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Post by helen on Jan 1, 2006 7:29:03 GMT -5
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Post by helen on Jan 1, 2006 7:29:56 GMT -5
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Post by Woodson on Jan 1, 2006 11:28:52 GMT -5
Do you know whether anybody in New Zealand had taken the government to court because of the apology? This is the reason the Canadian government gives for declining to make an official apology.
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Post by helen on Jan 1, 2006 15:30:40 GMT -5
No one is taking the Government to court - We did the whole process through the various Chinese groups in New Zealand. We have been given $5Million dollars, and people can apply for grants twice a year. They have to be sponsored by 2 people who are related to Poll Tax payers.
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Post by helen on Jan 1, 2006 15:39:07 GMT -5
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Post by David Wong on Jan 2, 2006 4:56:43 GMT -5
Thanks Helen. I've been in touch with Steven Young from New Zealand. We are learning from your commendable efforts with the Poll Tax. We've made our Head Tax issue a top election topic for our upcoming Federal Election. It's amazing how many of the racists are coming out of the woodwork. Just today, a letter was published in the Vancouver Province newspaper by a *new* immigrant (non - asian) who complained about the Chinese...and indicated that he paid a sizeable amount to immigrate here, and that he would frame his receipts also, and contemplate about a refund. This moron, like the rest of his ilke, misses the point. And that is : everyone now immigrating to Canada pays some sort of nominal immigration fee, unlike the historic past where only the Chinese were singled out as a race- paid a sum equivalent to a huge home in today's desired neighbourhoods. Then in 1924, all Chinese were excluded from entering Canada for 23 years. The greatest insult is that our opportunistic Federal minority government, in an attempt to pander to the "ethnic" vote, are using the Head tax issue to appear to right an old wrong. The problem is, and what our moron friend doesn't know, is that our Federal Liberal party has given a token cheque (with conditions attached) to a Chinese group who has no historic ties to Canada's original Head tax payers. The head of this Chinese group, one Mr. Ping Tan, is a recent arrival from Malaysia (ie. 1968). Although this issue is currently playing out in Canada, the Beijing government has identified it as one of the "hot top 10 topics of 2005". On December 31, 2005 China News International place it as item number seven (7) on their list , after the South east Asian Tsunami, Pakistan earthquake and other world events. Here's a link to their website (in Chinese) : Happy New Years all. Please have a look at this website prepared by another volunteer colleague to inform: www.headtaxredress.org/ |
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Post by helen on Jan 8, 2006 4:24:51 GMT -5
Just read the headtaxredress site - good on you for letting us know what is going on. Since the apology here there has been a flurry of people jumping in and doing research, especially talking to the older generation, who came here. The ones left now are children of the original sojourners. These people walked in 1939, from their various villages to Hong Kong, both young and old, to joing their parents in New Zealand. They were the lucky ones as NZ had abolished the poll taxes by then. They were given 2 year visas, due to the Japanese War. However, they were allowed to stay, when the Communist Party took over after the war.
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Post by helen on Jan 13, 2006 15:57:49 GMT -5
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Post by helen on Feb 9, 2006 5:05:03 GMT -5
Here are the recipeients of the N Z Poll Tax awards for 2005-2006. Graveyard repair major recipient of trust cash
09.02.06
By Julie Middleton
The largest grant from the new $5 million Chinese Poll Tax Heritage Trust has gone towards restoration of desecrated Chinese graves, some dating from the early 1900s, in a South Island cemetery.
A total of $25,000 has been awarded to the Historic Cemeteries Conservation Trust for professional repair of headstones in the 114-grave Chinese section of the Southern Cemetery in Dunedin, one of the city's earliest.
Trust chairman Stewart Harvey said cemeteries recorded important New Zealand history - but some local authorities seemed uninterested in maintaining them. The Chinese section of Southern was in poor repair, and as many headstones were small - around 45cm high - they were easily damaged and lost.
Volunteers had cleared weeds and debris, and thanks to a 1982 genealogist's log of the headstones, the trust - whose members include academics and historians - knew where everything belonged and would ensure it was restored.
Poll tax trust chairman James Ng, a retired medical doctor and historian, said many Chinese had a "special affinity" with ancestral graves. They believe that a deceased person had several souls, one of which remained at the gravesite.
The trust was set up with $5 million of Government money last year.
It followed the Government's formal apology, at Chinese New Year in 2002, to descendants of Cantonese settlers who were singled out for a poll tax of £100 (in today's money, $15,226) for entering the country, and other punitive laws.
The trust's aim is to assist with initiatives which help to strengthen the identity of Chinese Kiwis and to enhance understanding of their place in New Zealand history. Part-time Cantonese language schools have done well out of this first round, with grants to the Auckland Chinese Community Centre ($6000), the Christchurch Chinese Church ($1500), the same city's Rewi Alley School ($1500) and Auckland's Chinese New Settlers Trust ($2500).
Several grants have gone towards oral histories: $5000 to Liu Sheung Wong to interview Chinese fruiterers, and $8000 to Eva Wong Ng to employ transcription help with the histories she has been collating over the past decade.
Author
• More by Julie Middleton
• Email Julie Middleton
Links
• Cemeteries
• Department of Internal Affairs
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Post by David Wong on Apr 24, 2006 19:37:23 GMT -5
There may be a number of Canadians of Chinese ancestry who may contact you (Helen) and or Stephen Young for your thoughts on how well (or not) NZ's Poll tax redress has been. If you wish to email me, my email may be accessed through my website, or please PM me on this Siyi site.
Thanks again Helen for your many thoughtful posts here.
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Post by helen on Apr 25, 2006 4:34:01 GMT -5
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