Meng Foon
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Meng Liu Foon (born ) is a New Zealand politician who served as the
mayor of Gisborne The Mayor of Gisborne officiates over the Gisborne District Gisborne District or the Gisborne Region (Māori: ''Te Tairāwhiti'' or ''Te Tai Rāwhiti'') is a local government area of northeastern New Zealand. It is governed by Gisborne Dist ...
from 2001 to 2019. Since August 2019, he has been New Zealand's
race relations commissioner The Human Rights Commission (Māori: ''Te Kāhui Tika Tangata'') is the national human rights institution (NHRI) for New Zealand. It operates as an independent Crown entity, and is independent from direction by the Cabinet. Legislation and funct ...
. He is one of a handful of people of
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
descent to have become a mayor in New Zealand. He is fluent in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
,
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
and
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
. At the time of his departure from the mayoral position he was the only mayor in New Zealand who was fluent in Māori.


Childhood and education

Meng Foon was born in August 1959 in Gisborne in New Zealand's
North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
. His mother is Ng Heng Kiu (Helen) of
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
and his father is Liu Sui Kai (George) of
Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
. Foon's parents were market gardeners who operated a vegetable shop in Gisborne. Foon also has a brother. From the age of seven, Foon began working at his family's vegetable shop. Foon and his younger brother attended school while working in the morning, lunch break, and after school at the family business. While working at his family business, Foon developed an interest in languages and accents; eventually becoming fluent in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
,
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
, and the
Māori language Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and ...
.


Education

Foon attended
Makaraka School Makaraka is an outer suburb of Gisborne, in New Zealand's North Island, located in the west of the city. The suburb features Gisborne's horse-racing circuit, Makaraka Racecourse. It is part of the statistical area of Makaraka-Awapuni, which is c ...
where he was exposed to
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
culture including flax making and the
haka Haka (; plural ''haka'', in both Māori and English) are a variety of ceremonial performance art in Māori culture. It is often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted or chanted accompani ...
war dance. Foon later attended
Gisborne Intermediate School Gisborne may refer to: People *Gisborne (surname) Places *Gisborne District, a unitary authority area in northeastern New Zealand named after William Gisborne **Gisborne, New Zealand, the largest centre of population in the Gisborne Region **Gisb ...
and
Gisborne Boys' High School Gisborne Boys' High School is a boys' secondary school situated in Gisborne, New Zealand. It was founded as a co-educational school in 1909 as Gisborne High School. In 1956, the school became Gisborne Boys' High School when it was split into two ...
. Foon studied English, social studies, the sciences,
physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...
and the Māori language at Gisborne Boys' High School. Foon also played
rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...
at High School. Foon left high school at Sixth Form to help run his family's market garden business.


Business career

Foon expanded his family's market garden business into several shops. During the 1960s, Foon and his family also bought Gisborne's
Kaiti Mall Regular script (; Hepburn: ''kaisho''), also called (), (''zhēnshū''), (''kǎitǐ'') and (''zhèngshū''), is the newest of the Chinese script styles (popularized from the Cao Wei dynasty c. 200 AD and maturing stylistically around the ...
and opened a liquor shop called TAB. In 1985, Foon's parents retired and emigrated to
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, Australia before retiring in Hong Kong. Meng, his brother, and their wives subsequently took over the family business. In 2018, Foon and his relatives sold Kaiti Mall. By that time, Kaiti Mall's land and buildings were estimated to be worth NZ$3.8 million. By 2018, Kaiti Mall had 12 tenants including businesses, government, and commercial tenants.


Local government career

In 1995, Foon stood as councillor for the
Gisborne District Council Gisborne District Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera o Te Tairāwhiti) is the unitary authority for the Gisborne District of New Zealand. The council consists of a mayor and 13 ward councillors. The district consists of the city of Gisborne and a largel ...
's Patutahi Taruheru ward at the encouragement of two detectives. At the time, the incumbent councillor Owen Pinching had announced his retirement. Foon won the 1995 local election and was elected to the Patutahi Taruheru ward. In 1998, Foon unsuccessfully ran for the position of
Mayor of Gisborne The Mayor of Gisborne officiates over the Gisborne District Gisborne District or the Gisborne Region (Māori: ''Te Tairāwhiti'' or ''Te Tai Rāwhiti'') is a local government area of northeastern New Zealand. It is governed by Gisborne Dist ...
. In 2001, Foon ran again for the Gisborne mayoralty and was successfully elected. During the mayoral campaign, he highlighted his family values, business acumen, Māori language fluency, and financial management skills. He was the first person to serve five consecutive terms as Gisborne mayor since Harry Barker retired in 1977. In 2016, Foon won his sixth consecutive term as mayor of the Gisborne District, defeating three other candidates. His mayoralty extended across New Zealand's easternmost province with the largest proportion of native Maori population (45% according to the
2013 New Zealand census The 2013 New Zealand census was the thirty-third national census. "The National Census Day" used for the census was on Tuesday, 5 March 2013. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,242,048, – an increase of 214,101 or 5.3% over the 20 ...
). Following confirmation of the Ngāti Porou deal, arranged under the
controversial Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite ...
Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 The Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 is a former Act of the Parliament of New Zealand. It overruled the 2003 decision of the Court of Appeal in ''Ngati Apa v Attorney-General.'' Its passage arose out of, and further fueled, the New Zealand for ...
, Foon was quoted as saying that "he did not believe many people would be disadvantaged by reduced access to the beach, as 90 per cent of the East Coast population was Maori anyway." Foon announced in March 2019 that he would not stand again in the 2019 local elections. On 8 August 2019, the Gisborne District Council voted unanimously to appoint the deputy mayor, Rehette Stoltz, as mayor when Foon formally resigned on 22 August 2019.


Race Relations Commissioner

In July 2019,
Justice Minister A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...
Andrew Little confirmed that Foon had been appointed as the new
Race Relations Commissioner The Human Rights Commission (Māori: ''Te Kāhui Tika Tangata'') is the national human rights institution (NHRI) for New Zealand. It operates as an independent Crown entity, and is independent from direction by the Cabinet. Legislation and funct ...
, with his term commencing on 26 August 2019. In early November 2020, Foon as Race Relations Commissioner defended
Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
Nanaia Mahuta Nanaia Cybele Mahuta (born 21 August 1970) is a New Zealand politician who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hauraki-Waikato and serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand), Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Sixth Labour Governm ...
's kauae moko facial tattoos after right-wing blogger Olivier Pierson mocked them as the "height of ugly, uncivilised
woke ''Woke'' ( ) is an adjective derived from African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) meaning "alert to racial prejudice and Racial discrimination, discrimination". Beginning in the 2010s, it came to encompass a broader awareness of social ineq ...
dom." Foon stated that Mahuta's kauae moko was special to Māori and should be celebrated. He also urged people to abandon their racism and prejudices and to accept that the world is changing and that the Māori economy is growing. In March 2021, Meng Foon added his voice to those calling for an end to the reality show ''
Police Ten 7 ''Police Ten 7'' is a New Zealand reality television show, devised, created and produced by Ross Jennings for Screentime with the assistance of the New Zealand Police for TVNZ 2. The show profiles wanted offenders and asks the public (viewers) to ...
'' - which sparked controversy. Meng Foon later withdrew his statement.


Personal life and family

Foon has several interests outside of politics. He has released a musical number, ''Tu Mai'', which includes various native tracks, he has been chair of Gisborne/Tarawhiti Rugby League since 2007, and is a board member of the
New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood ''T ...
board. At the age of 21, Foon married his wife Ying, who was 20 years old at the time. The couple have two daughters named Amanda and Jessica and a son named Nathan. They also have a grandson named Toby through one of their daughters.


See also

*
Peter Chin Peter Wing Ho Chin, CNZM () (born 1941) is a lawyer and was the 56th Mayor of Dunedin, New Zealand. He served two terms as Mayor from 2004 to 2010. Early life and career Peter Chin is a descendant of the earliest Chinese immigrants to New Z ...
, Mayor of
Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foon, Meng New Zealand people of Chinese descent Mayors of Gisborne, New Zealand Living people New Zealand rugby league administrators Rugby league in the Gisborne-East Coast district New Zealand Rugby League board members Year of birth missing (living people)