KEY POINTS:
Asian National candidates are turning to Facebook and YouTube in their pitch for votes and a Labour Chinese candidate plans to publish a book to reach the community he hopes to represent in Parliament.
This morning, National leader John Key will take National's Asian campaign to cyberspace by
launching the National Party Asian Group page on Facebook and releasing Asian candidates' videos on YouTube.
Labour Chinese candidate and lawyer Raymond Huo - who had planned to launch a book to help Chinese understand politics and the media before the elections - says it will now be one of the first things he will do when he gets into Parliament.
Melissa Lee, a Korean-born list candidate, says National's Facebook and YouTube campaign is aimed at reaching young, educated Asians who are undecided or apathetic about the election.
"It makes sense to engage them in cyberspace because Asian people are generally more internet-savvy, and now there's a space for them to discuss politics and stuff with us," she said.
National list MP Pansy Wong said the "tools are expanded" this election to reach Asian voters because with an ethnically diverse team "we have the expertise and the outreach".
She said: "We decided on going online because a lot of people [Asian voters] don't feel that the parties really understand or are reaching out to them, even though they are fluent with the English language."
Mr Huo, a list candidate, said Labour, who will launch its ethnic campaign tomorrow, would not be having a separate Asian webpage but would link its contents to Helen Clark's page on Facebook.
"Many in the community see Helen Clark as a strong leader, and there's no reason why we need a separate page."
Mr Huo, a former Herald reporter, said one of the big struggles for immigrants from China is to understand New Zealand's politics, law and media, which is why he plans to write a bilingual book to help them.
The book, called Immigration Quartet, will discuss current affairs, media reports and New Zealand law.
"Through my own analysis, I will explain, for example, why the Premier in China has a guaranteed front page there and why it won't happen in New Zealand," he said. "It is good for the community to understand so if they see the Herald run a story that is not particularly favourable to the Labour Party, it does not mean the Government is in trouble."
He had hoped he could get the book out before the election, because "it would be a substantial business card for me ... but I just haven't got time".
Mr Huo says Labour has already included information and answers to frequently asked questions in Asian languages on its website, and others linked to Helen Clark's Facebook page.
