“It won’t take your mom long to get permanent residence,” said the immigrations official to Michelle, the Chook’s mom, on the phone. “She isn’t an Asian.” When Michelle, who as the daughter can sponsor her mother to New Zealand told us this story that evening, I breathed a sigh of relief as my permanent residence application was dependent on my wife’s. Then I felt uncomfortable about what many would see as a racist inference.
Why would a Kiwi government official, a public servant with a responsible position, say that openly on the phone? This column takes a peek at the possible answers and at the issue of where does racism and discrimination end, and taking responsibility for a nation’s own citizens begin. A delicate issue. Or a cut and dry issue.
Our laptops, bought in China, with us here in New Zealand, I have now discovered have been heavily compromised by the Chinese. Brett, just short of seven feet tall, is the Chook’s son-in-law and an IT boff who was also some years ago one of the very best gamers in the world. Computers and IT are a huge part of his life. He looked at my laptop and after an initial check muttered, “I wonder if this laptop will beat my previous record of finding 18 spyware infections on a PC. Let’s see.” He found roughly 388 spyware infections, all from China. It should be a while before his new record is broken. Further, when Brett set up the wireless on my laptop, he discovered that all my traffic was still being routed through China via Google.co.nz. In other words all my emails and my internet activity could still feasibly be monitored from China or intercepted. Brett said they could use my ISP to send spam anywhere in the world and all sorts of other nefarious things.
That didn’t surprise me. When I was living in China people get spied on all the time, especially “foreigners”. I made many friends in China. But, sadly, at the end of the day, I learned during my five-year stay not to trust a single Chinese person because of the spying and duplicity. Whereas there are Western people I would trust with my life, not necessarily friends. This spying includes all my emails and where you go on the internet. (This snooping culture, where you are your “brother’s keeper”, is one reason why communism spread so successfully in China.)
My Thought Leader blog was hacked into by the Chinese and one hacker left the following odd, Chinglish message and title as a draft in my Thought Leader blog account. Notice how he had been keeping up to date with my blogs at the time. For example, a blog about gorgeous babes on Twitter and Facebook enticingly inviting me to let them follow me (I couldn’t in China, boo hoo) or my response to one of Sandile Malema’s many non sequitur blogs. This message, below, is not edited at all except for one unfortunate censorship.
“All your bases are belong to us
Do not be afraid. I am a ‘white hat’ hacking for good and not for bad. Two tips I offer to you:One – change your password here the computer generated passcode used to create your passcode is the same for all TL users. Do not use this information to hack into other user accounts and write on their behalf. Even if sandilememela (memelas) is a [censored by Rod]. Although could be funny.
Two — use a proxy server to bypass Chinese controls over the internet. Do so and facebook babes can be yours.”
After that all TL bloggers were asked to change their passwords. I have had to change it more than once as my account got hacked into again and again. I don’t think “hacked” is the right word. With all that ridiculous spyware the Chinese could pretty much do as they pleased, my personal affairs as easy to open as a paper envelope.
My mail to South Africa got intercepted by the Chinese. For example, a hard copy of my now published memoir, Cracking China (see my profile on the right) just never got to SA. My publishing contract with my publisher got returned several months later. An innocent publishing contract! Probably because it contained the name of the book and I have decided only to send the contract once in New Zealand. My other paper manuscripts, prior to 2009, and other correspondence to SA were never intercepted by the Chinese.
I am not alone in this. Many “foreigners”, lawai, Westerners living in China, will tell you stories of having their private affairs pried into. Or read accounts in memoirs like Tim Clissold’s Mr. China and Peter Hessler’s River Town. One Australian friend discovered her landline was bugged. She changed phones. Foreigners teaching and living on college campuses have told me that various school officials would arrive at their door at inconvenient times, ostensibly to visit, but to snoop on what they were doing.
I made many mainland Chinese friends and acquaintances. Some I will always keep in touch with, including students who adopted us as a mom and dad, as recounted in my memoir.
The point is that the Kiwi authorities feel that the “Asian” culture is just far too different from the Western culture for people like the mainland Chinese to adapt to. I understand that, having experienced both cultures. In conversations with the family, who have been in Kiwi land for more than six years, and who have Chinese friends living here in New Zealand, the Kiwi authorities also often deem the mainland Chinese as just too much trouble, as I touched on in a previous blog.
It is stated in the New Zealand immigrations website that photocopies of required documents that are certified by the Chinese police will not be accepted. That speaks volumes. Can you argue that this is just New Zealand protecting its own people and culture? I think so. Over to the readers.
It reminds me of the Kiwi authorities’ previous generosity in allowing HIV-positive people to immigrate to New Zealand. That has now been changed because of its thorough abuse which can be seen here, about a Zimbabwean practising unsafe sex in New Zealand infecting Kiwi women or here and here. These stories are clearly an example of a country that wishes to protect and serve the needs of its own people. A far cry from South Africa, where many people are “allowed” in over the borders with disastrous consequences. This laxness is an overreaction to the horrific discriminations of apartheid, which unfortunately takes the Rainbow Nation to the other extreme.
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25 Responses to “Kiwi ‘racism’ doesn’t remind me of apartheid”
Ah, communism. It is such a sad system that denies any “individual” thought. I have come to the conclusion that it is because it is unnatural. I agree with you. Africa should take a leaf out of the Kiwi book and regard with extreme suspicion any deals offered by the Chinese. A country that goes to such lengths to protect the fantasy of a successful state is definitely not pro individual rights and I do not see how any democratic country can support them by doing business with them. Racism has nothing to do with it, choice of political system does. This is why all truths about China must be suppressed. You obviously touched a raw nerve somewhere in China in exposing an ugly fact. Communism is a system where all have equal slave status and only the tiny group of leaders have any freedom of expression. I often wonder why China does not just go the manufactured human way. Order: 100 x standard obedient, hard working communists for textile factory, creativity restricted to design of clothing.
With their economy growing as it is, it will be some time before there is a critical mass of Chinese concerned enough to drastically change their Human Rights situation. People still remember ‘89 too probably.
Anyone who’s spent much time with the Chinese will know they’re more concerned with profit than freedom of speech and privacy. Who’s to say which hemisphere has get the balance right anyway? It’s not like one has been a clear success story…
I must comment too, while reading your blogs you wrote from China, I always wondered how much you were actually at liberty to say. Please do write more about this. I may be there too soon, and have thought about this same point. Thanks for the article.
It’s not racism, Rod - it’s “culturalism” and I think it’s quite normal and acceptable. You can’t always successfully integrate cultures that are very different. And why would you want to? Our different cultures make us an interesting species. I think it’s good that NZ makes an effort to protect its citizens and wish that S.A. would do the same.
All Asians are not Chinese and all Chinese are not really Chinese nationals. “Your mom is not Asian” is a blatantly racist statement. It could mean any Asian from anywhere…even Asian-American or Hawaiian. On the other hand if the authority had said that your mother is not from mainland China, it would have been different.
“It is stated in the New Zealand immigrations website that photocopies of required documents that are certified by the Chinese police will not be accepted.”
It’s also stated clearly on application forms from the British High Commission in SA that no copies certified by SA police will be acceptable for their purposes. They’ll even politely scratch it out for you in ink before handing you the form if it’s not printed - just so you know - because if you try they just send it back unprocessed.
Most countries’ police forces aren’t seen as the bastions of democracy and candour that one would expect really…
In NZ, you can’t go to a police-station and have any photocopied document signed off as “certified true copy”. In South Africa any cop can do so, and even a school principal is “ex officio” a “commissioner of oaths”. In NZ you have to take anything requiring sworn certification to a JP — “Justice of the Peace” — a high civic honour bestowed on few, but who might be as hard to spot in a crowd as the local butcher, the pensioner next door, the former All Black centre, or just that scruffy guy with the cat over there. Look up JPs in the local phone book and call first to see when he/she can stamp your papers. It’s all a bit of a nuisance when you’ve always just breezed into a cop-shop at any old hour and had all your stamping and signing done by the gum-chewing, dull-eyed illiterate across the counter.
@ X Cepting “A country that goes to such lengths to protect the fantasy of a successful state is definitely not pro individual rights and I do not see how any democratic country can support them by doing business with them”
Quick question: were you talking about China or SA?!
“It won’t take your Mom long to get permanent residence….she isn’t an Asian”
This is a single matter-of-fact statement cannot be immediately construed as racism since its simply reflects the country’s immigration policies and procedures that are different based on your country of nationality due to the reciprocal considerations. Even in other the UK, US etc. depending on your nationality, immigration officials will tell you how long it will take, or the degree of difficulty you will experience in obtaining a visa, residency etc.
“This laxness is an overreaction to the horrific discriminations of apartheid, ”
Firstly, I’m glad you finally admit to the horror of the apartheid regime. I must say Rod, this is an amazing about face compare to your prior blogs. What happened during your last few months in China that seemed to have caused this transformation? I’m curious, because maybe some of our local racists can learn a thing or two from your epiphany.
Secondly, SA has no option - NOTHING can prevent the stream of refugees from impoverished Zimbabwe, who are only recently facing up to their land reparations problems that have festered for over 3 decades!!! What do you expect the SA government to do to Zimbabweans crossing over, shoot em???
Thirdly, the lack of progress in land reparations after apartheid, creating a precarious situation here in SA. Therefore its critical that we address land reparations ASAP before the situation becomes untenable here in SA as well!!!
Welcome to Kiwiland Rod. It appears you have recovered from your ‘battle of the orange’ with NZ customs and are on the road to discovering how much the NZ authorities can really fleece you once they get going (e.g. the $750 NZQA fee). I think you might find far more mainland Chinese have settled here than South Africans, so maybe being ‘too much trouble’ does not make that much difference. I remember Helen Clark lifting the ‘HIV test’ requirement for Zimbabweans at about the time of the farm invasions - and an ex-Rhodesian friend of mine telling me this was plain insanity. (I wonder if any white Zimbabweans actually arrived during this period of open-slather for Zim immigrants). Still, she did get that nice UN job!
Anyway, I look forward to your musings on the NZ experience. Any chance you might change that photo? Cheers!
Interestingly, my SOS Children’s Village Association in Botswana is receiving regular help from the Chinese community in Botswana. the Chinese Chamber of Commerce pays for two family houses in our children’s villages. Am I suspiciou? No extremely grateful for the support! Even the Ambassador and his staff have been helpful. China and India are the future, and if we dont have a win win situation….with some caution….we shall be in trouble!
Dave Harris for an intelligent person you never cease to amaze me. Rod does not harp on about Apartheid (his blogs are about China) but when he does mention SA he almost always notes the horrors of Apartheid. Because someone doesn’t mention Apartheid every time he/she talks or puts pen to paper does not mean they supported Apartheid.
Just been to a sponsored breakfast (for Kwamashu high school kids) where Baby Jake was the key note speaker. His main message was discipline and prepare for the future as it is yours, the opportunities are there for the taking. Dont forget the past but dont dwell on it, the future is your focus.
Try this advice from someone who grew up with all the worst that Apartheid could offer but made his future. This is what all Black kids should learn - it is in them to make their future and thus add value to all of SA.
In all circumstances it is actually individual behaviour that is the issue. The trouble arises when authorities have to deal with large numbers of people. In those circumstances it is a bureaucratic fact that it is much quicker to operate according to generalisations taking no heed of individual circumstances. Such generalisations can easily be based on race.
@Carla Bauer: ‘It’s not racism, Rod - it’s “culturalism” and I think it’s quite normal and acceptable.”
Well said.
Many of the “objections” and comments are based on acceptance of perceptions without querying the underlying facts.
@Dave harris: ..”the lack of progress in land reparations after apartheid…”. The latest report on “land reparations” told us that most of the land (80%) handed back by productive farmers to the previous owners was not worked any longer.
Please man, acknowledge facts before being triumphant.
Communism is not dead and will never die as long as capitalism exists. Many countries have found a relatively happy medium.
You might have picked up that Rod could not express himself freely under the Chinese system. Many people had the same problems in SA in the past. Some journos still have this problem under the threats of the upcoming Malema regime.
Just wait and see how you confuse the local constabulary when you walk in with your wad of South African passport renewal forms and ASK to be finger-printed! Yes, SA passport protocols ridiculously insist on having a full set of prints.
In NZ, the cops are accustomed to fingerprinting only surly, snarling crime suspects — against their will. To have someone just walk in off the street and ask to be fingerprinted is a jaw-dropping work story for a Kiwi cop.
One SA policewoman recently won her case in court, having been denied promotion because she is white.
What’s the difference?
I don’t see any problem with explaining to someone that things are easier for some than for others. It’s a fact!
The policies behind those facts are at issue, not what people say about them.
We all know in SA that white people are unlikely to receive promotion or even jobs in certain organisations due to a clamour for BBEEE status. Isn’t that more racist?
“The point is that the Kiwi authorities feel that the “Asian” culture is just far too different from the Western culture for people like the mainland Chinese to adapt to. I understand that, having experienced both cultures….”
(As seen from the comments) Only a white person would think that this is OK. Flip it around and imagine someone like Mugabe saying this, would it still be “understandable”?
Yes, it is “culturalism”. In China, privacy was historically an unknown concept. They were always overpopulated and most people lived in a one-room house where the entire family stayed together. I remember reading about one of the first tourists in mainland China, where people simply walked into his hotel room and a big crowd was looking in through the open door. The funny part - at least for us - was that he happened to be naked at the time and he was indicted by the authorities for indecent exposure (in his own hotel room!). What we call spying on one another was a normal activity even during the imperial periods of Chinese history, it is not a communist invention. It was aid that this was a safeguard for social stability, where conformity was always encouraged and enforced. I am, of course, not defending this or agreeing with it, but one must first study the cultural and social history of a country and especially of a completely different civilization like China, the oldest in the world, before passing a biased judgment.
Hi Ian Shaw March 25 8.52 PM. Your anecdote is just so typical of what I experienced in my five years in China. I am being asked to do various radio and magazine interviews about my memoir Cracking China at present and one reviewer refuses to review Cracking China - because she feels I am “patronising and condescending towards the Chinese” And yes, Cracking China is vulnerable to that critique, but the anecdotes, like the one you mention are so true.
Ian, I would like to actually quote your comment in my next radio interview if that is fine by you. The next one is with Karen Key on Radio SAfm Travel show, 31 March 11h00 SA time. If it is apt in the interview, I would like to read your comment - in other words, quoting someone other than myself.
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“The family capped stream (which comprises parent, adult child and sibling residence cases) is currently allocated 4,950–5500 places per year. Demand for these places currently exceeds supply. ”
“With the exception of the Parent Retirement Category (see below), there is a current waiting time of 18–24 months for a place to become available within the cap. In practice this means that an application will usually take from 18-24 months from the time of lodgement to be allocated to a case officer for assessment.”
And for those retiring…
“You must nominate funds and/or assets equivalent to at least NZ$1 million for investment funds, NZ$0.5 million for settlement funds, and be able to show an annual income of NZ$60,000 at the time of application. You will need to be able to provide evidence showing that your investment and settlement funds and/or assets are owned by you or jointly by you and your partner and/or dependent children.”
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CRACKING CHINA was previously the title of this blog. That title was used as the name for Rod MacKenzie's second book, Cracking China: a memoir of our first three years in China, which is now available at Exclusive Books and other good bookstores. ISBN-13: 9780620451079.
Or contact the publicist, Helco Promotions, at (011) 462 2302 or E-mail helco@mweb.co.za.
Rod and his wife, Marion, AKA the Chook or chookie, lived in China for five years. They have now moved to Auckland, New Zealand, where they hope to give Kiwi-land a crack. They live in a six-bedroom house along with the family, altogether seven rather individualistic and opinionated (sometimes self-opinionated) people and a small, mad terrier, Joey, who thinks he can pick up a rugby ball with his mouth.
Long ago Rod completed a post-graduate degree in English partly under the glacier presence and tutelage of J.M. Coetzee (who nevertheless encouraged Rod to keep writing). Rod has recovered from that ordeal.
He has written numerous other books, including two blockbuster novels and one novella. He is patiently waiting for publishers to See the Light.
Rod's links
Kalahari.net CRACKING CHINA, Rod's memoir about living for three years in China, is now available for orders on this website
Knowledgethirstmedia Knowledge Thirst Media: Ordering CRACKING CHINA, the memoir, available for ordering on this website
Truth be told, I am not married and have never been married, now at the sweet, tender, gullible age of 47. That's right, the Chook and I (the Chook be...
The current furore in New Zealand about the country being a rip-off for tourists (so look out rugby World Cup 2011 tourists) should be taken seriously...
A South African tourist, Tayla Storm, died in New Zealand after a lengthy battle with a rare infection. The tragedy for her and her family will be fel...
A South African visitor has so far cost New Zealand about one and a half million rands because of a rare infection she contracted whilst travelling he...
"So I got this cool plot nearly worked out for my new blockbuster novel," I grinned at Dylan, Marion's Kiwi grandson. "Blockbuster?" the eleven-year-o...
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Ah, communism. It is such a sad system that denies any “individual” thought. I have come to the conclusion that it is because it is unnatural. I agree with you. Africa should take a leaf out of the Kiwi book and regard with extreme suspicion any deals offered by the Chinese. A country that goes to such lengths to protect the fantasy of a successful state is definitely not pro individual rights and I do not see how any democratic country can support them by doing business with them. Racism has nothing to do with it, choice of political system does. This is why all truths about China must be suppressed. You obviously touched a raw nerve somewhere in China in exposing an ugly fact. Communism is a system where all have equal slave status and only the tiny group of leaders have any freedom of expression. I often wonder why China does not just go the manufactured human way. Order: 100 x standard obedient, hard working communists for textile factory, creativity restricted to design of clothing.
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