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Meng Liu Foon ( zh, t=廖振明, j= ; born ) is a New Zealand politician who served as the mayor of Gisborne from 2001 to 2019. He served as New Zealand's race relations commissioner from August 2019 to June 2023, resigning after failing to declare payments of $2 million he took for emergency housing while director of an investment company. He is one of a handful of people of Chinese descent to have become a mayor in New Zealand. He is fluent in English,
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
and Māori. 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 ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...
. His mother is Ng Heng Kiu (Helen) of
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and his father is Liu Sui Kai (George) of
Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
. 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,
Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
, and the
Māori language Māori (; endonym: 'the Māori language', commonly shortened to ) is an Eastern Polynesian languages, Eastern Polynesian language and the language of the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. The southernmost membe ...
.


Education

Foon attended Makaraka School where he was exposed to Māori culture including flax making and the
haka Haka (, ; singular ''haka'', in both Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English) are a variety of ceremonial dances in Māori culture. A performance art, hakas are often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the f ...
war dance. Foon later attended Gisborne Intermediate School and Gisborne Boys' High School. Foon studied English, social studies, the sciences,
physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...
and the Māori language at Gisborne Boys' High School. Foon also played rugby 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 and opened a liquor shop called TAB. In 1985, Foon's parents retired and emigrated to
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, 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 3.8 million. By 2018, Kaiti Mall had 12 tenants including businesses, government, and commercial tenants. Foon is an independent director of PGG Wrightson.


Local government career

In 1995, Foon stood as councillor for the
Gisborne District Council Gisborne District Council () 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 largely rural region on the east coast ...
'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. 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 Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004, 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 ...
Andrew Little confirmed that Foon had been appointed as the new Race Relations Commissioner, with his term commencing on 26 August 2019. In December 2019, Foon criticised the cartoonist Garrick Tremain's cartoon in the ''
Otago Daily Times The ''Otago Daily Times'' (''ODT'') is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. The ''ODT'' is one of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 26,000 and ...
'' which made light of the measles epidemic in
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
, calling it a "slap in the face" for the victims' families. In August 2020, Foon rebuked West Coast District councillor Alan Birchfield for referring to the
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
as the "Chinese virus". In response, Birchfield denied he was racist, stating "we all know where it started." Mayor of Buller Jamie Cleine and Mayor of Grey Tania Gibson distanced themselves from Birchfield's remarks. In early November 2020, Foon as Race Relations Commissioner defended
Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
Nanaia Mahuta's kauae moko facial tattoos after right-wing blogger Olivier Pierson mocked them as the "height of ugly, uncivilised wokedom." 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'' - which sparked controversy. Meng Foon later withdrew his statement. In response to reports of bullying, intimidation, and vandalism targeting Russian New Zealanders in March 2022, Foon stated that
Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...
and Russians living in New Zealand were "feeling the pain of what's happening with the war in Ukraine" and urged different communities "to be considerate, to be respectful and to be kind." In late November 2022, Foon criticised the recently elected mayor of Kaipara Craig Jepson for interrupting Māori ward councillor Pera Paniora's karakia ( Māori prayer). He stated that it was very important for councils and all organisations to create the right space for Māori to honour the
Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...
and to express their culture and
language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...
. In response to a petition and hīkoi (protest march) calling for Jepson's resignation, Jepson defended his decision to ban karakia from council proceedings and accused Foon and Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta of interfering in local affairs. In March 2023, Foon called on Mayor of Invercargill Nobby Clark to apologise after the latter made a series of racial, profane, and violent words and phrases during an Art Foundation New Zealand event in
Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...
in order to draw attention to limits on free speech and profanity. Clark responded by calling for Foon to resign as Race Relations Commissioner for not investigating poet Tusiata Avia for making alleged hate speech in a poem criticising British explorer
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...
. While not openly associated with any political party, Foon and his wife Ying Foon acknowledged making donations to both the Labour and the National parties in April 2023, stating that it was a family tradition to donate to parties both left and right. The Foons donated NZ$1,500 to Labour MP Kiri Allan during the 2020 New Zealand general election while their company Triple Eight Investments Limited provided Allan with a rent subsidy of NZ$9185. In addition, Foon donated NZ$1,000 to National's East Coast candidate
Tania Tapsell Tania Tapsell (born 22 September 1992) is a New Zealand politician. She has served on the Rotorua Lakes District Council since 2013 and was elected mayor of Rotorua at the 2022 local elections. She is the first woman of Māori descent to hol ...
during the 2020 general election. In response, ACT Party leader David Seymour and National's justice spokesperson Paul Goldsmith called on Foon to resign as Race Relations Commissioner due to the apolitical and independent nature of the position. Goldsmith also called on Allan to declare a conflict of interest to the Cabinet Office.
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Chris Hipkins Christopher John Hipkins (born 5 September 1978) is a New Zealand politician who has served as leader of the New Zealand Labour Party since January 2023 and leader of the Opposition (New Zealand), leader of the Opposition since November 2023. H ...
responded that Allan had taken steps to address the matter but described Foon's political donations to both Labour and National as a "balanced approach to supporting various candidates regardless of their party affiliation." In response to media coverage, the Human Rights Commission confirmed that it would be "carefully assessing" media reports of Foon's political donations. On 16 June 2023, Foon resigned as Race Relations Commissioner after failing to declare several conflicts of interest as required under the Crown Entities Act. Foon served as the director of an emergency housing company that had received income from government payments including over NZ$2 million in emergency accommodation funding. Foon's resignation followed an internal inquiry that the Human Rights Commission had conducted into Foon's interests including emergency accommodation funding. Foon disputed that he had failed to declare his conflict of interest regarding the emergency accommodation funding and claimed that he had declared these interests prior to assuming his role as Race Relations Commissioner. The Human Rights Commission disputed Foon's account and stated that Foon had only registered this additional income in late April 2023. On 19 June, Foon accused the prime minister's office of leaking news about his planned resignation and indicated that he was reconsidering his decision to resign as race relations commissioner. On 20 June, Foon accepted his resignation as race relations commissioner and indicated that he still wanted to contribute to the Gisborne/Tairāwhiti community.


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, rugby league football in New Zealand.#SPARC-2009, SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a 1910 Great Britain Lions tour o ...
board. At the age of 21, Foon married his wife Ying, who was 20 years old at the time. The couple have two daughters and a son.


See also

* Peter Chin, Mayor of
Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foon, Meng New Zealand people of Chinese descent New Zealand people of Hong Kong 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)