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Formal Apology To Chinese Community

Prime Minister’s Speech

At the Chinese New Year celebration at Parliament on 12 February 2002, the Prime Minister, Helen Clark ^{See footnote below} formally apologised to those Chinese people who had paid the poll tax and suffered other discrimination, and to their descendants. She also stated that Cabinet had authorised her and the Minister for Ethnic Affairs to pursue with representatives of the families of the early settlers a form of reconciliation which would be appropriate to and of benefit to the Chinese community.

To see a full copy of the Prime Minister’s ^{See footnote below} speech in either Chinese or English click on the following links:

• Prime Minister's speech - English language version.
• Prime Minister's speech - Chinese language version (pdf 930kb).

This document is in pdf format. You need to have the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. You can download a free version from the Adobe site.

Minister for Ethnic Affairs’ Speech

At the Chinese New Year celebration at Parliament on 12 February 2002, the Minister for Ethnic Affairs ^{See footnote below} acknowledged “the injustice and deprivation imposed on early Chinese settlers. It is about the separation of families, it is about the poverty of indentured settlers who were forced to work for years to earn enough money to pay off their tax let alone earn a living.”

To see a full copy of the Minister for Ethnic Affairs’ ^{See footnote below} speech in either Chinese or English click on the following links:

• Minister for Ethnic Affairs' speech: English language version.
• Minister for Ethnic Affairs' speech - Chinese language version.

This document is in pdf format. You need to have the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. You can download a free version from the Adobe site.