MIL OSI – Source: Labour Party –
Headline: Labour mourns loss to Kiwi Chinese community
Chinese Labour MP Raymond Huo has paid tribute to Isobel Easton-Thompson who has passed away in Auckland aged 94.
In the 1940s Ms Thompson went to China with the New Zealand foundation CORSO to work as a nurse for the Chinese Welfare Fund, which was headed by Madam Soong Ching Ling. Her experiences are recorded in her book Yellow River, Mules and Mountains: A New Zealand nurse in China 1947-1950.
“I join the New Zealand Chinese community in mourning the loss of a great pioneer who built a link between the two nations.
“The Soong Ching Ling Foundation in Auckland, where I fondly remember meeting Ms Thompson, will continue her life’s work and ensure that her legacy lives on for generations to come.
“As a Chinese-born Labour Member of Parliament, I am proud of New Zealand’s strong relationship with China. Almost all political milestones between our two nations have been established by Labour governments.
“Labour opened diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in 1972, ahead of other Western nations and negotiated our important free trade agreement with China in 2008.
“The strength of these links could not be achieved without the contribution of people such as Isobel Easton-Thompson. Like Rewi Alley, she is a household name in China.
“It is important to remember pioneers like Isobel who built the foundations of our relations with China.”
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