New Zealand has said only recently that it wishes to embrace Asia. But do New Zealanders in fact "only want Asian resources, but not want Asians as their neighbors"?
We had expected early July in the Southern Hemisphere to be a time when winter winds whip withered leaves across the landscape. But in New Zealand's North Island, the broad swathes of grassland are still green, and the flocks of sheep, oblivious to the march of the seasons, are grazing contentedly. Driving through Auckland's huge Cornwall Park towards One Tree Hill, all along the way we see a white cloud gently caressing the hilltop. No wonder the indigenous Maoris call New Zealand Aoteoroa-the Long White Cloud.
Up on the hilltop, though, we find that a bitter wind is blowing-this is not the place of warm sunshine and gentle breezes that it appears from afar. The lone Monterey pine which stands there, the symbol of white ruling power, is scarred at the base of its trunk with a sawcut made by a Maori activist. The wound is as plain to see as the manifest ethnic divisions in New Zealand society itself.
But since Asian immigrants-mainly Chinese from such places as Taiwan, mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam-began to migrate to New Zealand in large numbers in recent years, New Zealand's Maoris and Pakehas (as the Maoris call European New Zealanders), whose own long-standing grudges have never been laid to rest, have together turned their hostility towards the newly arrived outsiders.
Trouble in Godzone
Looking back, since 1993 New Zealand, which Kiwis proudly call Godzone-God's Own Country-has seen a succession of incidents directed against people of Asian descent.
First it was a gang fight between Asian secondary school pupils and local youths. It was sparked off by jealousy over a girlfriend, but both sides had taken a dislike to each other long before. Next, a group of local newspapers published a pair of articles on "The Inv-Asian."
In 1994, the number of incidents grew. For instance, a Chinese husband and wife had drink cans thrown at them in the doorway of a fast-food restaurant by a crowd of youths, one of whom shouted at them: "We hate you Chinese!"
In the city of Nelson, a fiery cross was set up on the lawn outside a house in which Taiwanese and Japanese students were living; spray-painted anti-Asian slogans appeared at the University of Auckland; on the Auckland music TV channel Max TV, youngsters frequently expressed their resentment of Asians; and even the resurgence of tuberculosis in New Zealand has been blamed by some on incoming Asian immigrants.
From knee-jerk reaction to policy
At that time, frightened Asians believed that racism in New Zealand had reached a peak not seen for two decades, and was "worse that it had ever been." But they never imagined that not only would the hostility towards them not subside, it would turn from the hidden to the overt, and go from being an emotional reaction to becoming part of government policy.
In February of last year, someone went on New Zealand television to say that immigrants (from Taiwan and Hong Kong) should stay at home and sort out their own countries, and not always be looking for some paradise abroad. At Epsom Normal Primary School, in a fashionable neighbor-hood of Auckland, as many as 28% of pupils are of Chinese descent. After the principal claimed he had no funds to provide remedial teaching for children with poor English, the school board passed a rule which has been described as "designed to exclude recent immigrants," requiring that children could not start at the school unless they had been living in its catchment zone for at least one year and were able to pass an English test. Fortunately, before this requirement was put into effect it aroused vehement opposition from the Chinese community, who threatened to take legal action over it.
But ironically, just as this English language requirement was being so sharply criticized, in October last year New Zealand's ruling National Party, which for five years had thrown open a welcoming door to immigrants, began to apply a new set of immigration rules. The one which most affects Asians stipulates that if prospective new immigrants fail an English test, then to be accepted they must put up a bond payment of NZ$20,000 (equivalent to NT$380,000/US$13,800). If they do not pass the English test within one year, they forfeit the money.
New Zealand First
Something which is even more worrying for Asian immigrants is that anti-Asian rhetoric has become a major platform in this year's general election campaign. In mid- February Winston Peters MP, the part-Maori leader of the "New Zealand First" Party, gave a speech in the Howick area of Auckland, where many Chinese live. In his speech Peters spoke out against immigration, as he has continued to do since then. Peters said that New Zealand had taken in Vietnamese refugees "as an act of charity," but had ended up facing a crime wave. In Howick, he claims, one flashy house after another has been built, but they are inhabited by children who most of the time have no adults there to look after them, because apart from buying the houses their parents have no connection whatsoever with New Zealand. "We will bring to this country people we need, not people who need us and our resources," is how Peters later formulated his "New Zealand First" principle.
Because of the strain on ethnic relations caused by past wars between the whites and the Maoris, race relations have been a matter of great concern in New Zealand. Winston Peters' polemics about Asians have been reported to human rights organizations, and the Race Relations Office has not only expressed "concern," but even published a full-page advertisement picturing four brains, of which three, of equal size, were labelled "Pakeha," "Maori" and "Asian," while the fourth, much smaller brain was labelled "Racist."
A yellow target
However Winston Peters does not accept the proposition that he is a racist. "How am I against Asians?" he asks. When interviewed in his constituency, Tauranga, he explained with a smile: "Actually I'm a good student-I learned my immigration policy from Asian countries like your Taiwan or Singapore. New Zealand is a small country, so we also have to be selective about accepting immigrants."
"Peters is quite right-Asian countries don't want many immigrants either. But what I want to stress is that we came here legally. Why discriminate against us?" asks Malaysian-born Robert Hum, who decided to form a political party to oppose the wave of anti-Asian sentiment.
"When he criticizes Asians he doesn't do so directly, but everyone knows what he means." Dr. Manying Ip, a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland, says angrily that Peters denies being a racist, but all the examples in his attacks involve Asians.
The racism card
Since Peters began applying his two- edged strategy of on the one hand attacking the ruling party's immigration policy, while on the other undermining the image of Asian immigrants, his popularity has soared. In an opinion poll taken in May this year, support for the New Zealand First Party, which Peters founded only three years ago, had risen massively to 29% from less than 8% previously, to become New Zealand's most popular opposition party. Furthermore, at 54% Peters' personal popularity surpassed that of the present prime minister Jim Bolger, making him the most favored candidate in the general election scheduled for October.
The brunt of the surging tide of anti- Asian feeling has been borne by Chinese immigrants living outside the large cities. Michael Liao, owner of a kiwi plantation near Tauranga, describes the kind of thing his family has had to put up with: "One tourist who saw my wife serving in the shop asked her very roughly: 'What right have you got to be here?'"
The situation in large cities like Auckland is none too pleasant either. Adonis Yang, owner of a woollen quilt factory in Auckland and vice chairman of the Hwa Hsia Society of New Zealand, the country's largest Chinese civic organization, also observes: "Nowadays we hardly dare hang Oriental items like good luck amulets or fragrance pouches in our cars, or we're likely to get them scratched up."
Public opinion polls give a fuller picture. Although census data show only 100,000 ethnic Asians-less than 1%-among New Zealand's three-and-a-half million population, an opinion poll taken in March of this year showed that almost half of New Zealanders felt there were too many Asian immigrants in the country.
From Chinese to "Asian"
Something which gives pause for reflection is that among the opponents of new Asian immigration, one can even find some old-established New Zealand Chinese, who share the same yellow skin and black hair as the newcomers. They are the descendants of the old Chinese migrants who moved to New Zealand a century ago during the Gold Rush. Not only have they joined the ranks of those attacking new immigrants, if anything they express themselves more vehemently than the Pakehas or Maoris.
An ethnic Chinese neurologist from New Zealand's capital Wellington says that through several generations of poverty, the old New Zealand Chinese struggled against all the odds to finally gain seeming acceptance as New Zealand's "model minority." But following the large influx of new immigrants, they now find that they are still seen as "Asian" outsiders.
What is the reason for the opposition to Asians? Is it really as one new immigrant suggested when he asked: "Is this the fate of the Chinese, to be despised wherever we go?"
The reasons most commonly put forward are that "immigrants just enjoy the benefits but don't meet their obligations"; "with immigrants flooding in, house prices have soared"; "the roads are crowded"; "public order has deteriorated"; "the quality of life has gone down," and so on. As Fan Chuan wrote in the weekly Chinese-language magazine Chinese Express at the end of June: "When Kiwis see whole families coming and going by air, having no jobs yet living in luxury houses, driving new cars and eating out, it makes them feel like second- class citizens in their own country." The words "Chinese go home" have been carved into many desktops in university classrooms.
The golden days are over
"No-one anywhere particularly welcomes outsiders, especially when they affect certain people's vested interests." Adonis Yang, who used to work for Taiwan's Ret- Ser Engineering Agency, and who has visited many countries, believes that when New Zealanders see their country's economy going from bad to worse and their own welfare provision being cut further and further, in their disappointment with the government many react by believing that this is all due to the influx of Asian immigrants.
In the past Kiwis often described their country as Godzone, referring to its natural environment and resources. Someone once joked that New Zealand's hardest-working inhabitants were its 90 million sheep: they toiled away all day with their heads down eating grass, and all New Zealanders had to do was to shear off their wool and cut up their meat, which they sold to Britain in return for glittering Sterling. The country grew rich, and in 1938 the Labour government introduced the world's most comprehensive social welfare system. New Zealanders, born with a silver spoon in their mouths, not only had their education, living expenses and health care paid for completely by the state, even their mothers looking after them could collect money from the government.
But these golden days were not to last. International prices for agricultural produce fell, and the already flagging economy was finally dragged down by this welfare policy. In the 1970s the standard of living in New Zealand fell to the level of a century before. Ten years ago, the government began a series of reforms, including large cutbacks in the numbers of government employees, the scrapping of agricultural subsidies, and a 60% cut in the welfare budget. It also opened the door to immigration and set out to attract foreign capital.
Searching for a new identity
The change in policies forced people to change their lifestyles. Anne Bavliss, who works for the New Zealand Kiwifruit Marketing Board and who herself migrated from Canada, says: "In the past, no-one in New Zealand needed to save, but today when they see Asians coming in with such large savings, who can buy up the coast which used to be deserted so that people can't go there to have fun any more, they naturally feel strongly about it."
Analyzing the situation more deeply, Manying Ip says that Asians' arrival on the scene is a harbinger of the changes which New Zealand will go through as it becomes an actor on the Asian stage. This is something many people are unable to accept.
"New Zealand's tragedy is the product of a conflict of history and geography." Manying Ip says that in the past, New Zealand was always one of Britain's most loyal dominions. In the two World Wars, New Zealand supported Britain militarily and supplied her with wool and food. As many as one in 17 New Zealanders were killed or wounded fighting for Britain and the Allies. But in the 1990s, economic restructuring has become an irresistible trend throughout the world. Britain is now a member of the European Union and more interested in its own affairs, while Asia and North America are also regrouping. What can Australia and New Zealand do, dangling in a lonely corner of the South Pacific? To join nearby, densely populated Asia is the only choice available to them.
Most New Zealanders are the descendants of British immigrants, and for them to abandon their identity as members of the British Commonwealth and embrace developing Asia is a painful struggle. Winston Peters advocates maintaining equal relations with Asia and Europe. On the other hand, Asia doesn't necessarily welcome Australia and New Zealand either. For instance, the antagonistic attitude of Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad makes the pro-Asia faction very nervous. "This change in national identity is not the fault of people of Asian descent, but when Kiwis see us it puts their backs up," says Manying Ip.
The world turned upside down
There are also historical factors at work in the resentment of Asians.
In the past, Australia followed a blatant White Australia Policy, designed mainly to exclude Chinese. But perhaps few people in Taiwan know that apart from the indigenous Maoris, New Zealand too always had a predominantly British immigrant population. Most old families still look down on Australians who they see as the descendants of convicts, lacking New Zealanders' refinement.
Manying Ip, who holds a doctorate in history from the University of Auckland, says that New Zealanders always hoped their country would stay completely Anglo- Saxon and Protestant. Chinese were regarded as "godless, filthy foreigners with no moral values."
Chinese were the only ethnic group to have to pay a poll tax to be allowed into New Zealand, and up until after World War II they had no rights of citizenship, and therefore could not vote or receive welfare benefits. Even though they later were allowed to become citizens, every time they left the country they still had to apply for re-entry permits-officially called "Certificates of Registration"-in order to be re-admitted on their return. In New Zealand's National Archives one can still see stacks of these certificates, marked with thumbprints. This discriminatory policy even applied to Chinese children born in New Zealand. Heart-rendingly, in these files, which record all kinds of information, one can even follow individual Chinese children as they grew up.
There were also many intangible forms of discrimination. In school textbooks, Chinese were portrayed as undesirables on a par with criminals and the insane. In fact all this took place only a few decades ago, and older Kiwis who grew up in those days now discover that the world has been turned upside down: the formerly "lowly" Chinese have today become the swaggering new aristocracy of New Zealand society, and have all the things they could never dream of. How could they fail to feel aggrieved?
Nowhere to apply their talents
However, these selfsame "new aristocracy" are perceived as contributing nothing at all to New Zealand. In July last year, the University of Auckland published a survey of over 200 Taiwanese business immigrants. Half of those interviewed were "not actively engaged," and only 6% were actively investing (creating job opportunities) in New Zealand, for instance in manufacturing. Sixty- four percent of interviewees stated that their purpose in migrating was to have their children educated in New Zealand, and not a genuine desire to invest or do business there. This is one of the reasons why Asian immigrants are criticized by Winston Peters as "only reaping the benefits, and not fulfilling their obligations."
However, Asian residents feel that such statements are thoroughly unfair. "Every immigrant brings so much money!" Jeannette Chu, who migrated from Hong Kong, says that four or five years ago, Auckland's main shopping district, Queen Street, was a cheerless place of which Hong Kongers jokingly said: "If you let off a gun there, you wouldn't hit anyone." But now? The whole of Auckland has become prosperous, and the restaurants are full of customers.
Why should the normally hard-working Hong Kongers and Taiwanese turn "indolent" in paradise? This question throws up a lot of hidden frustrations. People interviewed in the survey claimed that New Zealand has failed to put the capital and skills of these immigrants to good use. Because their qualifications from Taiwan are not recognized, they are unable to apply their talents.
Taking business to Asia
"About 1000 physicians have migrated from Taiwan to New Zealand, but almost none of them are able to practice here," Teng Hsiang-yang, a doctor with a clinic in Puli, who moved his family to New Zealand something over a year ago, claims shockingly.
Bruce Yang, who was a rehabilitation specialist at a major hospital in southern Taiwan, explains that physicians who are able to migrate to New Zealand are mostly already respected doctors at large hospitals in Taiwan, but to requalify in New Zealand they have to take examinations in both clinical practice and basic theory. Even if they do manage to pass and obtain a license to practice, they then have to serve a probationary period as junior hospital doctors. Who would willingly start again from scratch in this way?
"It's not only Asian migrants who are unable to find work in New Zealand. It's difficult for European immigrants too." Anne Bavliss argues that New Zealand needs to bring in more people to have a large enough market.
The local New Zealand market may be small, but Asian immigrants can turn their ethnic origins to good advantage to develop Asian markets, by selling to other Chinese. For instance, Taiwan-born Ni Ju-chuan's husband exports health foods to Taiwan, such as fish oil from New Zealand's deep- sea fisheries. "Every order runs to tens of thousands of bottles-Chinese people's contribution to the New Zealand economy is enormous," she says.
Figures from the ROC Board of Trade back up this claim. In recent years, the ROC's balance of trade with New Zealand has turned from surplus to deficit, and by 1995 was over US$190 million in the red. Furthermore, immigrants have promoted an astonishing growth in tourism. Statistics show that two-fifths of tourist visitors to New Zealand come from Asia.
No big orders please, we're Kiwis
But immigrants willing to develop export markets for New Zealand often feel they do not get the support they need. Jeannette Chu's husband once tried to place an order with a New Zealand factory for frozen chickens to export to Hong Kong, Japan and other places. But to his surprise, the company took one look at the order and said: "This order is too big, we can't accept it." "Whoever does business that way? If it was us Chinese, when a business opportunity comes along we do everything we can to overcome any difficulties," says Jeannette Chu disgustedly. But even though New Zealanders value a balance between work and leisure, and do their utmost to resist such a competitive pace, they have still been affected: "Supermarkets here only used to open five-and-a-half days a week, but now they're open every day."
But as well as quickening the pace of local life, immigrants have created some social problems. Teenage gangs are an example.
"Immigrant children who arrive at secondary school age find it very hard to fit in and make local friends. To avoid being lonely or getting picked on, they naturally band together into gangs." Shih Chieng- kuei, chairman of the Hwa Hsia Society, says that in a small number of families, both parents are absent, or even if the mother is there, very often her language ability is poor, so that she is unable to deal with the problems children encounter outside the home. In such cases children feel a strong sense of insecurity and have difficulty adapting.
What the Hwa Hsia Society can do at present is to set up a number of youth activities and provide locations where children can let off steam, and also let them know that there are adults there to whom they can turn for help.
Hands of friendship
It is comforting to know that although there are those in New Zealand society who oppose Asian immigrants, there are also people who support them.
On 25 June this year the New Zealand Herald newspaper carried a front-page headline reading: "Asians No Longer at Top of List." The accompanying article reported that the number of Asians applying to migrate to New Zealand had plummeted: mainland Chinese applicants had fallen from 4000 in the first half of last year to 113 this year, while applicants from Taiwan were down from 2000 to 42. Immigration minister Roger Maxwell blames the New Zealand First Party's anti-immigration campaign for making Asians feel unwelcome.
Apart from the political positions adopted by the various parties, which have condemned Peters, ordinary people have also stretched out hands of friendship. FRENZ (Friends of Racial Equality in New Zealand), a non-political organization which aims to promote inter-ethnic toleration and understanding, was worried that the problem would continue to escalate, and it took the initiative of contacting Manying Ip and others, to welcome Asian immigrants to join its network and mix with members of other minority groups and mainstream society. Parents meet at schools, and gardening enthusiasts meet in gardens-it is very "grassroots." At a FRENZ meeting on 26 May, those attending were given badges made from brown, white and yellow ribbons to represent the equal coexistence of Maoris, Pakehas and Asians.
Good or bad for Auckland?
In the media, New Zealand's 40-minute TV news programme Assignment broadcast a special investigative feature on the wave of anti-Asian sentiment, in which it interviewed people from both sides of the argument. One stockbroker complained that the dogs and cats in his neighborhood were all gone (implying that they had been eaten by Chinese). But when the reporter went to investigate he found that almost none had disappeared. He also discovered that figures on the growth in immigration had been inflated by Winston Peters. After the programme was broadcast, many Chinese received phone calls from white friends expressing support.
"I don't think anti-Asian sentiment in New Zealand will continue to get worse," says Manying Ip, who is pleased to note that the New Zealand First Party's supporters are all old people. They will pass from the scene, and younger people are more farsighted. Furthermore, according to statistics only 10% of Winston Peters' supporters live in Auckland. This figure reveals an interesting phenomenon. Auckland is the place with the highest concentration of Asian immigrants, so by rights it should be Aucklanders who are most affected by the things Peters criticizes: rising property prices, deteriorating traffic conditions and educational resources being monopolized by Asian children. But in fact it is people in other areas who resent Asians' presence most. Evidently the more contact people have, the less likely they are to be blinded by prejudice, and the more they understand the advantages Asian immigrants bring to New Zealand.
Exodus of Asian capital
Mr. Back, the manager of an Auckland motel, says he used to support Winston Peters: "His critiques of the political situation seemed spot-on. But after a while I realized that he is good at attacking other people, but he has no policies of his own for what should be done. So the New Zealand First Party's popularity has started going down." A friend of Mr. Back's who works in a bank also told him that recently Asians' deposits at the bank have been declining, presumably because of anti-Asian sentiment in New Zealand. "This will have a very bad effect on New Zealand's economy," said this genial old gentleman anxiously.
Chinese businessman Jihong Lu, who was formerly in charge of the New Zealand investments of a Singaporean financial group, acknowledges that the group recently cancelled two large investment projects worth hundreds of millions of NZ dollars. Lu says that the group had intended to build a low-income housing project in New Zealand, but with the current mood in the country, they feared it was "very likely to attract an adverse reaction from New Zealanders who might see it as 'an Asian company coming in to make money off our poor people.'" To avoid the effects of the current wave of anti-Asian sentiment, Lu himself has left the Singaporean group, to instead join forces with a British bank to develop an underground bus terminal.
Looking at things in a calmer light
"One has to give immigrants time to understand what they can do here; equally, locals need time to accept a world in which change is inevitable." In Anne Bavliss's view, initially New Zealanders focussed on some bad sides of Asian immigrants, such as children being left to fend for themselves while the parents go back abroad to work. "After Winston Peters stirred things up, passions flared, but now things are gradually calming down again."
Currently the New Zealand First Party's public support has fallen back to about 20%, and even Winston Peters himself seems to feel that his criticism of Asian immigrants has raised a bigger storm than he envisaged-otherwise a reporter would not have come all the way from Taiwan to interview him.
As for the future, Bruce Yang is actually very optimistic. "This country has the ability to wake up to its own mistakes, and is prepared to look squarely at the issue of racial discrimination." He points out that in ten years of land wars with the Maoris in the last century, the British killed large numbers of Maoris, and designated 1.2 million hectares of land as "military immigration zones." But more recently Queen Elizabeth made a public apology and the New Zealand government began to make reparations to the Maoris.
Recently another incident was big news: a Maori activist was caught trying to cut down the Monterey pine on One Tree Hill, which was planted last century by British settlers. The New Zealand government spent over NZ$10,000 to save the tree, but the Maori finally received a suspended sentence because the court was understanding of his feelings about history. "New immigrants have nothing to fear-this country will not repeat the mistakes of the past," says Bruce Yang.
No Asian-bashing here
On a Wednesday evening, a meeting of the Auckland Bonsai Club attracts 80 or 90 members, of whom the vast majority are Kiwis. Long tables bear row after row of graceful banyan, nandina and elm trees in pots and tubs. Jeannette Chu tags along beside Mr. Chen, an old Kiwi Chinese, as he explains to her how to train a tree's shape. Now and again former club chairman Bob Langholm comes over to offer tips. In this world of plants, full of Asian mysticism, the storm of anti-Asian sentiment raging in the world outside seems far, far away. . . .
Photo
p.8
Faced with growing numbers of Asian pupils, Auckland's Epsom Normal Primary School attempted to exclude new pupils who fail a basic English test, thus arousing suspicions of racial discrimination.
p.9
Yellow, white and brown ribbons symbolize the equal coexistence of East Asians, whites and Maoris.
p.10
An advertisement put out by New Zealand's Race Relations Office to oppose the rising wave of hostility towards Asian immigrants.
p.11
Speeches opposing immigration by Winston Peters, leader of the New Zealand First Party, have stirred up a hornets' nest in the land of the Long White Cloud.
p.12
An immigrant inv-Asian? The influx of Asians bringing large sums of money into New Zealand has caused a boom in Auckland's property market.
p.13
Traditionally New Zealanders like their houses to have beautiful gardens. As Asians have snapped up luxury residences in Auckland's eastern suburb of Howick, disgruntled Kiwis have given Howick the nickname "Chiwick."
p.14
Asians Granted Residence, 1992-1995
Taiwan
Mainland China
South Korea
Hong Kong
India
courtesy of Dr. Manying Ip
Ethnic Composition of New Zealand Population (%)
Polynesian
Chinese
Indian
Other
White
Maori
Source: New Zealand Ethnic Minority Party (1996 estimates)Chart drawn by Lee Su-ling
p.15
In her new book Dragons on the Long White Cloud, University of Auckland senior lecturer Manying Ip charts the old-established New Zealand Chinese community's bitter progress from "undesirables" subjected to extensive discrimination, to "model minority."
p.16
This Monterey pine, a symbol of white rule, was attacked with a chainsaw by a Maori activist. The New Zealand government spent vast sums to save the tree.
p.17
New Zealand has been one of the most loyal members of the British Commonwealth. The names of New Zealanders from Auckland Province who died fighting for Britain in two World Wars are inscribed in the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
p.18
At Auckland Bonsai Club, everyone studies together the best ways to train a tree's shape. The storm of anti-Asian sentiment is not felt here.
Speeches opposing immigration by Winston Peters, leader of the New Zealand First Party, have stirred up a hornets' nest in the land of the Long White Cloud.
An immigrant inv-Asian? The influx of Asians bringing large sums of money into New Zealand has caused a boom in Auckland's property market.
Traditionally New Zealanders like their houses to have beautiful gardens. As Asians have snapped up luxury residences in Auckland's eastern suburb of Howick, disgruntled Kiwis have given Howick the nickname "Chiwick.".
Courtesy of Dr. Manying Ip.
Source: New Zealand Ethnic Minority Party （1996 estimates） Chart drawn by Lee Su-ling.
In her new book Dragons on the Long White Cloud, University of Auckland senior lecturer Manying Ip charts the old-established New Zealand Chinese community's bitter progress from "undesirables" subjected to extensive discrimination, to "model minority.".
This Monterey pine, a symbol of white rule, was attacked with a chainsaw by a Maori activist. The New Zealand government spent vast sums to save the tree.
New Zealand has been one of the most loyal members of the British Common wealth. The names of New Zealanders from Auckland Province who died fighting for Britain in two World Wars are inscribed in the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
At Auckland Bonsai Club, everyone studies together the best ways to train a tree's shape. The storm of anti-Asian sentiment is not felt here.
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