Hitori, racism, anti-racism, change. Nā, Trina Baggett.
22 years on from the release of her waiata Sway, Bic Runga (Ngāti Kahungunu) released Haere Mai Rā/Sway, following kōrero with Hinewehi Mohi to sing it in te reo Māori.
Introduction
Chinese people have been in Aotearoa New Zealand for close to 180 years.
"They were itinerant workers brought to the Otago goldfields and subjected to a series of anti-Chinese laws from 1881 onwards. Since Chinese were prevented from applying for naturalisation from 1908 onwards, they could never be British subjects or be represented by the Crown. They were the only ethnic group to pay a £100 poll tax for entry and had to be thumb printed on arrival and departure. Many of the arbitrary policies targeting Chinese were applied to local-born Chinese, confirming they were about race, not nationality".
There is a rich shared history of the relationship between Māori and Chinese to explore, some good some not but shared pūrākau, nonetheless.
He aha/What: This important pūrākau looks at the relationship of Aotearoa and its Chinese population, and how this has evolved over the decades.
Whāinga/Aim: To reflect on anti-racism conversations in Aotearoa.
Wā/Time: 47 minutes
Web series 1 - Here to Stay the Chinese follows "Malay-Chinese immigrant Bernadine Lim. The reporter turned director returns to the screen for this 2007 documentary, to talk to other Kiwi Chinese — including musician Chong Nee and playwright Lynda Chanwai-Earle — about their experiences growing up visually and culturally different. Lim also talks to historians about the racism Chinese men encountered when they flocked to Otago goldfields in the 1800s, including having to pay a poll tax". Also features academic, Professor Manying Ip.
Wā/Time: 45 minutes
https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/here-to-stay-the-chinese-2007
If you'd like to dig a little deeper there's an couple of interesting pukapuka, Old Asian New Asian by K. Emma Ng and The Dragon and the Taniwha by Mangying Ip.
A short korero from Professor Manying Ip research that shares pūrākau about the past and present day relationships between Māori and Chinese.
➡️ Next: Land of the Long White Cloud, a web-series.
