I had two reasons to be proud while attending the opening celebration of the Confucius Institute at the University of Auckland yesterday.
As an alumnus, I was proud of the achievements the university, my university, has reached over the years.
As a Labour MP, the first Labour MP of Chinese ethnicity, I’m proud of the active role the university is playing in forging and enhancing the already strong bond between New Zealand and China.
Politics maybe local but language, culture and friendship are all universal. And all of these things are strengthened by people to people contact.
More importantly, what the Confucius Institute has to offer will undoubtedly help prepare New Zealand to become a globalised nation.
In the modern world, no one can afford to be isolated. Any racially or culturally oriented hatred is a past tense. Anyone who tries to bring it back to the present tense is doomed to be short sighted and short lived.
New Zealand can’t afford to be isolated. I want our children to be able to speak not only one but three or four languages like our counterparts in European countries do.
Benefits are obvious both in a linguistic, cultural and economic sense. To a large extent it may determine their capability to survive and compete in the modern globalised arena.
Labour and Hon Phil Goff are well respected in the Asian communities.
Hon Phil Goff was the Trade Minister who signed the FTA with China.
China is now our third largest trading partner with the value of exports to China over the year ended June 2009 increasing by 62% per cent.
Building up our links with Asia and an increasingly globalised world will benefit New Zealand in the long term.
It’s nice to read something so positive. I like the idea of bring people and cultures together. Ka pai.
A globalised nation..please define.
Australia does a lot more trade with China and they do not have a Free trade Agreement. Free Trade agreements benefit the larger economy. People waffle on about FTAs here in NZ but noone seems to critically examine them. As Winston Peters said at the time the Free Trade Agreement with China was signed, there was no consideration of future unemployment in NZ. Many NZers are unhappy about recent changes in NZ and do not wish to see further massive changes.
In this current era of globalisation no country (especially a small one like New Zealand) can afford to be isolated. A forward-looking and outward-looking economy is what New Zealand needs to aim at. New Zealand is an export oriented country and we don’t have a vast amount of natural resources and minerals like Australia, therefore Free Trade Aggreements with China, Malaysia and other Asian countries are vital to boost our GDP.
I notice the increase in Trade with China in the last year after the FTA was signed.
However, how much of the increase of exports from NZ was in goods that were covered by the FTA. As I understand Fonterra was responsible for most of it, yet The reductions in duty in this area are only slowly being lowered.
And surely there should be a ‘free trade’ in Wool, as this a major export from NZ instead of the quota system that this agreement puts in place.
AS we have agreed up to 150 martial arts coaches be allowed in at one time.
But can we send , say 500 English teachers to China
what does confucius say about the All Whites tomorrow?
No Ghost , its a one way street..all these Chinese coming here. There are already Chinese here selling martial arts weapons..people in my area of Christchurch are upset at Chinese weapons being sold in one of the local malls..We don’t need these weapons and we don’t need martial arts instructors.
We need to retain our own culture and sovereignity.
Confucius says ?
Im more concerned about waht Sun Tzu says in regard to the approach to trade negotiations
Confucius says – he who kicks well wins match.