Man told to "go back to China" as he tries to park his car in Greenhithe, Auckland.
An Auckland man who was sworn at and told to "go back to China" as he tried to drop his child off at school has shared video of the incident.
Andy Wan was driving his 7-year-old to school and had slowed down and indicated to parallel park his car whenthe driver behind him became angry.
Wan said he indicated before stopping in front of the park, but an Audi pulled in close behind him, leaving him little room to back into the parking space.
He got out to check if there was room and to speak to the other driver, who told him to "f*** off" and "go away".
Andy Wan was subjected to racist abuse as he tried to drop his 7-year-old son off at school. Photo / Supplied
Wan, who is originally from Hong Kong and has lived in New Zealand for 24 years, told the Herald he was concerned about his son having to experience similar acts of racism.
"Even at school all the kids play around no matter what the skin colour, they're happy together, so why these people still have this kind of thinking?"
He said his son heard the woman's comments and was confused.
"He keep asking me what happened. He think, 'oh, how come so mean? We are just parking, what's wrong with us? We didn't do anything wrong.'"
Wan said there was no oncoming traffic, so the woman could have easily pulled into the other lane and gone around him as he tried to park.
"It doesn't mean because I have an Asian face she can yell like this."
The incident, which happened on May 19 in Greenhithe, might have been exacerbated by coronavirus-fuelled xenophobia, he said.
"I guess mostly because Covid-19 makes people more against China," he said.
He did not experience incidents like that too often in New Zealand, but noticed people seemed to be less tolerant towards those with an "Asian face".
"I just don't want my son to get hurt ... because he's Asian or something."
It's not the first racist incident to make headlines this week.
The NZ Outdoors Party has become entangled in accusations of racism after a group of their supporters filmed themselves harassing and threatening a young woman after an event at Aotea Square in Auckland.
In the video, unidentified supporters of the party can be seen chasing the woman and holding phones in her face, with one person screaming at her to go back to her own country.
The woman yells back, telling the filmers they are racist.
"This lady here, she was rubbing out all the chalk," the man filming can be heard saying, before the video quickly devolves into yelling on both sides.
Another woman who is filming tells the young woman "get away from here ... you are racist against us New Zealanders, get out ... go back to your own country".
At one point the other woman says she is going to "kingpin" her and calls her a "smart little b****".
The young woman reveals in the video she rubbed out chalk slogans stating "it's okay to be white" because the saying is commonly associated with Nazis.
She also tells the group that the phrase "all lives matter" is only ever used in reaction to "black lives matter" as a way to erase black people.
The Outdoors Party co-leaders Alan Simmons and Sue Grey have condemned the video, saying the racist comments go against what they stand for.
Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon said phrases such as "all lives matter" were often used to convey a message of intolerance, racism, or division. File photo / Sarah Ivey
Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon said the slogans were "known to be associated with groups who deny that racism exists or who would minimise its impact.
"Such statements are often intended to convey a message of intolerance, racism and division. There is no place for that in New Zealand," he said.
He encouraged bystanders to step up when they saw incidents like this, to "intervene, to record the interaction, and to report".
"Racist behaviour, use of racist stereotypes, making people feel like they don't belong in Aotearoa is unacceptable. Not only are such actions inconsistent with our values, they infringe on human rights and damage efforts to build inclusive communities.
"Intimidation, such as that shown toward the young woman in Aotea Square is appalling and unacceptable. I would recommend that any person on the receiving end of violent threats contact the police.
"Racist bullying must be rejected by all people in New Zealand."
