Hon Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga

Minister for Ethnic Communities

10 February 2016

Chinese New Year celebration at Parliament

Ethnic Communities Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga will this evening host an event at Parliament to celebrate the 2016 Chinese New Year.

“The Year of the Monkey is said to be a year that will bring opportunities and inspiration,” Mr Lotu-Iiga says.

“What makes New Zealand such a great place to live is the way in which we share and celebrate each other’s cultures and traditions.

“Chinese New Year has become an annual event that all New Zealanders can look forward to and participate in. It is traditionally a time for reflection and renewal, and a time for families to reconnect.”

More than 100 invited guests will be at tonight’s annual event at Parliament, where they will be entertained with traditional dance and music, and a qipao parade in which traditional Chinese dress dating from the 17th century will be worn.

There are now more than 170,000 people of Chinese heritage in New Zealand, the country’s third largest ethnic group.

“It is more than 150 years since the first Chinese came to New Zealand. The Chinese community is very much part of our cultural fabric and it is hard to imagine a New Zealand without its contributions to business, academia, sport and culture,” Mr Lotu-Iiga says.

ends

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