
Wanwan Liao’s story
“I felt like I had a superpower with my Hakka. It meant that I had a special language that others couldn’t understand.”
Wanwan Liao talks about her relationship with Hakka, Mandarin, and Taiwanese Hokkien.
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Free museum entry for New Zealanders and people living in New Zealand
“I felt like I had a superpower with my Hakka. It meant that I had a special language that others couldn’t understand.”
Wanwan Liao talks about her relationship with Hakka, Mandarin, and Taiwanese Hokkien.
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Choosing to tell Wanwan’s story came naturally for me: we were both Taiwanese, both Newtown residents, and her passion for bilingualism in the classroom was fascinating to encounter.
We bonded over our connection with Hakka/Mandarin, racism in schooling systems, diasporic guilt, and our fading mother tongues. As much as I helped bring Wanwan’s story to life in pictures, her passion, commitment, and vision was also a source of inner healing for me.
I have hope for future migrant and bilingual children in Aotearoa, knowing that there are mentors like Wanwan leading the way.
– Ronia Ibrahim
“I felt like I had a superpower with my Hakka. It meant that I had a special language that others couldn’t understand.”
Wanwan Liao talks about her relationship with Hakka, Mandarin, and Taiwanese Hokkien.
“[Buying a balloon] was such a simple and playful act, but it reminds me of the wholesome joys that connecting with your culture can bring.”
Koreen Liew-Young talks about her long-gestating relationship with Cantonese and Mandarin.
“I think telling diasporic stories, like mine, bring alternative and often undocumented/heavily underrepresented experiences to light.”
Samantha Fei talks about her relationship with Cantonese, which begins in apartheid South Africa.