Lawrence Xu-Nan Photo: Supplied
Lawrence Xu-Nan has been sworn in as the Greens' newest MP, becoming the first lawmaker of Chinese descent to represent the party in Parliament.
Xu-Nan enters Parliament as a list MP for the Greens after Fa'anānā Efeso Collins died while participating in a charity run in Auckland last month.
The Chinese-origin lawmaker believes his elevation into the party's caucus will significantly enhance its diversity.
"The Green Party recognizes what I bring - being Chinese, being able to speak Chinese fluently," Xu-Nan says. "I'm able to bring a different perspective and a different community to the discussion. That's going to be really exciting."
Born in Tianjin, China, Xu-Nan has resided in New Zealand for the past 25 years.
With a PhD in ancient history, he stood for the Greens in Pakuranga at the 2020 election but decided to contest the Epsom electorate in 2023, occupying 16th spot on the party list.
Reflecting on Fa'anānā's death, Xu-Nan describes the South Auckland MP as a "close friend", highlighting a shared vision to foster collaboration within the country's ethnic communities.
"I will miss [Fa'anānā] - not only him as a person, as a colleague, as a friend, but also the tremendous work that he has done for his communities and what he would have done for his communities," he says. "On a very personal level ... I'm going to really miss his presence, his calmness, his willingness.
"We were actually talking about how we can build collaboration and relationship between the Pacific communities and the Chinese communities. That's something (we) would continuously work towards."
Xu-Nan thanks the Greens for showing faith in him, underscoring the party's commitment to selecting the most suitable candidates for caucus.
"There have been a lot of changes (in caucus) this year - beyond expectation in the sense that it's earlier than I think all of us expected," Xu-Nan says. "The Green Party doesn't do things by tokenism. We look at what a particular person or what a particular candidate brings to the caucus and ... Parliament.
"I will be very grateful for our members and the party in terms of having recognized what contribution I can make to Parliament."
As the sole Chinese MP in opposition for the next three years, Xu-Nan seeks to amplify the community's voice in Parliament.
"I'll be starting to have a better way of communicating with the Chinese communities," he says. "Certain parts of the Chinese communities may not be as familiar with the Green Party, [but] this is a really good opportunity for us to ... work within the Chinese communities on expressing our values. They are actually the voices the Green Party resonates with. [We] want to highlight their voice on the national stage.
"I'm talking about workers in Asian supermarkets, the Chinese people overrepresented in hospitality, retail and service industry like cleaning. What about the rainbow communities and the disabled communities within the Chinese communities? Where are their voices? I'm really keen to find what is the best solution for them."
Xu-Nan joined the Green Party in 2017. Before being sworn in as an MP, he had been working as the Greens' policy co-convenor for three years and was elected as party co-convenor in July last year.
He emphasizes that it was the core values of the Greens that primarily attracted him to the party.
"The Green Party is the most humanistic party, it's a very people-centric party," he says. "We hold our grassroots and our people as first and foremost and politics as second. We care about people and the relationship that we have with each other."
Greens co-leader Marama Davidson is proud that Xu-Nan becomes the first lawmaker of Chinese descent to represent the party in Parliament.
"The Green Party is so proud to be welcoming Lawrence into Parliament," Davidson says. "Our largest caucus ever comes from a range of backgrounds, and it is such an honour to now have the first-ever Chinese-New Zealander as part of our parliamentary team. Lawrence is going to make a wonderful MP and will do Aotearoa and our amazing Chinese communities proud."
Xu-Nan's official entry into Parliament also represents a milestone for New Zealand's Chinese community, as it marks the first time that three lawmakers of Chinese descent will represent the community in the country's Parliament. The other two lawmakers of Chinese origin are Nancy Lu and Carlos Cheung of the National Party.
