As Jacinda Ardern soars in New Zealand elections, ethnic Chinese voters look to her opponent

Although the incumbent prime minister leads in polls by double digits, her support among Chinese Kiwis is at a paltry 26.5 per cent
The group’s pro-business stance largely aligns with the aims of the National Party, whose focus is on rebuilding New Zealand’s economy

New Zealand

John PowerandFrancine Chen

Published: 5:00am, 12 Oct 2020

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Barring a massive upset, New Zealanders will return Jacinda Ardern as prime minister by a wide margin when they vote in parliamentary elections this weekend.

Buoyed by widespread praise of her handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Ardern has led the polls by double digits for months – putting her centre-left Labour Party within reach of a rare outright majority in the country’s unicameral parliament.

For most Chinese-New Zealanders though, Ardern, a self-described progressive who became the world’s youngest female head of government following her election in 2017, will be their second choice when voting takes place on October 17.

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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern casts her vote ahead of general elections

In an opinion poll carried out in August by Trace Research, 62 per cent of ethnic Chinese voters said they favoured the centre-right National Party, known for its pro-business and law-and-order positions, compared with just 21 per cent for Labour and single-digit support for a smattering of minor parties.

In a head-to-head match-up between the major party leaders, 52.2 per cent of respondents preferred Judith Collins, the lawyer-turned-politician who leads the National Party, compared with 26.5 per cent for Ardern.

Nonetheless, nearly three-quarters of respondents – who included ethnic Chinese born in New Zealand, mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia – said they were satisfied with the Labour government’s response to the pandemic, which has seen the country record just 25 deaths from Covid-19 and won plaudits at home and abroad.

Economic stimulus ranked as the most important issue for ethnic Chinese voters, according to the survey, followed by taxation policy, law and order, and jobs.

Meanwhile, 83.9 per cent of ethnic Chinese said they intended to vote in favour of euthanasia in one of two referendums being held on election day, while just 17.7 per cent said they would vote to legalise recreational cannabis.

Members of the Blue Dragons – a group of Chinese-New Zealand supporters of the centre-right National Party. Photo: Facebook

Bryan Chu, a building site supervisor in Hamilton, is among those who favour the National Party’s focus on rebuilding the economy, which shrank over 12 per cent in the second quarter following a nationwide lockdown that strangled business activity.

“[Collins’] team of experienced economic experts would do a lot of good for the country’s economy,” said Chu, who immigrated from Malaysia in 2014.

“Her policies may not look people-friendly, but in hard times, businesses are the ones driving the economy,” said the 29-year-old. “Jacinda Ardern is mostly supported by those who think businesspeople are taking advantage of the workforce or people who are on benefits.”

Rebecca Ren, who works as a human resources manager in retail, also plans to vote for the National Party for economic reasons.

“I do think Labour has done a good job in handling the Covid-19 pandemic, because they supported small- and medium-sized businesses by giving wage subsidies and other support,” said Ren, 25, who moved to New Zealand from Hebei Province in 2013.

“But I would still go with National because I believe what Labour is planning to do, such as raising taxes, won’t help the economy,” she said. “Labour will increase the minimum wage from NZ$18.90 to NZ$20 (US$13) per hour. I think this would result in inflation. If the minimum wage goes that high, prices of products and services will go up too.”

Students at the University of Auckland seen on campus. Photo: Francine Chen

Chinese-Kiwis, who make up about 5 per cent of New Zealand’s 5 million population, have been associated with conservative politics in recent years as immigration policy has favoured skilled arrivals from China and other parts of Asia.

“The ‘new Chinese’ in the last 30 years are very different from the old settlers who have made their homes here for six generations,” said Manying Ip, professor emeritus of Asian studies at the University of Auckland, who described recent migrants as “middle-class, with money and education”.

“Among the ‘new Chinese’, many of them are from the People’s Republic of China,” Ip said by email. “To many, stability and prosperity for the family and economic chances of betterment are of paramount importance. Many might be ‘disillusioned’ with the welfare state, which they only paid lip service to all their life.”

Judith Collins, second left, on the campaign trail in Auckland. Photo: New Zealand Herald

Royal Reed, a Taiwanese-born lawyer whose clients are largely Chinese, said many ethnic Chinese voters were sceptical of heavily subsidised social services associated with centre-left political parties.

“Ultimately they feel they are the people who end up paying for it, even though they might not be the people who benefit from that generosity,” Reed said.

Not all ethnic Chinese voters feel the same way.

After supporting the National Party along with his China-born parents in the past, Danny Chang has in recent years looked to the left-wing Green Party, whose eight MPs backed Ardern’s minority coalition government during the outgoing parliament.

Chang, whose views moved to the left after studying sociology in university, said he saw the National Party as representing an old, rich and white status quo, and Labour as being more about style than substance.

“To me, Jacinda Ardern is comparable to Canada’s Justin Trudeau,” said Chang, who is second-generation New Zealand Chinese. “They’re both darlings of the liberal media, pay lip service to ‘woke’ social issues – but their administrations are still largely conservative.”

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