BA, LLB (Beijing); LLB, MLitt (First Class Honours, Auckland)
Raymond Huo (霍建强) came to New Zealand in 1994 from Beijing, China and worked as a lawyer (Brookfields) and journalist (NZ Herald). He has also acted as an on-call bi-lingual lawyer for the New Zealand Customs Service.
He has published a number of books and articles including Lexicon of Contemporary English – Collected Works with Chinese Notes, Simplified American Novels with Chinese Notes and Something to Crow about (as a co-author/translator). He has also appeared as narrator/presenter in a film and television shows.
Tailored for Asian migrants, he writes bi-lingual legal columns in the ethnic media including Chinese-language websites. He also hosts a news review show on Chinese radio.
He holds a number of other positions in the community and is currently the Chairman of KiwiAsian Development Forum and a Trustee on the board of the Asia New Zealand Foundation (http://www.asianz.org.nz )
Elected as a List Member of Parliament for the Labour Party in 2008, he sits on the Finance and Expenditure Committee. He is spokesperson for the Law Commission, statitics and Chinese Community Affairs Spokesperson.
Prior to becoming a Member of Parliament, he practised law in Auckland covering a broad spectrum with particular emphasis on commercial property, IP and business law. He has legal experience both in New Zealand and in China and is actively involved in cross-border trade and investment matters. He assisted two Queen’s Counsel in two litigation cases involving Japanese and Taiwanese citizens.
出版著作數種，主要有：Now in New Zealand （奧克蘭版）， Something to Crow about （北京師範大學版），《英語分類詞典》（合譯，北京經濟日報版），《簡明英語分類詞典》（合編譯，學苑版）和《英文文選•簡易讀本》（北師大版）。文論及評述散見《人間淨土》（臺灣書泉96版）和其它港、臺報刊。2004年起，在雜誌、報章和網站撰寫中英對照“霍律師說法”專欄，在“華人之聲”廣播電臺主持雙語時事評論節目“南北時空”。
Learning a language is a useful way of gaining an insight into another culture.
My very first Mandarin lesson came courtesy of Raymond when we were working together at the New Zealand Herald newspaper.
He was ordering a muffin at the cafeteria when he started giggling to himself.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“Well… ‘muffin’ sounds like ‘mă fèn’ in Chinese,” he replied.
“And what does that mean?”
“Well… you know how when you say that someone is full of bullcrap? This is like the Chinese equivalent. Except instead of bulls, we say horse. ‘Mă fèn’ means ‘horse crap’. I am eating horse crap.”
And every morning at 10.30am, he would order a fist-sized serving of horse crap from the Herald cafeteria, chuckling as he put his money on the counter.
Raymond has a great sense of humour. And that’s how I knew we would be good friends.
Ten years on, we have become part of each other’s extended families: He is my brother from another Motherland.
I was honoured when he chose a Chinese name for me that was not only poetic and mythically-evocative, but whose middle character was identical to his own, in order to show brotherhood.
(I found out just how difficult a task like that was when I later foolishly agreed to find suitable English names for some of his family members).
The following interview is intended to be part of an ongoing series, aimed at probing some of the cultural differences, barriers and stereotypes between the Chinese migrant community and that of mainstream New Zealanders (whoever they are), in an attempt to foster some sort of understanding and … er … unity(?).
This first discussion touches on why Raymond is running for parliament in this year’s election. DM: Politicians, lawyers and journalists are often found at the top of surveys, ranking society’s least-trusted professions. So you’ve already ticked two boxes there – lawyer and journalist – why the hell would you want to make it worse by becoming a politician?
RH: (Laughter, ending in a coughing fit.)
Ha. I’ve actually experienced the opposite. I think those professions are in fact very well-respected, simply because you have to be highly-qualified to do them in the first place. And they are high-profile positions that ultimately cannot operate without the trust of the community.
So I say to people: I used to be a journalist. Now I am practicing law. And it looks like I will become a politician in the future… so, you can trust me! (More laughter).
DM: But why politics though… why get into it?
RH: My upbringing plays a big part in that. My parents were good role models, and their actions exposed me to ideas of social justice, equality and the need to make society a better place where everyone can live in comfort and security.
DM: How exactly?
RH: My father was a doctor; my mother was a head nurse at that time. To everyone’s surprise, in their early 30s, they volunteered to move from the big city (Héféi, the capital of the Ānhuī province) – to a very small and remote countryside town, to help locals fight a parasitic disease known as Schistosoma, or blood fluke. I was born in that small town. And then later they volunteered to move to an even smaller and more remote countryside town! The living conditions were very terrible. Everyone was suffering.
My parents sacrificed to help others, and I witnessed on many occasions how they resuscitated patients and saved them from death, and how those patients then kowtowed to my parents to give thanks for saving their lives.
Now, I was born there, so I had no choice in the matter. And, by comparison, I was living a relatively comfortable lifestyle… I was well fed. But later on, I realised that I had been subconsciously exposed to that concept of helping others … it had an impact on me. And now I find myself in a position where I can help others … and I hear my parents’ voices echoing through my heart saying “hmmmm, isn’t the time right for you to give something back and help others?”. And this decision to stand for Labour is my way of replying, “Yes”.
DM: Why Labour?
RH: Members of the Chinese community encouraged me to enter politics. They felt that I was a good role model, as a high-profile migrant journalist and lawyer, and a good leader to represent them. They see me as a paradigm for integration.
To mainstream society, I am very typically Chinese… and I am proud of being Chinese, and I’m one of the very few who these days still uses classical or traditional form to write poetry. But for the Chinese community, because I am from the deep heart of mainstream society, they regard me as one of you guys. So I’m like a kind of go-between... a very good bridge.
And, so why did I then choose Labour as my party? They have a vision of building a strong and inclusive community and I share that passion.
DM: It’s especially useful for Labour that you can communicate clearly in Chinese and English. You can be a voice for those who struggle with English, so they can be heard, and you also understand your party’s message and can pass that on to the community.
RH: Yes. I have published seven books, worked as a journalist for the New Zealand Herald and practised law at leading New Zealand law firms. I also had a bilingual news review show on Chinese Voice radio. I am a communicator, so I am an ideal go-between.
And Labour now has a voice in the Chinese community, so people can be fully informed and make their own minds up.
DM: So what sort of message has “No. 21 on the list” sent to the community?
RH: Within one-and-a-half days of the announcement, my cellphone received 128 text messages, basically congratulating me on getting so high on the list. They were valuable messages and very encouraging. But more valuable and more encouraging were texts from three important Chinese opinion leaders. Despite being close friends of mine, they told me from the very beginning that they were loyal to National and on no occasion and in no event would they vote for Labour. But after the list ranking was published that night, they not only wanted to vote for Labour, but also wanted to write an article each to explain why they changed their mind. They felt the community was first of all taken seriously. And secondly, remember this: we are new migrants. No matter how well-settled we are, we are still relative new-comers. Many in the community feel vulnerable to some extent. The Labour Party’s vision is to build up a strong and inclusive community, and my ranking showed the community that the Labour Party is very serious about doing that.
DM: You, Pansy Wong and Kenneth Wang are political opponents, but you all essentially belong to the same community. Is there any way all three of you can work together for the common good?
RH: Yes. What I have already done is made a public appeal to all the ethnic candidates to forget about our political stamps, and let’s work together to encourage Chinese voters to get enrolled.
I also said to them that the Olympic Games in Beijing were very important and relevant to the General Election. Why? Because at the opening ceremony there was a big display of the Chinese character ”和” that means “harmony”. So harmony can be applied in a very extensive way. First of all, there’s no need for politicians to fight amongst each other. Secondly, there is lots of common ground to work together on, like getting people enrolled.
One important thing I learned from Prime Minister Helen Clark was to focus on “construction” rather than “destruction”. So let’s be constructive and focus on issues, rather than personalities.
DM: Encouraging people to enrol, and then getting them to actually turn up and vote is a general problem in New Zealand. Throughout the world, even. But, certainly… Chinese now make up something like seven percent of our population, yet a large number didn’t turn out to vote last time. How is your harmonious approach going to try and address that voter apathy?
RH: It’s pretty much an education thing. The local Chinese have come from a place where there is a very different political environment. And voting means you have a presence. You have a voice and it can be heard. So I have asked several other ethnic candidates to join me in producing a short TV clip to let people know how to enrol, and encourage them to do so.
What would also be good is for the ethnic candidates to get together and publicly debate party policy and visions. That gives people a better chance of becoming informed voters, which is positive for the democratic process.
05 New generation to fly party flag at electiontop
Labour has ensured it will have an injection of new faces after the next election by abandoning its practice of ranking MPs ahead of other candidates, instead putting great emphasis on ethnic diversity.
Its top-ranking new face at No 12, is former Families Commissioner and Race Relations Conciliator Rajen Prasad, who had been tipped to stand for Labour for several months.
It has also put Auckland Chinese lawyer Raymond Huo at No 21 and Pacific Island candidate Carmel Sepuloni, an administrator at the University of Auckland, at No 35. Former Beehive adviser Jacinda Ardern is at No 20 - ahead of 18 MPs. The 28-year-old is at present working in London as a senior policy adviser to Sir Ronnie Flanagan, chief inspector of constabulary in the UK, and is also president of the International Union of Socialist Youth
Labour's policy council chief, consultant Phil Twyford, is at place 26. He is the party's North Shore candidate.
Te Tai Tokerau candidate Kelvin Davis is ranked at No 29 ahead of the party's Te Tai Tonga MP and candidate, Mahara Okeroa.
Unless there is a collapse in Labour's vote all those candidates are likely to be elected to Parliament.
Prime Minister Helen Clark told the Herald last night that the list represented a "generational change" in Labour.
There could be as many as 13 new Labour MPs in the next Parliament given that some candidates were contesting electorate seats currently held by retiring Labour MPs.
"That is very, very significant renewal," the PM said.
"This is pretty much the outcome of three years' work - of recruitment, of candidates, identification, and so on."
Helen Clark said the highly ranked Dr Prasad had very broad appeal.
"We've got people on the list who should move very far, very fast," she said.
Four MPs - George Hawkins (Manurewa), Ross Robertson (Manukau East), Harry Duynhoven (New Plymouth) and Napier-based list MP Russell Fairbrother- have elected to stand for an electorate only and not have the safety net of the list.
The low-ranked electorate MPs who have been given a message that they may be on the way out are Mr Okeroa, West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O'Connor, Auckland Central MP Judith Tizard, Taupo MP Mark Burton and Hamilton West MP Martin Gallagher.
The lowest-ranking sitting members are list MPs David Hereora, Louisa Wall and Lesley Soper.
The electorate MPs who could lose their constituency seats but are assured of returning to Parliament because of a high list place are Ikaroa-Rawhiti MP Parekura Horomia, Hauraki-Waikato MP Nanaia Mahuta and Otaki MP Darren Hughes.
Last week's Herald-DigiPoll survey, translated to seats in the House, would have given Labour 45.
落地奧克蘭，東西南北還摸不著頭緒的時候，聯合報就派給了我第一個採訪任務---英美兩大流行巨星 Elton John與 Billy Joe 的聯手演唱會。第一時間就想到向這位已經在英文先驅報工作的「老戰友」求助，而他也毫不猶豫伸出援手。我邀請霍建強與我一起欣賞演唱會，這是一向只聽古典音樂的他，第一次被拉進喧鬧的西洋流行演唱會場，我們各端著一杯紅酒，隨著音樂起舞，他笑稱是上了人生的第一堂 “搖滾”音樂課。
內閣部長Chris Carter告訴霍建強，工黨高層對他的評估，並不只是「優秀華人」，而是「優秀紐西蘭人」。他認為把霍建強放在同一般kiwi候選人裡評比都可勝出，不必要用「華人」的少數民族保護傘。工黨內部的提名作業是完全透明的民主程序，需要經過一場場的辯論，一次次的演說，來爭取基層黨員的支持。幾個月來，在一批工黨和政府高層「教練」的指導下，霍建強放棄所有工餘閒暇與家人相處的時間，馬不停蹄地奔走基層，紮實歷經民主焠煉。而印証最後公布的提名名單，霍建強高居第21位看來，Chris Carter 所言不假。
