, 18 at the time, became the youngest player to win on the Australasian and European Tours, and the first amateur to win that title in more than a decade.
He went on to turn professional amid some fanfare, making six of 11 cuts on the PGA Tour including a tie for seventh at the AT&T National but he missed qualifying at the US qualifying school. Lee moved to the European Tour where his Johnnie Walker Classic win gave him exempt status.
Smail completed another outstanding season, finishing 2009 as New Zealand's only player inside the world's top 100, ranked at No 95. The Waikato golfer qualified for three of the four majors in 2009 (British Open, US Open and USPGA), making the cut in the PGA Championship.
He completed another successful year on the Japan Tour, finishing 17th on the moneylist with five top-10s, and was three times runner-up. Smail was fifth on the Australasian Tour Order of Merit with his best showings being a share of second at the NZPGA and tied for eighth at the Moonah Classic - both Nationwide co-sanctioned events.
Talented Dunedin teenager Duncan Croudis was awarded the Sir Bob Charles Scholarship which is awarded annually and established with funds donated by Sir Bob.
The scholarship is aimed at assisting New Zealand's most promising golfers and golf students, to further their education while they develop their golfing skills. They can also be used to pursue specific golf educational goals.
Croudis, 18, is the New Zealand under-19 champion and second in his age group at the Aaron Baddeley world junior championships. He will begin studies for a Bachelor of Commerce at Otago University this year.
Peter Spearman-Burn (Wellington) was awarded the male amateur of the year. He was leader of the Order of Merit, winner North Island Amateur and South Island Amateur and a quarterfinalist at the NZ Amateur.
Auckland's Cecilia Cho is the female amateur of the year. She was the leader in the order of merit and won the New Zealand Amateur among 15 individual titles won in 2009. Cho, then 14, was the leading New Zealander, amateur or professional, at last year's inaugural New Zealand Women's Open, finishing in a share of 14th place.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Alisa Xayalith from The Naked and Famous
All of This - The Naked and Famous.
Her brother(or cuz?) Aroon Xayalith seems to be a musician as well. Check out his Myspace page.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Westpac botches runaway millionaire hunt
Westpac's runaway millionaires are a step closer to keeping the cash after the bank bungled an attempt to recover its losses through the Hong Kong courts.
Leo Gao fled New Zealand in May with partner Kara Hurring and her daughter Leena, after a banking error gave his business a $10 million overdraft.
They transferred about $6.7m before the mistake was discovered and Westpac clawed back less than half.
The failed legal action means Westpac's chances of recovering the remaining $3.8m appear to rest on New Zealand police convincing Chinese authorities to extradite the runaways.
Even then, Gao would probably have to agree to hand over the money as part of a deal to escape greater punishment, according to one insider.
The revelations emerged during a Herald on Sunday investigation into Westpac's efforts to recover the money.
In New Zealand, the bank has seized and sold Gao's property investments for below-market value to help recoup its losses and settled an employment dispute with the worker responsible for the banking error.
In Hong Kong, it took a pummelling in the courts after trying to recover money Gao passed through a casino in nearby Macau.
The bank lost the case and had to pay the casino's legal bills before one of its lawyers moved to distance themselves from courtroom manoeuvres.
Details of the case are contained in a legal judgment from the Hong Kong Court of First Instance.
The ruling, by Deputy High Court Judge Ian Carlson, described how Gao was "quick to take advantage" of the error.
Carlson said, according to reports he had read, Gao had transferred "ill-gotten funds" to "various accounts in Mainland China and Hong Kong".
His ruling revealed that Gao had help transferring the money from his brother Lei Gao and mother and business partner Huang Di Zhang.
Kara's sister Aroha joined them for the first leg of their exploits, telling friends she was drinking beer and loving the heat of Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China, before returning to New Zealand three weeks after the banking error.
Carlson said one of the accounts into which Gao deposited money was with Wynn International Marketing, a casino and resort operator with a casino in Macau.
The ruling reveals that Gao transferred only part of the missing millions to the casino - $658,643 - but is the only other party named in legal action by Westpac in the Hong Kong courts. That suggests the bank has no idea where to look for the rest.
Westpac's action against Wynn International Marketing was an attempt to extend High Court orders in New Zealand to freeze the assets of Gao's family.
Carlson initially granted Westpac permission and papers were served on the casino's account with the Dah Sing Bank, one of Asia's largest.
But the lack of detail in the order meant the bank froze the casino's entire account, not the $660,000 sought by Westpac.
Carlson said the casino claimed the move had caused "considerable losses" and "damaged its reputation".
He said the casino intended seeking compensation from Westpac and its lawyers - although the Herald on Sunday understands the matter was dropped after Westpac paid the casino's legal bills.
It also emerged the freezing order made in Hong Kong should not have been granted.
Carlson said a legal error had been made - Westpac had come to court with a freezing order from a New Zealand court when only a full court judgment would have been recognised.
He cancelled any authority the bank believed it had in Hong Kong, and warned Westpac's lawyers about trying to get the court to rule on matters on which it had no jurisdiction.
That prompted one of Westpac's lawyers to seek a special court memo stating he had nothing to do with the botched application.
A Hong Kong legal source said Westpac went after the first, and only, target it could find.
"The fraudsters, having got so lucky, decided they would go and have a little flutter in the casinos in Macau," said the insider.
"Money was then transferred to ... give them lines of credit with the casino.
"But Wynn had no notice they were doing this with money they had stolen until much later. If you turn up tomorrow at the casino with US$1m, they aren't going to ask you where you got it from. They'll just let you gamble.
"When Westpac discovered what had happened they saw these sums of money going into the casino's bank account. They then charged off and got all these injunctions and sought to enforce these orders in Hong Kong without standing back to think 'have I got any claim against the casino'."
The mistake had blunted Westpac's attempts to recover the cash. The source said it was telling there were no details of further attempts to recover the cash on any Hong Kong legal database.
NZHerald
Leo Gao fled New Zealand in May with partner Kara Hurring and her daughter Leena, after a banking error gave his business a $10 million overdraft.
They transferred about $6.7m before the mistake was discovered and Westpac clawed back less than half.
The failed legal action means Westpac's chances of recovering the remaining $3.8m appear to rest on New Zealand police convincing Chinese authorities to extradite the runaways.
Even then, Gao would probably have to agree to hand over the money as part of a deal to escape greater punishment, according to one insider.
The revelations emerged during a Herald on Sunday investigation into Westpac's efforts to recover the money.
In New Zealand, the bank has seized and sold Gao's property investments for below-market value to help recoup its losses and settled an employment dispute with the worker responsible for the banking error.
In Hong Kong, it took a pummelling in the courts after trying to recover money Gao passed through a casino in nearby Macau.
The bank lost the case and had to pay the casino's legal bills before one of its lawyers moved to distance themselves from courtroom manoeuvres.
Details of the case are contained in a legal judgment from the Hong Kong Court of First Instance.
The ruling, by Deputy High Court Judge Ian Carlson, described how Gao was "quick to take advantage" of the error.
Carlson said, according to reports he had read, Gao had transferred "ill-gotten funds" to "various accounts in Mainland China and Hong Kong".
His ruling revealed that Gao had help transferring the money from his brother Lei Gao and mother and business partner Huang Di Zhang.
Kara's sister Aroha joined them for the first leg of their exploits, telling friends she was drinking beer and loving the heat of Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China, before returning to New Zealand three weeks after the banking error.
Carlson said one of the accounts into which Gao deposited money was with Wynn International Marketing, a casino and resort operator with a casino in Macau.
The ruling reveals that Gao transferred only part of the missing millions to the casino - $658,643 - but is the only other party named in legal action by Westpac in the Hong Kong courts. That suggests the bank has no idea where to look for the rest.
Westpac's action against Wynn International Marketing was an attempt to extend High Court orders in New Zealand to freeze the assets of Gao's family.
Carlson initially granted Westpac permission and papers were served on the casino's account with the Dah Sing Bank, one of Asia's largest.
But the lack of detail in the order meant the bank froze the casino's entire account, not the $660,000 sought by Westpac.
Carlson said the casino claimed the move had caused "considerable losses" and "damaged its reputation".
He said the casino intended seeking compensation from Westpac and its lawyers - although the Herald on Sunday understands the matter was dropped after Westpac paid the casino's legal bills.
It also emerged the freezing order made in Hong Kong should not have been granted.
Carlson said a legal error had been made - Westpac had come to court with a freezing order from a New Zealand court when only a full court judgment would have been recognised.
He cancelled any authority the bank believed it had in Hong Kong, and warned Westpac's lawyers about trying to get the court to rule on matters on which it had no jurisdiction.
That prompted one of Westpac's lawyers to seek a special court memo stating he had nothing to do with the botched application.
A Hong Kong legal source said Westpac went after the first, and only, target it could find.
"The fraudsters, having got so lucky, decided they would go and have a little flutter in the casinos in Macau," said the insider.
"Money was then transferred to ... give them lines of credit with the casino.
"But Wynn had no notice they were doing this with money they had stolen until much later. If you turn up tomorrow at the casino with US$1m, they aren't going to ask you where you got it from. They'll just let you gamble.
"When Westpac discovered what had happened they saw these sums of money going into the casino's bank account. They then charged off and got all these injunctions and sought to enforce these orders in Hong Kong without standing back to think 'have I got any claim against the casino'."
The mistake had blunted Westpac's attempts to recover the cash. The source said it was telling there were no details of further attempts to recover the cash on any Hong Kong legal database.
NZHerald
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Pioneering spirit lives
The descendants of a 19th century immigrant have flocked to the North Shore 125 years after his arrival.North Shore Times
Up to 100 descendants of Thomas Wong Doo, some from as far as New York, celebrated their Kiwi and Chinese heritage with a reunion lunch at New Dragon World Restaurant in Birkenhead.
Thomas Wong Doo joined his brothers in the "New Gold Mountain" of New Zealand in 1884 when he was about 15.
"He came over in virtually his shirt and pants and took over the market garden," grandson Thomas Wong Doo III says.
Mr Wong Doo eventually returned to China and married, later bringing his wife Unui to New Zealand where she was one of the first female Chinese immigrants.
He loaned others £100 for the poll tax Chinese immigrants had to pay – the equivalent of a year’s wages, his grandson says.
Mr Wong Doo even sponsored a large group of people to migrate in the lead up to the closing date for Asian immigration in the early 1900s.
"He helped the Chinese when they came in, fed them, housed them, helped them look for jobs. The Chinese live in clans. Thomas looked after the Wong clan."
Even now family members still offer their help to new immigrants through the Kwong Cheu Club which Mr Wong Doo founded in 1923.
"To further the dynasty we’ve got to do good in this world, charity, not just looking after ourselves. It’s good for the whole family."
After making their fortunes and the family were established, the couple returned to China but were forced to come back after the Japanese invasion, Mr Wong Doo III says.
Their Chinese properties and land was lost in the Japanese invasion, civil war, and take over by communism in 1949.
The market gardens where Mr Wong Doo worked in Grey Lynn were named Chinaman’s Hill after him.
His son Norman Wong Doo went on to be Auckland Grammar School’s first Chinese student during the late 1920s and early 1930s, Norman’s son, North Shore resident Dennis Doo, says.
"He used to tell me he had his shirt ripped off his back because of racial discrimination."
Mr Wong Doo III says such behaviour was not uncommon.
"When you’re an immigrant in any country you’ve got to prove yourself, you’ve got to put up with all these things. This is what the Doo family have done – work hard, get integrated into society, get involved with charities."
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Supermarket change marks end of an era
The legacy of Foodtown - the small South Auckland supermarket that energised the grocery trade in Australasia - is set to become lost in a rebranding exercise that will see all Foodtown and Woolworths stores renamed as "new generation" Countdowns.
The first Foodtown, opened in Otahuhu by Tom Ah Chee on June 28, 1958, was the first American-style supermarket in New Zealand.
Mr Ah Chee's widow, Molly Ah Chee, could not be reached for comment yesterday but a family member said the rebranding marked the "end of an era".
The original Foodtown, owned by Mr Ah Chee and his friends Norman Kent, John Brown and Brian Picot, opened to so much excitement that traffic blocked the main road and the street was shut off. Radio announcers appealed to would-be customers to come back the next day, but that only attracted more interest.
The store, which also had the first automatic doors and air-conditioning, proved so popular that a second one was opened nearby in Takanini in 1961.
By last year, 50 years later, New Zealand had more than 30 Foodtowns.
When Foodtown first opened, supermarket trolleys were a new concept. Specials included a 6lb (2.7kg) bag of Chelsea sugar for the equivalent of 49c, an 11oz bottle of Watties tomato sauce for 27c and toilet rolls for 14c.
A large package of Weet-Bix was 31c, a 26oz can of spaghetti was 20c and Choysa teabags (8oz) were 33c.
Eggs came in paper bags and boys took customers' shopping to their cars.
NZ Herald
"Eggs came in paper bags" - wow
Monday, September 21, 2009
New play explores early Kiwi-Chinese heritage
A dramatic historical shipwreck is the starting point for The Bone Feeder by Renee Liang. Liang, a postgraduate student at the University of Auckland’s Drama department, is directing and producing her second play at the Drama Studio in late September. The Bone Feeder is a contemporary exploration of the consequences of the sinking of the SS Ventnor, which was chartered to take the remains of 499 Chinese men from Otago, Westland and Wellington to their final resting places in Canton (now Guangzhou), China.
“Back in 1902, when the Ventnor sailed, it was considered important for Chinese to return to their home villages,” Liang explains. “So the Chinese which had migrated to New Zealand to work (mainly in the gold fields), considered themselves only temporary visitors. They always intended to return home once they had made the money they set out to earn. Of course, life being harsh at that time, many of them didn’t make it. So they were buried in temporary graves while their descendants and friends raised enough money. It was believed that the bodies needed to return to their home villages in order to watch over their descendants and in return, have their graves looked after and spirits nourished.”
Unfortunately, the Ventnor struck a rock and subsequently sank near the Hokianga Harbour. The coffins and bones were lost, along with the lives of 13 crewmen. But some of the coffins and bones were washed ashore where, local stories reveal, they were found by local Maori and buried in family urupa.
“It’s a piece of NZ history which very few people have known about until now,” Liang says. “But recently some of the descendants of those lost on the Ventnor have started looking for ways to honour their ancestors.” That project, known as The Ventnor Project and led by prominent Chinese community figures in consultation with local kaumatua, is looking at ways to commemorate the incident, with appropriate ceremonies and possibly a memorial. But in the meantime Liang, a second generation Chinese New Zealander, became interested in the story.
“My family only came to NZ in the 1970s, so we’re relatively recent migrants,” she says. “None of the men who were lost with the Ventnor were my ancestors. But the story resonated within me as soon as I heard it. I started thinking about how we are all migrants one way or another, how we adapt to changing circumstances and how we all have to figure out where we fit in.”
Read the rest at Scoop
Robber bashes elderly woman
An elderly Chinese woman with no English stood frozen in darkness as a man demanded cash from her family takeaway shop.
He had tampered with the powerbox before entering Ming Takeaways in Mangere - about 1am on Wednesday - so the 70-year-old could not see him and did not understand what he was saying.
When she did not comply he struck her round the head with a weapon, knocking her to the ground.
The woman called out to her 38-year-old son in Cantonese "the guy is hitting me" and he rushed out from the back of the shop. He found his mother lying on the ground with a deep gash in her forehead and a bleeding, swollen eye. She was taken to Middlemore Hospital with blurred vision and discharged that morning.
"It was very scary. Somebody came into the shop and used something to hit my mum, but because she couldn't see anything and couldn't speak English ..." the son said.
He and the chef chased the man down the street, but lost sight of him and called police.
The man did not get any cash.
Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Pizzini said police believed the man tampered with the shop's powerbox so it was dark when he entered the shop.
He warned business owners to beware of the new style of robbery.
"Our advice is for shop proprietors to check power boxes if accessible from public places and make sure they are secured by padlocks so this can't happen," said Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Pizzini.
The man sought by police is 18 to 20 years old, about 178cm tall, wearing a blue bandanna over his mouth, a baseball cap and a light-coloured hooded sweatshirt.
NZ Herald
Friday, September 18, 2009
Auckland's Chinese Heritage - Auckland Heritage Festival Sep 19 - Oct 4
Most Aucklanders associate the Wah Lee general store in Hobson St with fireworks for Guy Fawkes. What they probably don't realise is that the store is owned by one of the four founding Chinese families in Auckland.
Barry Wah Lee's grandfather opened the store in about 1900 at the old Chinatown in Grey's Ave, or Grey St as it was then known.
The area became home to boarding houses, opium dens and gambling houses.
Auckland's first and only Chinatown was replaced by multi-storey flats and later the Auckland City Council Civic Building, and Wah Lee's moved to Hobson St in 1966.
The history of the Chinese community in colonial Auckland is the subject of a talk tomorrow by a member of the Chinese community, David Wong, as part of the Auckland Heritage Festival.
The festival, the sixth held by the Auckland City Council, starts tonight with a display of historical images projected on to Shed 10 at Queens Wharf.
There will be a public viewing from behind the "Red Gates" on Quay St from 6.30pm.
The theme of this year's festival is living heritage and features more than 100 diverse and interactive events. They include an Auckland Heritage pub quiz night, cruises on the historic William C Daldy steam tug and a concert celebrating the 40th anniversary of the liberation by university students of Albert Park in 1969.
Mr Wong said the first Chinese arrived in Auckland from the Otago goldfields in the 1860s. Among them was Thomas Quoi who had a stall in the city markets behind where the Civic Theatre was later built.
Early Chinese settlers turned their hand to market gardening, among them Mr Wong's great-grandfather who named his area at Carlaw Park "the garden of prosperity".
The Chinese also opened laundry and fruit shops.
Mr Wong said the Chinese population throughout New Zealand in 1900 was about 3000, of which there were only eight or 10 women. Auckland's Chinese population was between 112 and 120.
Today, there are more than 130,000 Chinese in Auckland, of which about 25,000 were born in New Zealand.
Mr Wong will be giving two talks at the Auckland Art Gallery tomorrow - at 1pm in English and 3pm in Mandarin. Bookings can be made on 307-7700.
For more details on the festival, which runs until October 4, click here Auckland Heritage Festival
New Zealand Herald
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Auckland Hong Kong Film Festival 2009
Action with a new edge at HK Film Festival
Resurgence is the buzz word in the Hong Kong film world today. The traditional action flicks on which the Hong Kong film industry built its strong reputation are still popular, but local moviegoers want new ideas and concepts.
This first Hong Kong Film Festival in New Zealand showcases four movies released last year and one in 2007. The films tell stories of prostitution, tough life in a New Territories town, kidnapping and crime, gang wars and a legend about the defeat of a warlord and rise of a people´s hero. They have all won awards in Hong Kong and at international film festivals.
In Cantonese with English subtitles, the five films selected by filmmaker Alex Lee of Asia NZ Film Foundation and DOCNZ, especially for the Hong Kong New Zealand Business Association, give filmgoers a taste of Hong Kong´s new talent.
The HK Film Festival at the Rialto Newmarket in Auckland, September 16 - 20. For Screening times & Ticket info Click Here
Hong Kong Film Festival 2009 Website
Friday, August 28, 2009
New Zealand's 1st Korean MP
"Nov. 8, 2008 was a memorable day for a Korean New Zealander Melissa Lee. In the general election that day, Lee became the first Korean immigrant to get into parliament on the ruling National Party list."I had never been as happy as that day except when I gave birth to my baby," Lee, in Seoul to attend the 2009 Future Leaders Conference hosted by the Overseas Koreans Foundation, recalled Monday. "It was the day when my old dream came true. In elementary school in Korea, I always wrote down 'president' when we had to fill in surveys asking what our future dreams are."
She moved to Malaysia with her family when as a fifth grader, and to Australia when in her first year of high school for better prospects for university. After she graduated from university in 1988, she relocated to New Zealand with her family.
Her first job in New Zealand was as a newspaper reporter. Five years later, she found a job with New Zealand's state-run broadcaster TVNZ. As an anchor, she was involved in making programs dealing with issues on ethnic minorities. In 1996, she set up her own company Asia Vision, producing and presenting shows.
She received the first courting calls from the NP 10 years ago, but declined the offer at the time. "I had my son in 1998, and I thought it wouldn't be ideal to enter politics with a baby at home. Was it 2006? I had an offer from the NP again before the 2008 general election and accepted as my boy had quite grown up," she said.
In June, Lee took another challenge. She ran for the Mount Albert by-election when the constituency became vacant after former prime minister Helen Clark left to take up the position of the head of the UN Development Programme. In the end, Lee lost to David Shearer of the Labour Party, but under New Zealand law, Lee was able to keep her parliamentary seat. "It was a big experience for my future career," said Lee.
"I would like to be a political bridge between Korea and New Zealand during my three-year term," she said, "First of all, I want to work toward the signing of the Korea-New Zealand free trade agreement. My dream is also nurturing future Korean-New Zealander politicians. I would like the 35,000 or so Korean New Zealanders to find hope in me." What would be the end goal of her political ambitions? "Since I started it, at least shouldn't I be a minister?” she asked. "
Source
The show that Melissa works on is called Asia Downunder and has been described as being about "Asia and Asians in New Zealand. Stories about Asian Kiwis, young and old, from topics as diverse as art, business, sport, music, fashion, culture, lifestyle, food and many more." I think the show airs twice a week if you are in New Zealand, otherwise they have a channel on Youtube. Some really good and diverse topics on there, I'm still waiting for the day when Asian Australians can be as organised and have their own channel on AA stuff! If the Kiwis can do it so can we. And seeing as she spent 6yrs in Oz we should be claiming her as our own....
Youtube link: Asia Downunder
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Westpac staffer 'set for sack' over $8m error
Kara and her daughterLeo Gao and his gf Kara Yang (nee Hurring) have been on the run for months now. At first the bank accepted the error and the staffer who made the mistake was off the hook. However now it seems the bank has changed its mind and this month will "manage her out" of the company. I wonder where Leo and Kara are now? Apparently somewhere in Asia.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Going Bananas International Conference 17 July -19 July
MAKE WAY FOR DRAGONS AND BANANAS
Registrations are now open for our popular and iconic Going Bananas Conference, returning to Auckland, New Zealand on July 18 and 19 after opening events on 17 July. We currently have a special offer for a limited time for registrations of three or more individuals together - at the Earlybird rate of NZ$150.00 per individual. To take up this special offer, please contact Kai Luey by phone +64 9 522 1840 or fax +64 9 522 1842, or by email to kailuey@xtra.co.nz
Our promotional brochure, full programme (including ISSCO Breakout sessions),and map of conference venue are available for download. Please help build interest in the conference by spreading the word through your networks.
This year’s conference, Rising Dragons, Soaring Bananas, is presented by the New Zealand Chinese Association Auckland Inc. in association with the International Society for the Studies of Chinese Overseas (ISSCO).
Our event is set to challenge perceptions of what it means to be Chinese and peel open the journeys, stories and identities of leading Chinese personalities making an impact in New Zealand and on the global stage. A highlight of the ISSCO breakout sessions will draw on experiences from Chinese communities worldwide.
Extensive carpark facilities are available under The University of Auckland Business School at a flat rate of $5.00 (incl. GST) for Friday evening after 5.00pm, and all day Saturday & Sunday. Entry is from Grafton Road. Internal access is avaiable by the carpark lifts directly to Level O where the conference is being held.
Kai Luey Chairman New Zealand Chinese Association Auckland Inc.
http://www.goingbananas.org.nz/
Registrations are now open for our popular and iconic Going Bananas Conference, returning to Auckland, New Zealand on July 18 and 19 after opening events on 17 July. We currently have a special offer for a limited time for registrations of three or more individuals together - at the Earlybird rate of NZ$150.00 per individual. To take up this special offer, please contact Kai Luey by phone +64 9 522 1840 or fax +64 9 522 1842, or by email to kailuey@xtra.co.nz
Our promotional brochure, full programme (including ISSCO Breakout sessions),and map of conference venue are available for download. Please help build interest in the conference by spreading the word through your networks.
This year’s conference, Rising Dragons, Soaring Bananas, is presented by the New Zealand Chinese Association Auckland Inc. in association with the International Society for the Studies of Chinese Overseas (ISSCO).
Our event is set to challenge perceptions of what it means to be Chinese and peel open the journeys, stories and identities of leading Chinese personalities making an impact in New Zealand and on the global stage. A highlight of the ISSCO breakout sessions will draw on experiences from Chinese communities worldwide.
Extensive carpark facilities are available under The University of Auckland Business School at a flat rate of $5.00 (incl. GST) for Friday evening after 5.00pm, and all day Saturday & Sunday. Entry is from Grafton Road. Internal access is avaiable by the carpark lifts directly to Level O where the conference is being held.
Kai Luey Chairman New Zealand Chinese Association Auckland Inc.
http://www.goingbananas.org.nz/
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