Naisi Chen Explained

Naisi Chen
Native Name Lang:zh
Constituency Mp3:Labour party list
Term Start3:17 October 2020
Term End3:14 October 2023
Parliament3:New Zealand
Birth Date:[1]
Birth Place:Beijing, China
Party:Labour
Module:
Child:yes
Naisi Chen
T:陳耐鍶
S:陈耐锶
P:Chén Nàisī

Naisi Chen (born February 1994) is a New Zealand politician. She served as a Member of Parliament for the Labour Party from 2020 to 2023.

Early life and career

Chen was born in Beijing, China and moved to New Zealand at age five.[2] Her father is a Christian pastor and her mother is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. She attended Westlake Girls High School in Auckland before studying at the University of Auckland, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws in 2017.[3] [4]

She worked as president of the New Zealand Chinese Students' Association and as a director of a business consultancy firm.[5] She was appointed to the board of Foundation North in 2019.[6] [7] A musician who learned piano, flute, double bass and tuba, she also sat on the board of the Auckland Philharmonia.[8] [9]

Political career

Chen was asked to run as a Labour candidate at the 2017 general election by Raymond Huo. She was selected as a list candidate, ranked 50, then additionally selected for the East Coast Bays electorate after the previous Labour candidate withdrew.[10] [11] [12] She was defeated in the electorate contest by National's Erica Stanford and not ranked high enough to be elected as a list MP.[13]

She stood again at the and was ranked 38 on the Labour Party list.[14] Chen also contested the electorate. Despite losing the Botany electorate to National's Christopher Luxon by a margin of 3,999 votes, she was ranked high enough on the Labour list to get into Parliament.[15] [16] [17] [18] In parliament, Chen sat on the governance and administration committee and was deputy chair (from 2020 to 2023) and chair (2023) of the economic development, science and innovation committee.[19]

Ahead of the, she sought the Labour Party nomination for Auckland Central but was unsuccessful.[20] Instead, she contested East Coast Bays for a second time. Stanford retained the seat and, despite her improved list rank of 33, the party did not poll well enough for Chen to be re-elected.[21] Due to her low ranking on the party list, she was not re-elected to Parliament.[22]

Alleged links to the Chinese Communist Party

In September 2017, New Zealand sinologist and University of Canterbury political scientist Anne-Marie Brady alleged in a conference paper that Chen had "close […] connections" to the United Front, a network of groups and individuals and strategy the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses to advance its agenda. Brady cited Chen's leadership of New Zealand Chinese Students' Association, a "united front-related organization", as evidence.[23] Chen said she felt "hurt" by the accusations.[24] Prior to the 2020 election, members of the group New Zealand Values Alliance distributed flyers in Auckland alleging that Chen was a "CCP agent".[25]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Arrival of parliament's new migrant MPs sparks rejoicing, and backlash. The Spinoff. 27 October 2020. 31 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201031014807/https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/28-10-2020/arrival-of-parliaments-new-migrant-mps-sparks-rejoicing-and-backlash/. live.
  2. Web site: Naisi Chen | Confucius Institute | Victoria University of Wellington. www.wgtn.ac.nz. 15 June 2020. 15 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200615040919/https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/ci/courses-and-programmes/programmes/45th-anniversary-symposium-new-zealands-relationship-with-china/naisi-chen. live.
  3. Web site: 8 March 2024 . Alumna becomes MP . https://web.archive.org/web/20240321192651/https://teroto.nz/alumna-becomes-mp/ . 21 March 2024 . 21 March 2024 . Te Reo o Te Roto.
  4. Web site: Collins . Simon . 18 October 2020 . Election 2020: Our diverse 40 new MPs . 21 March 2024 . NZ Herald.
  5. News: Election 2020: Labour's Chen to contest Botany . Times . 18 March 2020 . 25 October 2020 . 28 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201028205230/https://www.times.co.nz/news/election-2020-labours-chen-to-contest-botany/ . live .
  6. Web site: 24 June 2019 . Welcome to our new trustees . https://web.archive.org/web/20230131171100/https://www.foundationnorth.org.nz/news-and-reports/article/welcome-to-our-new-trustees . 31 January 2023 . 21 March 2024 . Foundation North.
  7. Web site: Advocate . Northern . 25 June 2019 . Northland news in brief: 'Seal silly season' sparks warning and comic book convention . 21 March 2024 . NZ Herald.
  8. Web site: Board and Support Organisations . usurped . https://web.archive.org/web/20200115173206/https://www.apo.co.nz/about-apo/board-and-support-organisations/ . 15 January 2020 . 21 March 2024 . Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.
  9. Web site: Cheng . Derek . 1 December 2020 . New Labour MPs make maiden speeches . 21 March 2024 . NZ Herald.
  10. News: 22 May 2017 . Labour reopens selection in East Coast Bays after candidate withdraws from election . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170522175756/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11860861 . 22 May 2017 . 22 May 2017 . The New Zealand Herald.
  11. Naisi Chen Labour's candidate in the East Coast Bays . 13 June 2017 . . 13 June 2017 . 13 June 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170613064726/http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1706/S00174/naisi-chen-labours-candidate-in-the-east-coast-bays.htm . live.
  12. Web site: 15 August 2017 . Revised Labour Party List for the 2017 Election . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201018171937/https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1708/S00314/revised-labour-party-list-for-the-2017-election.htm . 18 October 2020 . 15 August 2017 . Scoop.co.nz.
  13. Web site: 7 October 2017 . Official Count Results – East Coast Bays (2017) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20171012011753/http://www.electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2017/electorate-details-11.html . 12 October 2017 . 12 October 2017 . Electoral Commission.
  14. Web site: Coughlan, Thomas . Ayesha Verrall leads fresh-faced Labour party list for 2020 . . 15 June 2020 . 15 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201020074743/https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300034942/ayesha-verrall-leads-freshfaced-labour-party-list-for-2020. 20 October 2020. live.
  15. Web site: Botany – Official Result . . 7 November 2020.
  16. News: Small . Zane . NZ Election 2020 – Winners and losers: Chris Luxon a victory for National but Labour flips flood of seats red . 18 October 2020 . . 18 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201018102006/https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/10/nz-election-2020-winners-and-losers-chris-luxon-a-victory-for-national-but-labour-flips-flood-of-seats-red.html . 18 October 2020 . live .
  17. News: Weekes . John . Election 2020: Chris Luxon cruises to victory as new Botany MP . 18 October 2020 . . 18 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201018102513/https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300131308/election-2020-chris-luxon-cruises-to-victory-as-new-botany-mp . 18 October 2020 . live .
  18. Web site: 2020 General Election and Referendums – Official Result Successful Candidates . . 8 November 2020 . 7 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201107204759/https://electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2020/successful-candidates.html . live .
  19. Web site: 2024-03-26 . Chen, Naisi - New Zealand Parliament . 2024-03-21 . www.parliament.nz . en.
  20. Web site: Battle on: Labour reveals its candidate vying for Auckland Central seat . 24 April 2023 . NZ Herald . en-NZ.
  21. Web site: East Coast Bays - Official Result . . 10 December 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231123104115/https://archive.electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2023/electorate-details-10.html . 23 November 2023 . 3 November 2023 . live.
  22. News: Scotcher . Katie . Devastated Labour MPs prepare for spell in political wilderness . 10 December 2023 . . 16 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231021015713/https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/500285/devastated-labour-mps-prepare-for-spell-in-political-wilderness . 21 October 2023. live.
  23. Magic Weapons: China's political influence activities under Xi Jinping . Brady . Anne-Marie . Anne-Marie Brady . 17 September 2017 . . 23 . . The corrosion of democracy under China's global influence . 8 March 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200112110147/https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/for_website_magicweaponsanne-mariesbradyseptember2017.pdf . 12 January 2020 . dead .
  24. News: Small . Zane . Labour candidate Naisi Chen outraged to be cited in Anne-Marie Brady's China paper . 15 June 2020 . Newshub . 10 May 2019 . 15 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200615041204/https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/05/labour-candidate-naisi-chen-outraged-to-be-cited-in-anne-marie-brady-s-china-paper.html . live .
  25. News: Naisi Chen, a new generation of Chinese New Zealander, is parliament-bound . Sherry . Zhang . . 16 October 2020 . 25 October 2020 . 22 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201022151945/https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/16-10-2020/naisi-chen-a-new-generation-of-chinese-new-zealander-is-parliament-bound/ . live .

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