Cantonese Poll tax Apology | Ministry for Ethnic Communities

Our Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities, Priyanca Radhakrishnan, hosted a Chinese New Year event at Parliament on 13 February at which the Government offered a Cantonese language version of its Poll Tax Apology.

The Poll Tax Apology was offered in 2002 by the then Prime Minister Helen Clark. Poll taxes were imposed by law on Chinese migrants during the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, and their entry into New Zealand was restricted based on the number of Chinese passengers per certain tonnage of ship cargo. These measures were highly discriminatory and had a heavy impact on Chinese migrant families.

A Mandarin translation (but not a Cantonese translation) followed the Prime Minister’s Apology statement at that time.

As the Chinese migrants and families who were subjected to the Poll Tax were primarily Cantonese speakers, the New Zealand Cantonese community have been asking since 2002 to receive a Cantonese language version of the Apology.

We acknowledge the importance to the Cantonese community of receiving the Poll Tax Apology in their own language, and are pleased to have played an advisory role in helping it to occur. We hope it will foster continuing reconciliation and healing.

Following in the footsteps of the original Apology, the Cantonese version was also delivered by professional translator and Chinese New Zealander Dr Henry Liu.

Find out more about the poll tax:

Poll tax imposed on Chinese | NZHistory, New Zealand history online
Looking Back, Moving On on Vimeo
A taxing imposition
Later settlement – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand

粵語人頭稅道歉

紐西蘭多樣、包容和移民社團部長拉琵欣，2月13日於國會舉辦了農曆新年活動向人頭税子孫後代以粵語道歉。

2002年時任總理海倫·克拉克道歉。人頭稅喺19世紀和20世紀初向華人徵收。根據每噸位嘅船舶貨物限制入境華人數目。這一系列措施具有高度歧視性。而且對華人移民家庭有深厚的影響。

當時總理道歉聲明只以普通話翻譯（並無以粵語翻譯）。

由於受人頭稅影響的華人移民和家庭主要係講粵語位嘅。紐西蘭粵語社群自2002年以來一直要求粵語版道歉聲明。

我哋承認用粵語向受人頭稅影響嘅粵語社群道歉位嘅重要性。並且我哋嘟很高興能夠向粵語社群提供幫助和專業意見。我哋希望此舉能促進持續和解和癒合。

繼原版道歉之後，粵語版也由專業翻譯紐西蘭華人 Henry Liu 撰寫和宣讀。

Last modified: 15 February 2023