New Zealand Minister Sells ‘Donaldson’s Dairy’ to Chinese

New Zealand’s Tertiary Education and Science Minister Steven Joyce recently launched a Chinese version of Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy by Lynley Dodd, at an education event in Shanghai. Mr. Joyce was in China with Prime Minister John Key to mark the fifth anniversary of the New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement. ‘It’s great that Chinese children now have the opportunity to go on adventures with Hairy Maclary…I’m sure the series will be as popular in China as it has proven to be in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Russia, Australia and Korea,’ Mr. Joyce said. The Hairy Maclary series is one of New Zealand’s best literary exports, selling over nine million copies worldwide. Wenhui Press, a Chinese publishing company, has already produced 10 bilingual (English/Chinese) Hairy Maclary stories. In China, Mr. Joyce also signed agreements to increase New Zealand-China educational and scientific co-operation and exchange, according to The People’s Daily. Minister Joyce, and his Chinese counterpart, Minister Wan Gang, signed a science co-operation agreement for joint research on non- communicable diseases, food security and safety, and water.10 scientists will travel in each direction each year to engage in projects and research according to the two Ministers. New Zealand and Chinese officials will also boost links between their countries educational institutions. Minister Joyce and Chinese Education Minister Yuan Guiren signed a partnership arrangement between their ministries of education in Beijing. ‘More than 24,000 Chinese students come to New Zealand schools and tertiary education institutions every year, making China the largest source of international students in New Zealand,’ Joyce was quoted saying in The People’s Daily. The first education partnership, between New Zealand’s Waikato Institute of Technology and China’s Tianjin and Qingdao technical colleges, was signed at the meeting between Joyce and Guiren, The People’s Daily said.