Saturday, February 11, 2012
Young Dragonz dinner
Bright young things of New Zealand’s leading Chinese young professionals’ network, Future Dragonz, gathered for its first event for 2012.
The talented group enjoyed a ‘‘Dragonz Banquet’’ at Crystal Harbour Restaurant at Auckland’s Viaduct on Wednesday evening.
The conversation was lively with plenty of inspirational young Dragonz happy to chat about their
visions for the future.
However, the gourmet banquet was equally inspiring with wok-fried seafood on a bread nest the most unusual dish of the nine courses.
Young Dragonz dinner
Last updated 05:00 12/02/2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
Call for ethnic help
Call for ethnic help
By Diana Clement 5:30 AM Sunday Jul 10, 2011
New Zealand is missing opportunities by failing to support ethnic businesses, officials say.
Entrepreneurs such as Mohammed Hasim Khan, who launched the Moshims Discount House chain of more than a dozen franchised Indian supermarkets, have found niches in their own communities.
Others such as Vinod Khumar, who launched the first Mitre 10 Mega store in New Zealand, have been successful in mainstream business.
Yet the so-called "migrant vigour" that makes these people want to succeed in a new country isn't being tapped by the New Zealand Government and other agencies, says Office of Ethnic Affairs director Mervin Singham.
Singham says latest research by Massey and Auckland University academics shows migrant businesses are not getting the support they need.
"This isn't about pandering to minorities. We need every opportunity we can to boost our economy," says Singham.
Concepts that are straightforward to Kiwi-born people such as PAYE can be bewildering to an immigrant.
As a result, many potential people who could create thriving businesses, employ people and earn foreign-exchange revenue choose inactive investments instead.
Singham says central and local government have few programmes aimed specifically at ethnic businesses.
"Council and government need to consult with ethnic business and ask: 'What do you think you need to fuel the New Zealand economy'?"
Industry bodies such as the Chambers of Commerce, Business New Zealand and the Employers and Manufacturers Association could be doing much more for migrant businesses, even with basic services such as providing information in multiple languages. In return, industry bodies could benefit from increased membership.
The Office of Ethnic Affairs has a number of initiatives such as a database migrant businesses can tap for mutual support and mentoring.
Kenneth Wang, director of cross-cultural communications agency Bananaworks, says New Zealand should take a leaf from the Chinese Government, which offers advice through its Ministry of Commerce website.
"If the Chinese Government of a population of 1.4 billion can use a website to serve individual business inquiry, surely we could do it better to support ethnic businesses? [We could] upgrade www.business.govt.nz, to a multilingual version, at least for the main pages."
Singham would also like to see mentoring for migrants.
Local businesses could also benefit from cross-cultural connections, especially in Auckland where nearly a third of the population is from Asia.
By Diana Clement | Email DianaMerging cultures for success
Merging cultures for success
By Diana Clement 5:30 AM Sunday Jul 10, 2011
Chinese immigrant Kenneth Wang's business, Brandworks, straddles Asian and European worlds.
He launched the mainstream advertising agency after completing a master's degree and Elam School of Fine Arts and working for Kiwi businesses.
When the numbers of Asian people started to swell in New Zealand in the 1990s, Wang moved into cross-cultural communications with another business, Bananaworks.
These days, much of the Bananaworks business involves communicating national campaigns such as road safety, cervical cancer screening and electoral enrolment to Asian audiences here.
That may include rewriting copy, advising on images, creating radio ads and much more.
Vietnamese refugee Mitchell Pham arrived alone in New Zealand aged 13 after a desperate escape in a boat and spending 18 months in Indonesian refugee camps.
Here he went to school and university, and set up Augen Software in 1993 with several Kiwi classmates.
Pham says there are advantages to being a refugee. "We bring resilience and determination to building a life in New Zealand and succeeding in business, along with lateral thinking and different problem-solving approaches."
The disadvantages mainly revolve around the level of understanding of the New Zealand market, having the right connections and being able to sell to local customers.
Like many migrant entrepreneurs, Pham has used his language skills and connections in his native country to expand beyond these shores.
AugenASIA launched a software service centre in 2005 to service New Zealand customers with medium to large and on-going projects.
Pham was recognised by the World Economic Forum as one of 190 Young Global Leaders.
By Diana Clement | Email DianaNZ Chinese support Australian racism apology
NZ Chinese support Australian racism apology
By Lincoln Tan 3:20 PM Tuesday Jul 12, 2011
Chinese Australians seeking an official apology for the country's history of racism towards their forefathers have the support of New Zealand Chinese leaders.
In 2002, then-Prime Minister Helen Clark made a formal apology to the New Zealand Chinese for making their ancestors pay poll tax and suffer other discrimination imposed by statutes.
Now Chinese groups in Australia are urging the federal government to acknowledge past descrimination against the Chinese there, from the poll tax to the dictation test which was designed to trip non-native English speakers.
Kai Luey, a key member of the New Zealand Chinese Association, said local Chinese leaders here are supportive for those in Australia to receive a similar apology from its government.
The Australian policies which started in the 1850s Gold Rush continued through the "White Australia" policy, and were abolished only in 1973.
Chinese Heritage Association of Australia president Daphne Lowe Kelley said an apology would "get rid of the last vestiges of white superiority".
She wrote on her association's website: "An apology for the discriminatory legislation that affected the Chinese for nearly 120 years would be welcome and bring closure to this sad period of Australia's history."
Ms Lowe Kelley, who studied in New Zealand and still has brothers living in Auckland, first made a call for an apology in a newspaper article she wrote to mark the 150th anniversary of anti-Chinese riots at goldfields in New South Wales.
"Surely we do not have to wait as long as the first citizens of this country to get an apology and be recognised for the contributions we have made to the country we call home," she said.
Mr Luey was New Zealand's representative at a conference in April where it made plans to make a request to Prime Minister Julia Gillard by the heritage association.
It is expected to be joined by the Chinese Community Council of Australia and the Chinese Association Forum.
Nearly 3 per cent of Australians, or 70,000 people, identify themselves as Chinese Australians.
"We think it is appropriate for them to pursue the apology, and they have our support in their attempts to seek some form of redress," Mr Luey said.
"We feel there should be some sort of recognition to acknowledge the discriminatory practices aimed at the Chinese there, just as we have in New Zealand."
In recent years, similar apologies have been made in Canada and the United States.
In 2008, the Rudd government made a formal apology to the generations of Aboriginal children removed from their families by governments and missions, and in 2009, apologised to the 7,000 former child migrants from Britain who suffered abuse and neglect in state-run homes in Australia.
The government has yet to respond to the call for an apology to the Chinese.
By Lincoln Tan | Email LincolnThursday, February 9, 2012
Bosses funding lifestyles through theft
A huge increase in middle and senior managers scamming their employers to fund lavish lifestyles during the recession is behind a 25 percent jump in financial crime complaints being made to police, a private investigator says.
And the rise is predicted to continue as more companies bring in auditors and "data miners" to pick up on those who are ripping off the system.
In 2009, the police financial intelligence unit received 5000 reports on possible financial crime from a range of financial institutions, including banks, insurance companies, casinos and real estate agents, the officer in charge of the unit, Detective Senior Sergeant Ashley Kai Fong, said. In 2008, they received 4000 reports.
The reports are an indication of possible criminal activity and are often the starting point for criminal investigations. Kai Fong puts the increased reporting down to heightened awareness among institutions.
But Ron McQuilter, a director of Paragon private investigators, said his company had recorded about a 30 percent increase in financial criminal activity in the past year, "and most of that is corporate fraud".
"There has been a big increase in middle management and senior management stealing. A lot of that has been brought on by the lack of bonuses and the lack of an increase in pay rates.
"Gambling has always been a biggie. Drugs and P have always been a biggie. But the big increase has been in the people whose living standards have been affected [by the recession].
"People get used to a lifestyle and all of a sudden it's not there any more so they have said 'well here is an opportunity'."
But McQuilter, who has been a private investigator for more than 26 years, said the new breed of thieves were generally easier to catch because they were not as sophisticated.
"Companies need to start looking at the people who are first in the morning and the people who don't like it when companies are looking at the bottom line. There are a whole lot of red flags that come up that companies need to start being aware of."
Much of the scamming involved false invoicing, or using technology to create false documents, or false customers. "A lot of the stuff we see is electronic. It's not so much 'I'll just take some money from the till'. Good old New Zealand companies have slack practices and all of a sudden that can be the worst thing to do. Companies need to be doing audits."
McQuilter said police were more proactive than he had seen before.
Kai Fong said police were also seeing money laundering to finance traditional crime. He said information from financial institutions helped police investigate and prosecute crimes, such as the manufacture and supply of drugs.
One report led to a drug investigation in Auckland, where two people were arrested and charged with possession and supply of cannabis and methamphetamine, and with importing pseudoephedrine. The proceeds from the crimes were being exchanged with China.
Another Aucklander was arrested and charged with fraud and money laundering after being found to be involved in a money scam. The alleged offenders are currently before the courts.
Their alleged offending involved 25 victims from around New Zealand, who were told there was more than $290 million in an overseas bank account which could be unlocked only if fees were paid. The suspect promised to repay the victims their "investment" plus an additional return once the money was released. Kai Fong said the accused allegedly got their hands on at least $1m from New Zealand victims over the last two years.
A report which evaluated New Zealand's financial investigation channels was released at the end of last year by the Financial Action Task Force, an inter-governmental body which aims to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. It said there was a "higher degree of sophistication in laundering the proceeds of crime now than in previous years".
The report said that, between 2004-08, three-quarters of the financial crime investigated by police related to fraud-associated activity (mainly internet-banking fraud). Drug-related activity was the second-most investigated offence and robbery, theft, blackmail, and burglary were also common.
- © Fairfax NZ News BY SARAH HARVEY
Last updated 10:44 07/02/2010
Being a star nothing new for top constable
Success is nothing new for Tess Kai Fong, 18, who has again risen to the top, beating 268 police recruits to take No1 spot at their graduation.
Constable Kai Fong received the Minister's Prize from Police Minister Judith Collins at Porirua yesterday for being top of her wing, as well as the Ericsson Practical Prize for overall winner in practical assessments, skills files and fingerprinting.
The Auckland-born-and-bred teenager, who was deputy head girl and deputy dux at Rangitoto College, was given the chance last year to visit Harvard University.
But she is certain her future career is back home with the police, saying it was officers who inspired her. "To be honest, it was every police officer I talked to said it was the best job. You become a well-respected part of the community."
With the full support of her family, she applied for police college while still in high school and was recruited to start training in May.
She said the 19-week training had been intensive and it was different coming from school into a police environment. "You come into a predominantly adult environment. You have to be mature: you can't get anywhere, otherwise."
She was looking forward to learning the various aspects of the job, but said there would be areas that would be challenging.
"Probably the hardest for a younger person to understand is domestic violence, and we have an astonishingly high rate of domestic violence."
She will start work on the North Shore but hopes one day to become a detective.
© Fairfax NZ News
High-achiever Tess takes top cop spot
SHELLEY NAHRLast updated 05:00 07/10/2011
Mall tenants struggle to survive
More than a dozen retailers at Hamilton's Westfield Chartwell are on the verge of financial collapse due to dwindling profits and crippling rents.
The tenants said rising costs imposed by Westfield management were the final straw and they were urging the Australian-owned retail giant to give them a break.
The majority of outlets at the Westfield food court including D-lishis, Ming Express, BB's Cafe, Citrus, Pronto Pasta and Shesh Besh Kebabs had suffered on average a 20 to 25 per cent fall in profit in the last year and were struggling to make ends meet.
Gloria Huang, who owns Shesh Besh Kebabs, had seen the monthly rent on her 45 square metre shop in the food court rise by more than $400 to $10,892.92 in the last six months and by more than $3000 in the last three years.
Other charges for the upkeep of the food court had more than doubled to $1830.63 a month since March 2006. She said the expense was too much. Other foodstall owners had been hit with similar price increases.
"Some of us will not survive for much longer under these new rent increases, which we stress to Westfield, but they tell us to pay or surrender your lease," Yvenna Yue, owner of D-lishis, said.
The retailers had made several attempts to meet with both Westfield Chartwell management and national management, but said they kept getting fobbed off and threatened with interest charges.
After seven years of running a Chinese takeaway store from Chartwell, Ming Express owner Joon Chong wanted out but the cost of surrendering her contract would be about $70,000.
Westfield New Zealand general manager of shopping centre management Linda Trainer said: "In the event that a retailer is suffering genuine hardship, Westfield will consider assistance for the retailer."
- © Fairfax NZ News BY NIKKI PRESTON
Last updated 13:19 05/03/2009
Auckland-based artist Liyen Chong and Whanganui-based photographer Ben Cauchi have also been selected by the trust for residencies in 2011.
Liyen's work is varied, but she has most recently been creating embroidered images using human hair.
Liyen lives in Grey Lynn and says she is looking forward to getting out of the city and working in a bush setting when her residency begins in February.
"It will be a good chance for me to explore other mediums and expand my practice," she says.
Ben has spent a decade exploring the nature of photography and the psychological dimensions of viewing.
"I'm very excited about it. For me it's a chance to work in a larger studio and take advantage of the facilities, like labs, that are available in Auckland," he says. RICHARD EDMONDSON AND CATHERINE HEALY
Last updated 05:00 28/10/2010 http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/western-leader/4277608/Glens-creating-wood-be-art
Racist' ad here to stay
The actor behind TVs funniest commercial won't "walk away" from his work.
Critics have slammed the 30 Second Spray and Walk Away commercials as racist, derogatory and demonising.
But Ming-Jen Huang, the actor who takes on the persona of a Japanese professor, says the commercial is funny.
In the advert Huang sprays the liquid cleaner on the ground and then says: "Look, I spray and walk away."
When he returns a short time later, he comments: "Look, lichen die. I walk away."
His accent, language and appearance has drawn several complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority.
S Cooper wrote that the ad was "offensive".
"I think this advertisement promotes racism and is insulting to the many Asian people who live and visit here and insults the intelligence of our own population."
L Chong agreed, calling the ad "derogatory".
"Portraying an Asian with a bad English accent is derogatory to the Asian community and reinforces the stereotype of the hapless non-native English-speaking Asian.
"Simply by the fact that this ad is condoned on NZ television, means that the public is allowed to continue believing Asians aren't capable of communicating properly. Ultimately this demonises any Asian-looking face."
But Huang, who is a former professional tour guide, doesn't see it as offensive.
"I am very proud of my performance in this commercial and feel that in no way does it undermine or offend the Asian community," he wrote to the Advertising Complaints Board.
"I do not feel ridiculed or feel that I am being made fun of. The commercial is funny and it makes people happy. What could possibly be wrong with that?"
Since the commercial aired, Huang said he had received praise and recognition, with strangers approaching him in the street to congratulate him.
Product advertiser Award Concepts and advertising agency Clarke Newton also stood behind their man and commercial.
Awards Concept told the complaints board that there was no "over-exaggeration or attempts to send up or ridicule Ming-Jen".
"We selected him for his enthusiastic personality and his genuine approach. Everything you see in the commercial is 100 percent Ming-Jen, from his accent to his glasses."
The complaints were dismissed with the board agreeing they were unlikely to cause widespread offence.
- © Fairfax NZ News Last updated 12:09 02/03/2008
ART BEAT Last updated 10:25 09/07/2008
Hair sale
* A work by contemporary New Zealand artist Liyen Chong will raise funds for Sir Edmund Hillary's Himalayan Trust in Nepal. Liyen Chong and Christchurch's 64zero3 gallery will donate the proceeds from the sale of Chong's interpretation of a New Zealand $5 note, Hero 2008 (embroidered hair on cotton, with black lacquer and timber frame) to the Himalayan Trust. The work will be sold by tender (closes on July 26). Inquiries to the gallery.http://www.stuff.co.nz/525228/ART-BEAT
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