Media e-newsletter: May 2007

Namaste, kia ora and welcome to the May edition of the Asia New Zealand Foundation media newsletter. In this issue, New Zealand exporters get a Reality Check on Asia, we preview a visit by President Arroyo and highlight a number of cultural initiatives supported by Asia:NZ. Also featured is NZPA reporter Grant Fleming’s account on his Philippines assignment in January. Next month, we feature the Press Council decision on North & South’s Asian Angst December cover story.

In this issue:

* Low scores for Asia competency - report

* Philippines president to visit New Zealand

* On the news media front

* New Zealand artists at Shanghai expo

* Chandra, Xinran for readers and writers festival

* Migrant communities connect with IT

* New citizens a diverse bunch

* South Asia forum in Wellington

* Lee and Shuja continue their sporting rise

* Making a mela of it

* Wushu fighting for the fifth year

* Mining news in Manila

Low scores for Asia competency - report
The low ratings for New Zealanders’ ability in Asian languages and cultural sensitivity are areas of concern if this country wants to increase its business engagement with the Asian region, says a new Asia:NZ report.

The Reality Check: Asian Perceptions of New Zealand Business People report says learning how to operate in different business cultures is a key piece of advice from successful New Zealand business people but it appears that the country is slow to take it up.

The report is based on research into how New Zealand business people are perceived in Asian economies such as China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Its release comes at a time when a number of iconic New Zealand manufacturers like Fisher and Paykel and Sleepyhead are establishing production in or considering moving it to Asian countries, highlighting the need for New Zealand companies to internationalise production to remain competitive.

While the report finds that New Zealanders may be well perceived in many areas, it is essential that the country does not “relax in light of this fast-changing and dynamic economic environment in Asia”.

“This initial overview suggests that New Zealanders need to develop their business skills to take advantage of opportunities in Asia. Action is required to develop at an individual level for business people and at an educational level within business schools and professional business development,” the report says.

It also recommends the development of stronger university and research institutional relationships between New Zealand and Asia if the country is to “leverage capability and acquire technological expertise”.

The Reality Check report will be one of the focal points for the Action Asia Business Summit being held by the Asia:NZ at the Sky City Convention Centre in Auckland on July 9-10.

A keynote speaker for the summit is the internationally respected economist Clyde Prestowitz, president and founder of the Economic Strategy Institute in Washington and author of Three Billion New Capitalists: The Great Shift of Wealth and Power to the East.

The Reality Check: Asian Perceptions of New Zealand Business People report can be found at the following link: http://www.asianz.org.nz/files/asianz_realitycheck.pdf

For more information about the Action Asia Business Summit can be found at http://www.actionasia.co.nz

Philippines president to visit New Zealand
President Gloria Arroyo will visit New Zealand later this month in the aftermath of the Philippines’ mid-term election which is expected to allow her government to retain control of the House of Representatives but likely to lose the Senate.

The final election results are not expected until next month.

Mrs Arroyo will be in New Zealand to attend the opening session of the Third Asia-Pacific Regional Interfaith Dialogue at Waitangi from May 29 to 31. The dialogue is co-sponsored by New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda and New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters will also attend.

Helen Clark says the Interfaith Dialogue brings together Asia-Pacific faith and community leaders and other civil society representatives from 15 Southeast Asian and South Pacific countries to address potential causes of religious conflict and extremism in the region.

New Zealand will be represented by a delegation of 11 members drawn from its religious communities and those involved with community relations issues, such as the Race Relations Commissioner.

New Zealand has been active in the Interfaith Dialogue since the first meeting in Indonesia in 2004. Helen Clark attended the Philippines-hosted second meeting last year.

On the news media front
The New Zealand Press Council decision on the Asian Angst article in the December issue of North & South is to be made public in early June.

The Asia New Zealand Foundation is one of the complainants on the grounds that the cover story was unbalanced, unfair and deliberately alarmist in its portrayal of Asian communities in New Zealand.

The deadline for applications for the North Asia round of Asia New Zealand Foundation media travel grants is May 18. Judging will take place on June 1.

The North Asia round encompasses China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia and Taiwan. The Southeast Asia round deadline is July 18 and South Asia is September 18.

A media travel grant will provide funding for reporting in Asia, providing up to 80 percent of the cost of the assignment.

A group of seven New Zealand journalists are to travel to Guangdong where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has recently opened a NZ Consulate office in the capital Guangzhou.

The journalists will be hosted by the Guangdong Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. The trip from June 11-17 has been facilitated by the New Zealand Chinese Herald with generous support from Cathay Pacific.

The journalists taking part in the trip are Fiona Robertson of NBR, Dene Mackenzie of ODT, Adam Bennett of the NZ Herald, Grant Fleming of NZPA, Dan Eaton of The Press, Golnaz Bassam-Tabar of Radio Live and Annabelle Lee-Harris of Maori Television.

New Zealand artists at Shanghai expo
An exhibition of three New Zealand artists is part of the Third Shanghai International Science and Art Exposition being held this month.

The exhibition Geomatics and Ecomatics: Three Stories features digital media artworks by Janine Randerson, Douglas Bagnall and Natalie Robertson and is supported by the Asia New Zealand Foundation.

Curator Danny Butt says the exhibition is a great opportunity to showcase the depth of research talent in New Zealand's new media art community.

He says the environmental theme is no accident as “New Zealand is known internationally for its physical beauty, and also its bicultural relationships between settlers and Maori. New Zealanders know that there are a lot of different ways you can think about land and the environment.”

The installation by Janine Randerson even has a Chinese connection. Her work Remote senses; storms nearby combines images from New Zealand and Chinese satellite databases with television footage of extreme weather, suggesting connections between local weather events and global climate change.

The 3rd Shanghai International Science and Art Exposition is an important feature of the annual Shanghai Science and Technology Festival. In 2006 the art exposition attracted 60 participating groups and individuals from 14 countries. It’s opening day last year attracted 40,000 visitors.

The website for the Shanghai International Science and Art Exposition is at: http://www.science-art.com.cn or contact Danny Butt at danny@dannybutt.net.

Chandra, Xinran for readers and writers festival
Auckland’s Readers and Writers Festival which begins this month is again a showcase of international and domestic literary talent.

Asian talent on show include Indian author Vikram Chandra, Chinese author and poet Xinran, Indonesian author and poet Ketut Yuliarsa as well as Auckland’s own Roseanne Liang.

Vikram Chandra, whose visit is supported by the Asia:NZ, spends his time between Mumbai and Berkeley where he teaches at the University of California.

His first novel Red Earth and Pouring Rain won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book and the David Higham Prize. Sacred Games, his latest novel, won the 2006 Hutch Crossword Award for English Fiction.

His session promises talk of gangsters, Bollywood and family secrets. You can hear Vikram Chandra on Sunday May 27 at the ASB Theatre in the Aotea Centre at 1pm.

Author and poet Ketut Yuliarsa, whose current project The Spinning Mountain has been performed in New Zealand, is one of Bali’s most distinguished authors and poets.

In 1986 Ketut Yuliarsa established the Ganesha Bookshop as the first book shop in the Balinese city of Ubud and in 2004 he set up the Books for Bali Project to foster literacy and learning.

Based in Sydney, he will be participating in two sessions with other literary luminaries on Saturday May 26 at 10am and 8pm. His visit is also supported by the Asia:NZ.

Xinran Xue is returning to New Zealand for the festival. Born in Beijing in 1958, she published her first poem when she was 15. Her novel The Good Women of China has been published in over 30 languages.

Her new book Miss Chopsticks tells the story of three sisters who leave their rural home to work in Nanjing. An Hour with Xinran is on Sunday May 27 at 10am in the ASB Theatre in the Aotea Centre. She also features in the Friday Night with the Stars session on May 25 at 8pm.

Roseanne Liang has written and directed two short films which have taken her to the London and Berlin Film Festivals. Her autobiographical documentary Banana in a Nutshell was awarded Best Documentary in the medium-length category at the New Zealand International Documentary Festival in 2006.

She will be part of the How to be Creative in Three Easy Lessons session on Sunday May 27 with Karla Mila, Jo Randerson and Florian Habicht at 5.30pm.

For more information, visit http://www.writersfestival.co.nz.

Migrant communities connect with IT
The latest issue of the Aotearoa Ethnic Network Journal is about the way the internet and mobile telecommunications are changing the way society thinks, links and functions, say its editors.

“Access to the information and communication channels available through these networks puts us in a new space where New Zealand's tyranny of distance is both diminished and amplified,” say Ruth De Souza and Andy Williamson who edit and publish the online journal.

“The internet makes globalisation a reality but it magnifies the local and it has enormous potential to connect and support communities, particularly those who are otherwise disadvantaged.”

This issue presents a range of perspectives that show the potential for how information communications technology can be harnessed by different communities formed around ethnicity, nationality or faith.

“We hope it will motivate ethnic communities in Aotearoa to recognise the value of information technology and seize every opportunity to adopt and use them effectively.”

The AEN Journal is an open access online journal, available at http://journal.aen.org.nz.

New citizens a diverse bunch
So far this year 9,502 people from more than 100 countries have become New Zealanders, says Department of Internal Affairs.

The 9,502 new citizens: 1719 from India; 1089 are from China; 1007 from South Africa; 1002 from United Kingdom; 491 from Korea; 469 from Fiji; 390 from the Philippines; 302 from Samoa; 294 from Zimbabwe; 246 from Iraq; 146 from Malaysia; 135 from USA; 120 from Taiwan.

Other groups are from Australia, Bangladesh, Egypt, Germany, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Macedonia, Pakistan, Romania, Russia, Somalia, Scotland, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, The Netherlands, and Vietnam.

South Asia forum in Wellington
Members of New Zealand’s South Asian communities are being invited to take part in a South Asian Forum in Wellington later this month.

The Office of Ethnic Affairs promises discussions and workshops with speakers including the Minister for Ethnic Affairs, Chris Carter.

The event is on Saturday May 26 from 9.30am-2.30pm at the Indian Cultural Centre in Kilbirnie. Lunch will be provided. RSVP to Winifred Mahowa by May 19 at winifred.mahowa@dia.govt.nz.

Lee and Shuja continue their sporting rise
Two outstanding Kiwi Asian sportsmen have recorded recent international successes in golf and squash.

New Zealand amateur golf champion Danny Lee finished third in the Asian PGA Tour event in Seoul while the country’s number one squash player Kashif Shuja is now ranked in the sport’s international top 50 after a successful tournament in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Sixteen-year-old Korean-born Danny Lee, who only gained New Zealand residency last year, fired six birdies in the final round for third place in the GS Caltex Maekyung Open.

The Rotorua teenager will now represent New Zealand in the Four Nations tournament near Melbourne this month.

Meanwhile, Kashif Shuja’s international squash ranking climbed four places to 47 after making the semi-finals of the Governor NWFP Squash International in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Despite losing to Pakistan’s Mansoor Zaman in the semi-final, the Auckland-based player has seen his ranking climb 51 places since May last year. He now enjoys his highest ever ranking since turning professional in June 2005.

Making a mela of it
Organisers say the annual Festival of India gets underway at the Aotea Square in downtown Auckland this Sunday May 20 in the true spirit of an Indian ‘mela’ or fair.

They say what began as a small festival in 1996 has now evolved into a full-fledged festival in the sense of the Indian Sanskrit word for a gathering or fair.

The heritage and culture of Auckland’s Indian communities which include people from all parts of India as well as Fiji, Malaysia and South Africa will be on show.

There will be a wide range of food and craft stalls as well as performances ranging from classical Indian dance routines to modern Bollywood dance numbers.

The event will run from 11am to 5pm and everyone is welcome.

Wushu fighting for the fifth year
The Auckland Wushu Festival celebrates its fifth year this month with martial arts competitions for all levels and ages.

Entry is free and participants can choose whether to demonstrate or compete. It will be held at Tamaki College Community Recreation Centre in Glen Innes from 10am to 6pm.

In Chinese, wushu literally means martial art and is a more precise term than the more widely used term kung fu which also translates as skill in the sense that a good artist can also have good kung fu.

The event is organised by volunteers and supported by the Asia:NZ.

Mining news in Manila
By Grant Fleming
Arrivals in Manila from New Zealand are always tough. With no direct air link, getting there from Wellington usually involves three flights and about 24 hours of travel.

Throw in 30 degree plus temperatures and Manila's trademark traffic gridlock and it can be another two hours of discomfort before you reach your hotel.

But Manila has its graces - it is teeming with life and news, its residents are helpful and friendly and most locals speak English, simplifying the job of a foreign reporter.

After an early night I was met at 6am by the vice chairwoman of a largely Stephen Tindall-funded trust that delivers education assistance and micro-financing to some of Manila's poorest families.

It was a good day. We visited a micro-financing group in a squatter relocation village on Manila's rural fringes, a community development project in a rural village where I was afforded VIP status with large handwritten banners welcoming me, and a separate micro-financing group in Manila's sprawling Quezon City.

I also met several students from the trust's education programme, which helps pay the costs associated with schooling poor children.

Most of the people I met were wrestling with poverty. They had compelling stories to tell. Often the small assistance they received from the trust was enough to provide them with the means to generate enough income to feed themselves and their families.

My feature ran in The Dominion Post and I think elsewhere, as several papers bought related photos.

Later in the day on a taxi ride back to Manila's Makati business district, I managed to squeeze in a phone interview with Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters who was already in Cebu for East Asia Summit ministerial meetings.

Although late for the newspaper deadlines it provided me with two cycles of news cover and was used in papers in the weekend, stretching through to Monday mornings.

Prior to departure I had already filed a news preview on the bombing threats faced by the summit and a backgrounder outlining the summit's aims. The articles received good pick up in the New Zealand Herald, The Dominion Post and other dailies across the country.

On Saturday I flew out to Cebu a day ahead of Prime Minister Helen Clark.

On Sunday morning I had the luck of being put in touch with local human rights group Karapatan by Green MP Keith Locke.

The group were calling on Miss Clark to raise human rights issues with Arroyo in bilateral talks. Their concerns were the imprisonment of opposition politicians and a wave of extra-judicial killings of leftists and activists.

It gave me a good initial news angle for Monday morning papers as Miss Clark's arrival was pushing deadlines.

When she arrived Miss Clark held bilaterals with President Arroyo and Chinese Premier Wen Xiabao, which I was able to file stories and photos on overnight. Both the stories and pictures had excellent pickup in the major newspapers and on the main news websites.

On Monday was the summit proper. Due to the time difference I had to work hard to file in a reasonable time frame (five hours behind), but with a bit of help I was able to get vital statements and documents in advance to meet New Zealand deadlines.

Stories on progress towards a regional trade bloc and the summit's energy declaration received good play in most major newspapers.

What was clear from the summit was that in only its second year it had gathered considerable momentum, with most participating countries extremely enthusiastic about its future.

On Tuesday I left Cebu exhausted, facing the prospect of another 24 hours of travel, but relaxed and happy with the way things had gone.

NZPA Parliamentary reporter Grant Fleming travelled to Manila and Cebu in January with the support of the Asia:NZ.

The next Asia:NZ media newsletter will be available in June. The views expressed by various contributors to the newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views of the Asia:NZ. If you are interested in contributing to the newsletter, please contact Asia:NZ’s media adviser Charles Mabbett at cmabbett[at]asianz.org.nz

Toitu he kianga; whatungarongaro he tangata - people are transient things but the land endures.

ENDS

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