Protesters warn of growing anti-Asian sentiment
A grandfather afraid to leave his home after being assaulted. Parents at a Christchurch school receiving hateful emails, telling them to keep their ‘‘disgusting virus spreaders’’ home. A woman whose family has been in New Zealand for five generations, but whose children still are not considered Kiwis.
These are some of the stories of Christchurch’s large and diverse Asian community, who took a stand on Saturday against what they say is a rising tide of anti-Asian hate.
A group of around a hundred marched from Christchurch’s Bridge of Remembrance to Cathedral Square on Saturday.
Protest organiser Leon Lee, who is from China, said he was there to encourage his own people to speak out if they experienced racism or violence.
‘‘Honestly, I haven’t experienced racism. New Zealand is one of the most friendly places I’ve been to.’’
But he said the country has a long, dark history of anti-Asian sentiment, going back to 1881 when Cantonese settlers who wanted to mine gold were taxed, in an effort to limit the number of Chinese immigrants.
‘‘Last year with Covid-19, that racism has really amplified.’’
In Christchurch alone, Lee heard of incidents where Asian parents at Rolleston School were emailed during the pandemic, and told them to keep their children at home.
‘‘A lady from Thailand with good qualifications was not able to get a single job here, until she married a Kiwi man and changed her name. People have been confronted in a post office and told to go home.
‘‘I’ve seen an Asian mum who’s been in New Zealand five generations, and her kids still weren’t considered Kiwis.’’
Sammy Zhu, a photographer for the weekly Chinese newspaper the New Zealand Messenger, was punched in the face on the first day of Covid-19 alert level 3 last year, in what he
‘‘Every single one of us has a migrant story, whether they came by waka like the first Ma¯ori settlers, by ship, or by plane . . .’’
Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel
believed was a racially motivated attack.
The 60-year-old had lived in Christchurch for 20 years, and the incident left him afraid to go outside.
Lee said part of his own culture is the desire not to make waves, or cause any trouble.
‘‘I think we should stop that. We need to stand up, and speak up for ourselves.’’
The rally’s co-organiser, NZ-China Friendship Society national secretary Craig Ashby, said there have been incidents of racism in Christchurch for many years, culminating in the 2019 mosque attacks.
‘‘I’m a child of an immigrant, most people here are. [But] this is all of our homes.
‘‘The mosque attacks brought that issue up massively in this country, and we can’t just let it slip away.’’
Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel gave a speech before the march, where she said her own grandfather came over from Scotland.
‘‘Every single one of us has a migrant story, whether they came by waka like the first Ma¯ ori settlers, by ship, or by plane. It’s one of the foundations of our society.’’
She said that while Covid-19 has unfortunately sparked this latest wave of anti-Asian sentiment, the virus of hate did not come from Wuhan, or from China.
‘‘We have 160 nationalities calling this city home. Their diversity adds strength to our society. I think we can be the place that found the cure.’’
Taiwan-born Christchurch City councillor Jimmy Chen let protesters know what kind of actions they could take if they experienced racism.