Bevan Chuang

One People, One Destiny
Reflections on Auckland's First "Hong Kong Day"

open.substack.com/pub/msbevanc...

#HongKongDay #NZHongKonger

A message from the chair - Waitematā Local Board

Thank you for all the amazing work the community did. You are the reason why I do what I do.

#WorkStories

ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/news/2025/12...

In today’s Weekend Herald

How Did We Get Here? The Jessica Phuang Case and the Erosion of Police Trust in New Zealand’s Diverse Communities The New Zealand Police’s historic relationship with controversial Chinese-linked organisations, the handling of hate-motivated crimes, and the quiet retirement of Ethnic Responsiveness Manager Jess…

This is just the tip of an iceberg. It is clear that our official knows about this but nothing happened, and allow her to retire, amidst a few months earlier. What will the Police do?

#nzpolice #publictrust #nzpol

msbevanchuang.wordpress.com/2025/12/20/h...

How a trusted senior police official became a foreign state’s ‘gatekeeper’ Emails show a trusted police liaison officer was a key point of contact for a foreign state - in ways that raised alarms inside police

The officials all know about this but nothing happened. Jessica gets to retire, amidst early. Can we still trust the police?

www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3609...

Antisemitism is alive and well in Auckland, New Zealand
Go support your local Jewish community.

Aucklanders mourn Hong Kong apartment fire victims A small crowd gathered at a vigil on Saturday to pay tribute to those affected by the blaze in Tai Po that left more than 150 dead.

Thank you to everyone who attended the vigil. It was my pleasure to support my friends and other Hong Kongers. #hongkongfire #taipo #大埔宏福苑

www.rnz.co.nz/news/chinese...

Florida rated No. 1 best place to retire, but Minnesota is close WalletHub study puts Midwestern states in the top 5 based on health, safety, cost of living.

In Minnesota we’re cutting social security taxes, allowing Minnesotans to age in their homes, and investing in safe communities.

That’s what makes us the second-best state to retire. Give us a few more days above 0° and we’ll knock Florida out of #1 😎

www.startribune.com/florida-rate...

［大埔火災死難者哀悼會 - 奧克蘭] | Vigil for the Tai Po Hong Kong Fire Victims

現場包括悼念活動、 連儂牆、 請願書 請穿黑色或素色衣服及可自攜鮮花 Please wear black or plain clothes and feel free to bring flowers for commemoration.

🗓️ 12月6日，下午4-5點半 | 6 Dec, 4 - 5.30 pm
📍 Ellen Melville Centre, 2 Freyberg Place

#NZHKer #HKFire

全智賢慘了！因台詞被小粉紅出征　「代言全被撤換消失」疑遭中國封殺 | 娛樂星聞 | 三立新聞網 SETN.COM 韓國女神全智賢憑藉《我的野蠻女友》、《來自星星的你》等作品爆紅，成為亞洲家喻戶曉的女神。近期她與姜棟元合作主演韓劇《暴風圈》，開播後連日拿下台、港、韓收視冠軍，口碑不俗。然而第4集中，全智賢飾演的角色一句「為什麼中國會偏好戰爭？」台詞，加上劇中呈現「大連髒亂不堪」的畫面（實則是在香港拍攝），立刻引發中國網友強烈不滿，風波持續延燒，如今連代言也被撤下。

最近看到全智賢因為台詞被小粉紅出征。 那 #高橋一生 拍《 #零日攻擊 》為什麼不會被出征啊？
www.setn.com/News.aspx?Ne...

tw.news.yahoo.com/%E6%8A%95%E5...

This is why Chinese dissents pressured by CCP don't feel that their voice is heard and is living in fear everyday.

And this post from #SouthPark is still relevant 6 years later.

"John Key says he is attending the Victory Parade to remember the “brave efforts of New Zealanders who fought for the freedom we enjoy today”." To say something like this in China, where billion of people have no freedom is a joke.

newsroom.co.nz/2025/09/03/c...

NZSIS Highlights Exploitation of Travel — The Police Case Shows Why It Matters The NZSIS has warned that foreign states are exploiting travel opportunities to build influence in New Zealand. A cultural exchange trip to China by 33 police staff earlier this year is now being cited by experts as a textbook example. Emails released under the Official Information Act revealed “shocking naivety” in its organisation, while security specialists described the visit as having “all the hallmarks of a foreign interference operation.”

NZSIS Highlights Exploitation of Travel — The Police Case Shows Why It Matters

The NZSIS has warned that foreign states are exploiting travel opportunities to build influence in New Zealand. A cultural exchange trip to China by 33 police staff earlier this year is now being cited by experts as a…

‘Deceptive, coercive, corruptive’: The world power the SIS says carries out the most foreign interference in NZ NZ facing its “most challenging security environment” in years from foreign interference, espionage, and more young people being radicalised online.

The other day I've written about the biases meant that Chinese dissidents in New Zealand are ignored and felt unsafe.

Today @stuff.co.nz shared reported on the latest Security Threat Environment report from the NZSIS that highlighted some of the risks.

www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3607...

Selective Solidarity: How Western Double Standards Endanger Communities at Home Western governments often speak out for some oppressed peoples while staying silent on others — and that silence has consequences. From Palestine to Taiwan, Hong Kong to Xinjiang, selective solidarity in policy and media filters down into our institutions, shaping whether diaspora communities feel heard, protected, and safe.

Selective Solidarity: How Western Double Standards Endanger Communities at Home

Western governments often speak out for some oppressed peoples while staying silent on others — and that silence has consequences. From Palestine to Taiwan, Hong Kong to Xinjiang, selective solidarity in policy and…

Tall Poppy Syndrome and Ableism: Why Standing Out Feels Risky in Aotearoa In New Zealand, Tall Poppy Syndrome discourages visible success, and when combined with ableism, it creates a culture of hidden achievements and silent identities. Drawing from research and lived experience, this article asks: who gets to be proud without being punished?

Tall Poppy Syndrome and Ableism: Why Standing Out Feels Risky in Aotearoa

In New Zealand, Tall Poppy Syndrome discourages visible success, and when combined with ableism, it creates a culture of hidden achievements and silent identities. Drawing from research and lived experience, this article…

The Mystery of LanLan Yang: Sydney Crash, Two Information Universes, and a Social Media Storm A late-night Rolls-Royce crash in Sydney left a chauffeur fighting for his life — and turned 23-year-old driver LanLan Yang into the internet’s latest mystery heiress. In Australia, the facts are straightforward. In China, the official media barely mention her. In between, a rumour ecosystem has exploded — from claims of CCP-linked iron ore wealth to fantastical bodyguard legends. This is how two information universes collided, and why so many people want Yang to be someone she may not be.

The Mystery of LanLan Yang: Sydney Crash, Two Information Universes, and a Social Media Storm

A late-night Rolls-Royce crash in Sydney left a chauffeur fighting for his life — and turned 23-year-old driver LanLan Yang into the internet’s latest mystery heiress. In Australia, the facts are…

From Pamela Anderson to People of Colour: The Cultural and Neurodivergent Realities of Masking Masking is often seen as inauthentic, draining, and harmful — but for many neurodivergent people, and especially for those of us who are 1.5 generation migrants and people of colour, it is more complex. Like Pamela Anderson stepping away from the “character” the world expects, I have been playing different roles my whole life. The difference is that for me, masking is not a choice made for self-expression. It is a way to survive in systems that are not built for us. In my upcoming interview with Authenticity Studio, I explore how culture, ableism, and privilege shape the way we mask — and what it would take for unmasking to become a safe option for everyone.

From Pamela Anderson to People of Colour: The Cultural and Neurodivergent Realities of Masking

Masking is often seen as inauthentic, draining, and harmful — but for many neurodivergent people, and especially for those of us who are 1.5 generation migrants and people of colour, it is more complex.…

Morgan Xiao is well known in the Chinese community. There are concerns on the community about how he uses his role as a parking officer in the Chinese community. He has been suing a number of people lately and been creating quite a harmful environment online.

www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3607...

Emily Lau: Carrie Lam Made "the Biggest Blunder in Hong Kong’s History” | American Thought Leaders YouTube video by American Thought Leaders - The Epoch Times

I think Emily Lau identifies the problem well here (from the start to 1'20").

NZ police unsure how many interviews arranged for Chinese authorities There have been at least two secret interviews by Chinese law enforcement on NZ soil, but police say they can’t confirm the exact number.

Facts are crazier than drama.
If you think Chinese dissidents in NZ are safe, think again.

www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3607...

#nzpol #nzchinse #CCP #渗透新西兰 #滲透新西蘭 #unitedfront

Jimmy O. Yang in Hong Kong: When Comedy Meets Cultural Ambiguity Jimmy O. Yang’s sold-out comedy shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum marked a triumphant return to his birthplace. But the public reaction—both celebratory and critical—reveals deeper tensions around identity, belonging, and the complexity of being a 1.5 generation Chinese immigrant.

Jimmy O. Yang in Hong Kong: When Comedy Meets Cultural Ambiguity

Jimmy O. Yang’s sold-out comedy shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum marked a triumphant return to his birthplace. But the public reaction—both celebratory and critical—reveals deeper tensions around identity, belonging, and the…

Building a Truly Inclusive Public Sector: Reflections from the 2025 Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference Attending the 2025 Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference reminded me that disability inclusion isn’t just about equity for the few—it’s about creating systems that work for all. Here are some personal reflections on what the public sector still needs to get right.

Building a Truly Inclusive Public Sector: Reflections from the 2025 Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference

Attending the 2025 Disability Inclusive Pathways Conference reminded me that disability inclusion isn’t just about equity for the few—it’s about creating systems that work for all. Here are…

🎨 From Zines to Van Gogh: Reflections on Art, Access, and Who Gets to Decide What Matters Three very different exhibitions. One shared question: who gets to decide what counts as art? From the grassroots energy of Auckland Zinefest to the prestige of European modernism, this piece reflects on the ongoing tension between institutional authority and community voice in our galleries and museums — and why we need a better balance.

🎨 From Zines to Van Gogh: Reflections on Art, Access, and Who Gets to Decide What Matters

Three very different exhibitions. One shared question: who gets to decide what counts as art? From the grassroots energy of Auckland Zinefest to the prestige of European modernism, this piece reflects on the…

From 2.5D to Real Life: How Fantasy Dates, Cosplay, and Otome Games Are Reshaping Intimacy in Asia Fantasy dates. Virtual boyfriends. Acrylic stands. In Japan and China, what began as fandom devotion has evolved into an immersive emotional economy. From the rise of 2.5D culture to China's cosplay commissions inspired by otome games like Love and DeepSpace, the lines between fiction and intimacy are blurring fast.

From 2.5D to Real Life: How Fantasy Dates, Cosplay, and Otome Games Are Reshaping Intimacy in Asia

Fantasy dates. Virtual boyfriends. Acrylic stands. In Japan and China, what began as fandom devotion has evolved into an immersive emotional economy. From the rise of 2.5D culture to China's cosplay…

🌈 Blind Boxes, Big Business: Pop Mart, Labubu & the Global Gacha Craze Blind boxes aren’t new—at least not in Asia. Long before Pop Mart and Labubu took over shelves in London or Auckland, Japanese capsule toys and Hong Kong collectible crazes like Chiikawa were already inspiring massive queues and fandoms. This article explores the cultural roots of blind box toys, their global rise through Pop Mart, and growing concerns about sustainability, scalpers, and state censorship.

🌈 Blind Boxes, Big Business: Pop Mart, Labubu & the Global Gacha Craze

Blind boxes aren’t new—at least not in Asia. Long before Pop Mart and Labubu took over shelves in London or Auckland, Japanese capsule toys and Hong Kong collectible crazes like Chiikawa were already inspiring massive queues…

“Why Didn’t She Just Leave?” Laura Richards, P Diddy, and the Dangerous Misunderstanding of Coercive Control “Why didn’t she leave?” is the wrong question. This article explores how coercive control traps victims in silence—and why society keeps blaming them.

“Why Didn’t She Just Leave?” Laura Richards, P Diddy, and the Dangerous Misunderstanding of Coercive Control

“Why didn’t she leave?” is the wrong question. This article explores how coercive control traps victims in silence—and why society keeps blaming them.

Where are you from?

A fellow ethnic person asked me today "where did you come from?" So I responded "New Zealand". He then asked me again, "No, where did you come from?" "New Zealand." "I mean your forbearer.s" "I don't want to answer that question because I think that is rude." You may think ,…

I can be so mean sometimes

Hong Kong Protest: Why Should New Zealand Care? New Zealanders have been informed about the protest in Hong Kong through various media, showing live feed from Hong Kong for the past two weeks, and having various discussions as to why Hong Kongers are protesting for their rights to have universal suffrage. For many New Zealanders, they may not see how this is important to them, unless they have to or will stopover in Hong Kong as part of their international travel.

Hong Kong Protest: Why Should New Zealand Care?