Manying Ip

Manying Ip, Trustee of Asia:NZ

Dr Manying Ip 叶宋曼瑛 came to New Zealand in 1974 from Hong Kong where her family lived for five generations.  With her strong classical Chinese education at home and colonial English education at school, she grew up sharply aware of the challenges of being cross-cultural. 

She is Professor in Asian Studies at Auckland University and the author of several critically acclaimed books on Chinese in New Zealand (including Aliens At My Table: Asians as New Zealanders See Them, 2005, Unfolding History, Evolving Identity: the Chinese in New Zealand, 2003) as well as more than 20 journal articles and book chapters in international publications on issues relating to Asian immigrants. Recent research has resulted in two books: Being Maori-Chinese: mixed identities, 2008, and The Dragon and the Taniwha: Maori and Chinese in New Zealand, 2009.  Reviewers praised the works for elucidating ethnic relations, particularly the tension between the First Nation and immigrant groups.

Dr Ip is a respected advocate for Chinese communities living in New Zealand, and is a sought-after commentator on Asian issues.  She was awarded a Suffrage Centennial Medal in 1993, and was created an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in 1996.  In 2008, she was elected Fellow of the New Zealand Academy of Humanities (FNZAH) in recognition of her outstanding scholarship. In 2009, she was inducted into the Royal Society of New Zealand and became FRSNZ.