On September 27, 2021 New Zealand Chinese Language Week officially opened at Government Building in Wellington. During the week-long event, a variety of Chinese language learning and Chinese culture activities will be held in several cities in New Zealand in a combination of online and offline ways to serve as a communication bridge between China and New Zealand for Chinese language learners and Chinese culture fans.
New Zealand Speaker Trevor Mallard said in his speech that he was very pleased to launch the Chinese Language Week at Government Building this year, as the exchange of language and culture is a good way to bring people together. He visited China for the first time in 1997 as a young member of Parliament , and hosted Chinese delegations in New Zealand when he became Speaker of Parliament. New Zealand is a multicultural country, and learning Chinese is a communication tool to understand China's long-standing culture, which is of positive significance to the development of New Zealand-China relations and bilateral exchanges. He also awarded "Chinese Language Youth Ambassadors" and "Chinese Language Super Stars" in 2021 for the young students in the New Zealand.
Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wu Xi delivered a speech online. She said that cultural and educational exchanges have always been an important and indispensable part of the China-New Zealand relationship and the Chinese Language Week has become an important platform and classic brand for cultural and educational exchanges between New Zealand and China over the past seven years, helping more New Zealanders to better understand China and Chinese culture. With the active promotion of the New Zealand Chinese Language Week Organizing Committee, Chinese language learning is becoming more and more popular and loved in New Zealand.
Ambassador Wu also congratulated the "Chinese Language Youth Ambassadors" and "Chinese Language Super Stars" who have achieved excellent scores in the New Zealand qualifying round of the "Chinese Bridge" competition in 2021. He invited them to visit China in a proper time to experience the language, food and culture of China, and encouraged the New Zealand youth to share their experience in learning Chinese, to tell the story of China and to become true ambassadors of cultural and educational exchanges.
In his speech, Bao Yizhi, former New Zealand Ambassador to China and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Confucius Institute at University of Victoria at Wellington, said that Chinese is an important component part in the New Zealand community and Chinese should also become part of the community culture, and he hoped to see more young people learning Chinese. Chen Naisi, New Zealand Member of Parliament, shared his experience of learning Chinese. Wellington Mayor Foster and other representatives from all walks of life attended the opening ceremony.
New Zealand Chinese Language Week started in 2014 to support and encourage more New Zealanders to learn Chinese and understand Chinese culture. In September 2015, the first New Zealand Chinese Language Week was officially announced by the then New Zealand Minister of Education HeKia Parata, with a congratulatory speech from New Zealand Prime Minister John Key. Since then, all previous New Zealand Chinese Language Weeks have been strongly promoted by the government. This year, the Ministry of Ethnic Communities of New Zealand, the Center for Language Education and Cooperation, the Maori Tourism Association of New Zealand, the Forest Owners Association, Midea Group, Fonterra Co-operative Group, China Southern Airlines and many other organizations and enterprises have also provided different forms of support for the event. (Information Sources：Center for Language Education and Cooperation)
