NZ's “Business Olympics” win secured by a coin toss

The 20th Convention of Teochew International Federation:
New Zealand’s “Business Olympics” win was so closely contested it had to be secured by a coin toss

From The 20th Convention of Teochew international Federation News Center

A fiercely-contested event known internationally as the “Business Olympics” is about to be hosted in Auckland.

The 20th Convention of Teochew International Federation will be held in two parts in Auckland -- from March 17 to 19, and from September 27 to 29 later this year -- with a focus on encouraging international business exchange and cooperation.

The international event has been running since 1981 and was originally set up as a networking opportunity for expat Teochew residents from the Chaoshan area of Guangdong Province, China.

More than 100 community member organisations belonging to the federation bid and vote for the hosting rights, with the winning city standing to receive significant economic benefits.

Nearly 2,000 overseas industry investors are expected to attend this year’s events, which will be a unique opportunity for the country to promote tourism, commerce, logistics and educational products.

The Auckland-based Chao Shan General Association of New Zealand (one of the country’s largest associations, with more than 3,000 registered members) was successful in winning this year’s hosting rights in a very closely-fought competition at the 2017 convention in Indonesia. Voting was so close that the winner’s fate lay with the toss of a coin.

Their opponent in the hosting finals in Jakarta was from Chaozhou City, Guangdong Province, China.

New Zealand’s bidding team -- led by Mr. Yikun Zhang, Chairman of Chao Shan General Association of New Zealand, and Member of Parliament Raymond Huo -- consisted of Chao Shan General Association of New Zealand, Chao Shan Chamber of Commerce of New Zealand, New Zealand Chao Shan Youth Association, and Chao Shan General Association in South Island. Dr Trevor Matheson, the New Zealand ambassador to Indonesia was also invited to attend the meeting to support New Zealand's bid.

The bidding competition began with the toss of a coin to determine who would present their case first.

The New Zealand team won and started with a video which drew applause from delegates as they watched greetings from two Prime Ministers of New Zealand (John Key and Bill English), and then Mayor of Auckland (Len Brown) in Teochew dialect.

Then the NZ ambassador to Indonesia, Trevor Matheson, paid tribute to the venue in Te Reo Māori.

His speech, along with those by Mr Huo and Chairman Yikun Zhang, expressed their determination and the advantages in holding the 20th Convention of Teochew International Federation in New Zealand. The speeches were brief and powerful, summing up the local support from two prime ministers, the ruling and opposition parties in New Zealand, and over 100 local associations. The Minister of Ethnic Communities led a delegation to lobby for support from other countries. The Consulate General of New Zealand in Hong Kong, Beijing and Guangzhou also coordinated a lot of lobbying support from other countries.

After the presentation of Chaozhou City, Mr Eka Tjandranegara, Chairman of the 19th Convention of Teochew International Federation, announced the rules of anonymous ballot and ticket counting.

A total of 105 community member organizations had been registered in Teochew International Federation, and 71 were eligible to vote. The ticketing process was extremely dramatic. Among the 67 votes submitted, there was one ballot paper that was invalid because it was not properly stamped.

As the 62nd ticket was announced it looked like Chaozhou city was the winner with 33 votes counted and only one more required to win. But then there was excitement as all remaining votes went in New Zealand’s favour with applause and cheers breaking out throughout the venue and it was revealed that both competitors were tied on 33 votes - the first draw in the history of the event.

According to the regulations of Teochew International Federation, if the vote was tied then the Chairman was entitled to have an extra vote. Chairman Tjandranegara said it was the most difficult choice of his life. He obtained the consent of both Chaozhou and New Zealand and decided to use a coin to decide the attribution of his vote - the same Indonesian 500 rupiah coin that started the event.

New Zealand, as the earlier winner of the coin toss that kicked off the presentations, got to choose heads or tails. The Executive Director of the Chao Shan General Association of New Zealand, Mr Shijia Zheng, chose tails. The tension in the room was intense as Chairman Tjandranegara threw the coin into the air. It came down tails, securing New Zealand as the host for the 20th Convention of Teochew International Federation.

“It should be said that we are lucky in New Zealand!,” said Mr. Yikun Zhang, Chairman of Chao Shan General Association of New Zealand. “The New Zealand government, political parties and the mayor of Auckland, together with Chao Shan General Association of New Zealand and nearly 70,000 Teochew immigrants living in New Zealand worked hard and did their best to create more business opportunities, investments, educational outputs and tourism for the prosperity of our country. As a result of their efforts, one of the world's largest investment business summits will be held in New Zealand this year”.

The competition for the next hosting rights will kick off at this months’ gathering, with organisation delegates voting for the next host, while making final preparations for the larger Auckland convention later in the year.

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