Source: All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese
On March 24, 2023, co-organized by the New Zealand Huaxing Art Troupe, Auckland Chinese Cultural Centre and Wellington College Chinese Cultural Centre, jointly supported by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in New Zealand (Cook Islands, Niue), the Consulate General in Auckland and the Consulate General in Christchurch, co-organized by 24 Chinese organizations and jointly supported by more than 20 media, the "Together in the Boat" New Zealand Chinese Disaster Relief Charity Evening and Disaster Relief Bazaar Art Exhibition was held in Victory, located in the center of Auckland Convention Centre Theatre Held! The 2,400-person theater was packed and the event raised a total of S$127,400 for the "Gabriel Cyclone Disaster Relief Fund" launched by the New Zealand government, which received great attention and praise from all walks of life!
Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wang Xiaolong, Chinese Consul General in Auckland Chen Shijie, Chinese Deputy Consul General in Auckland Junchao, Chinese Cultural Consul to Auckland Zhou Li, New Zealand Minister of Statistics Deborah Russell, New Zealand Member of Parliament Chen Nai Son, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, U.S. Consul in Auckland Jessica Boyer, Auckland Police Director of Ethnic Affairs Jessica Phuang, Dr. Yang Jian, New Zealand overseas leaders and friends from all walks of life were invited to attend. More than 2,000 people participated in the activities and contributed to helping people in the disaster-stricken areas to rebuild after the disaster.
Before the start of the charity performance, the VIPs and audience friends, led by Wang Jianwen, director of the Auckland Cultural Center, Li Fen of the New Zealand Huaxing Art Troupe and Wang Yanke, president of the New Zealand International Art Exchange Association, watched nearly 100 art works donated by New Zealand Chinese painters and art institutions in the charity art exhibition, and were infected by the strong atmosphere of public welfare and love in the theater hall.
The charity performance was opened by the wonderful lion dance performance brought by the Baiyun Lions, and the guests and audiences were introduced to the theater to sit in the sound of gongs and drums, which not only kicked off our wonderful charity performance, but also boosted the morale of New Zealand's subsequent post-disaster reconstruction work, and expressed the good wishes of Guotai and Minan with our unique Chinese cultural way.
Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wang Xiaolong
Ambassador Wang Xiaolong said in his speech that since the occurrence of the tropical cyclone, the Chinese community, as a member of New Zealand's diverse society, has carried forward the fine tradition of mutual help and mutual assistance, and actively participated in the disaster relief operation. Ambassador Wang pointed out that China and Singapore are important cooperative partners of each other and have always been in the same boat in the face of difficulties and disasters. After the disaster, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang sent a letter of condolences to Foreign Minister Mahuta, adding a new chapter to the friendly relations between the two countries. Although the disaster situation has passed, common challenges facing mankind, such as climate change, still lie ahead of us, and China and Singapore urgently need to build a solid foundation for existing cooperation and explore new opportunities for cooperation in areas such as climate change and disaster resilience infrastructure to further benefit the two peoples.
In his speech, Minister Deborah Russell thanked the Chinese community for bringing together their generosity and kindness to support the New Zealand family. As a member of New Zealand, the Chinese community is extending a helping hand to the affected New Zealand people with love, kindness and compassion, and the New Zealand government expresses its heartfelt gratitude to the Chinese diaspora.
In his speech, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown praised the Chinese community for its help when New Zealand was hit by a severe storm with the Chinese "Thank you, Chinese brothers, for your generosity and extraordinary contributions".
Wang Jianwen, director of the Auckland Chinese Cultural Center, and Li Fen, director of the New Zealand Huaxing Art Troupe, said that since the disaster caused by heavy rain and hurricane in New Zealand, many Chinese groups and overseas Chinese have helped each other and spontaneously participated in disaster relief, which is a manifestation of this spirit. We use disaster relief charity performances and disaster relief charity art exhibitions to thank all overseas Chinese who have extended a helping hand to the victims of the disaster, and thank all those who participated in the event!
Chris Lipscombe, National Chairman of the New China Friendship Association, expressed his heartfelt thanks to all overseas Chinese who participated in the charity sale and post-disaster reconstruction from Wellington.
The whole charity performance is a comprehensive cultural and artistic activity integrating various art forms such as charity art exhibition, lion dance, song, dance, martial arts, allegro and musical instrument performance. This performance is not only a governing unit of the New Zealand Huaxing Art Troupe, but also other local Chinese communities participated, which is a performance that reflects the integration of Auckland Chinese art. On the sidelines of the performance, the organizers arranged a donation ceremony, counted the funds raised by the event, and donated in real time by representatives of the pledging organizations to the representatives of the donated "Gabriel Cyclone Disaster Relief Fund". The one-and-a-half-hour performance made everyone unsatisfied, many audience members watched and filmed, forwarded and shared the wonderful heartwarming moments of the charity performance on their mobile phones, and the audience enthusiastically applauded and cheered for every show and every donation session. After the event, there was still a lively discussion on the spot, and they all gave extremely high evaluations!" The successful holding of the "New Zealand Chinese Overseas Chinese Disaster Relief Charity Performance and Bazaar Art Exhibition" has helped New Zealand's post-disaster reconstruction!
Auckland Chinese Philharmonic Choir "Tomorrow Will Be Better"
Nine Wolf Martial Arts Club "Martial Arts Boy"
Donated by Chinese in New Zealand
Disasters are merciless. In the aftermath of a disaster, it is encouraging that many people are reaching out to the affected people in their own way to help the affected communities. Our Chinese community is also working together in the spirit of disaster relief, contributing to the post-disaster reconstruction of the disaster-stricken areas. This may be a long and difficult task, and I hope that the funds we raise will contribute to the people in need in the affected areas! Finally, thank you to all the people, groups and cast members who participated and supported this event! I hope that we will no longer suffer from disasters, and wish everyone good health, happiness and all the best for our families!
Special thanks to:
Supporting units
Embassy of the People's Republic of China in New Zealand (Cook Islands, Niue).
Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Auckland
Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Christchurch
Co-organizers
New Zealand Chinese Chamber of Commerce
New Zealand Teochew Federation
New Zealand Overseas Chinese Federation
New Zealand Federation of Chinese Communities
United New Zealand Chinese Women's Foundation
New Zealand Cantonese Chamber of Commerce
New Zealand International Art Exchange Association
New Zealand Federation of Chinese Organizations
New Zealand Cantonese Friendship Association
New Zealand China Council for the Promotion of International Trade
New Zealand Hainan Community Federation
New Zealand Shandong Chamber of Commerce
Yalun Overseas Chinese Club
New Zealand Fujian Chamber of Commerce
Hunan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, New Zealand
New Zealand Chinese Culture and Art Exchange Center
New Zealand General Association for the Promotion of China's Peaceful Reunification
New Zealand Association for the Promotion of China's Peaceful Reunification
New Zealand Tianjin Chamber of Commerce
New Zealand White Cloud Lions Club
New Zealand Chao Branch Chamber of Commerce
New Zealand Nantong Chamber of Commerce
Chinese social service
New Zealand Chinese Youth Federation
Media support (in no particular order)
Channel33
New Zealand Sky Web
Overseas Chinese Network
Waikato Weekly
BNE
New Zealand newspaper Chinese headlines
NZCA
Rural sound
Centennial Pictures
Jinghua Media
Chinatown.com
Shixin.com
Hua Page
VEE Audio
Australian and New Zealand Net
3A Copy & Design
Shepherd Studio
Zhang Kai Studio