Wiremu (Bill) Kerekere interviews Rewi Alley about his life in China and the need for understanding and peace. [The interview takes place during the visit of a Māori cultural group to China.]
Rewi says it is good that friendship is being built between China and the people of the Pacific. He says China is a country of great variety and intense struggle; an old culture where the people are warm and friendly.
With a population of 900 million in China, Wiremu Kerekere says the visiting group of Māori feel very small. There is a wonderful feeling of friendship between the visiting group and their hosts. Rewi says the Chinese people are reaching out now in friendship. After so many years of war and poverty they want peace. He says the exchange of cultural groups is a very important thing.
Rewi has lived in China for 53 years. He speaks about his affinity for the country, and why he has stayed for so long. When he first arrived he saw that the Chinese people were exploited. He witnessed their the struggle to stand up and fight - unafraid to die, to make a new China.
The interview concludes with a message from Rewi to New Zealand: try to understand China, don't believe all the anti-Communist talk - learn to appreciate their struggle.