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New Zealand’s election: bad news for Chinese immigration?

Meet Jacinda Ardern, the whiskey loving woman who has been compared to Trump and is storming into Saturday’s polls on the back of ‘Jacindamania’

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Jacinda Ardern speaks at a Labour Party rally ahead of the country’s general election. Photo: AFP
New Zealand’s next leader could be a young, whiskey loving woman who has been compared to both Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US leader Donald Trump, but it’s her plans to tighten immigration rules that are likely to raise the most concern in China.
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With her large smile and impassioned speeches on child poverty and global warming, 37-year-old Jacinda Ardern has attracted plenty of attention since taking over the leadership of New Zealand’s opposition Labour Party just eight weeks out from the September 23 election.

She has helped the party almost double its support in the polls, from 24 per cent when she took over as leader, to 37 per cent – potentially enough to clinch victory with support from minor parties.

New Zealand election: ‘I’m Jacinda Ardern, and I hope that I can bring it home’

The groundswell of support has led media to coin terms like “Jacindamania” and compare her to other charismatic leaders, such as Trudeau.

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But it’s her plans to tighten rules on immigration by slashing visas by up to 30,000 that have prompted The Wall Street Journal to compare her to Trump, who has launched crackdowns on immigration since coming into power.

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