New Zealand-born Chinese admit to division

Chinese immigration has led to a "them and us" sentiment among many New Zealand-born Chinese - but it is surmountable, say commentators.

Prominent Chinese community members Tze Ming Mok, Alistair Kwun, Eric Ngan, Rosemary Jones and Steven Young shared stories of migration and identity at a Te Papa Museum forum in Wellington on Saturday, marking the Chinese New Year.

Speaking after the forum, Mrs Jones, who was born in Hong Kong and came to New Zealand 40 years ago, said there was "a lack of understanding between the two groups".

"Their cultures are very different - and we have not got to know each other," Mrs Jones said.

The local-born community - some of whose ancestors arrived in the 1860s - had kept a low profile and had largely assimilated. But due to the flood of immigrant Chinese, it had lost its status as the "model minority", said Mr Kwun, a New Zealand-born events promoter.

The influx of new Chinese had raised some negative views in the wider community. This, said Mr Kwun, had led to a focus on all Chinese that many had found unwelcome.

In addition, many of the migrants were bilingual and steeped in their heritage - unlike a good number of the New Zealand-born Chinese - forcing many of the locals into an examination of their identity, said Ms Mok, an Auckland-born writer.

Reassessing who you were when you had felt thoroughly Kiwi "can be an uncomfortable process," said Mr Kwun, "and frightening."

The migrants' cross-cultural ease also aroused other emotions, said Ms Mok. She felt "slight envy they speak better Mandarin than me, and have more opportunity to maintain it".

However, the group was positive that bridges would be built. Time would ease the situation, said Mr Young, president of the Wellington Chinese Association.

Mr Kwun felt that "the 1.5 generation" offered the best chance for bridge-building between "old" and "new" Chinese. The term "1.5 generation" is academic label for migrants who were school-aged when they arrived in New Zealand, and had grown up with a foot in both cultures.

"They straddle the boundaries - and they're bilingual," Mr Kwun said.

A conference on June 4 and 5 at the Auckland University of Technology called Going Bananas aimed to bring together Chinese of all backgrounds living in New Zealand.

Mr Kwun said Going Bananas echoed the way many New Zealand-born Chinese felt: yellow on the outside and white on the inside.

The Chinese population, according to the last Census in 2001, was 105,057.