There are 56 races in the People's Republic of China. Fifty-five of them are national minorities because their 40 million people make up only 6% of China's total population.

During a recent trip to the People's Republic, I learnt that the Chinese attitude to minority races is not one of "assimilation" or "integration", but one of encouraging economic and social development in a way decided by each minority race.

In other words, matters affecting minorities are decided by the people themselves in their own way.

Any New Zealand movement towards a genuinely multicultural society could learn a great deal from the Chinese experience. But it would be foolish to copy it blindly, as the conditions and history of New Zealand and the People's Republic are quite different.