Printer-friendly VersionFormal 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 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 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 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’ 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.
Press Releases
To view ministerial press releases about the apology click on the following links: