Scoop Media – Staff Writer
“New Zealand Chinese Language Week, September 7-13 was launched today (Monday 7 September) at ‘Wellington East Girls’ College by Hon Hekia Parata, Minister of Education. The week is about encouraging more New Zealanders to try their tongue at Chinese and seeks to bridge the cultural and linguistic knowledge gap between China and New Zealand. Co-chair of the New Zealand Chinese Language Trust, Raymond Huo, explains its value: “Already China is New Zealand’s most important trading partner, our largest source of international students and second biggest source of tourists. There is an economic and social need to have more Kiwis communicating and understanding China in a cultural context.”(more)