Media Release: Multicultural Aotearoa
Thursday 14 October 2004

Actress and musician Li-Ming Hu, otherwise known as Shortland Street’s “Doctor Li-Mei Chen”, is calling on New Zealanders to attend the Wellington march against racism on Labour Weekend.

“Racism is still a significant problem in New Zealand,” said Li-Ming, “and in a way the National Front is just the tip of the iceberg. There is a lot of ignorance and misinformation about racial minorities. Marching against racist groups like the National Front is a vital way to bring the issue to the public eye.”

“Change depends on people standing up and saying that certain things are not acceptable," according to Li-Ming, who holds a Masters degree in History.

Racism in New Zealand is not new to Li-Ming, who plays an immigrant doctor from Mainland China on the national soap. Li-Ming’s own parents were immigrant doctors from Singapore and Taiwan.

The National Front are planning a nationwide picket of businesses displaying signage in Asian languages, and their official policy calls for the repatriation of Asian and Pacific people to their countries of origin. They planned to march to Parliament against the “Asian Invasion”, but have been forced to shift the ‘focus’ of their march to the New Zealand flag due to mounting public opposition to their agenda.

The March for a Multicultural Aotearoa will start by rallying at the courtyard of Te Papa at midday, next Saturday 23 October.

ENDS

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