POLL TAX

Northern Advocate, 19 April 1923, Page 5

POLL TAX

IMPOSED ON CHINESE. DISGRACEFUL DISCRIMINATION. ) ■ COMMERCIAL IMPEDIMENT. WELLINGTON, This Day. > Speaking at a Wellington Chambei r of Commerce luncheon yesterday Mi • Li Kwang Heng, Chinese Consul, said » that friendly relations with and goodwill towards China were necessary in , countries which wished to have success- ! ful commercial dealing with that great ; country. Friendly relationship was the forerunner of commerce. Great Bri- >, tain and America were doing an ,immense trade with China, chiefly because of the friendly feeling between them and China. Previous speakers had mentioned the subject of taxation, lie was going to refer to a tax which no member of the Chamber stood in any danger of having to pay. He hoped the audience would pardon him when he said that an obstacle to commerce between New Zealand and China was the retention of the poll tax of £100 imposed on Chinese immigrants. Such a disgraceful and discriminatory tax had aroused bitter feeling, especially among educated Chinese. So long as Chinese were singled out in this fashion the friendly relations of New Zealand with China would be prejudiced. He sincerely hoped that the tax would be removed. —Press Assn.