Anyone who grew up in western Fiji in Viti Makawa knows the name Eddie Hin – the Chinese restaurant celebrated for its chop suey and sweet and sour pork and the local manufacturer of lemonade and other soft drinks long before the global beverage heavyweights came to Fiji.
The drinks delivery from Eddie Hin – along with the delivery of Rewa Dairy milk -was a highlight of the week in many households and a night out at Eddie Hin’s restaurant was a popular way to celebrate a birthday or other special occasion.
Yet who would have thought back then that the family behind Eddie Hin – the Wongs – would produce an exceptionally talented young woman who has upended New Zealand politics and looks like deciding the next government.
Suddenly, the name Qiulae Wong is on the lips of every Kiwi and is ricocheting around the world as her Opportunity Party comes out of nowhere to not only cross the five per cent threshold into parliament but wind up the kingmaker.
Before the election, the current New Zealand Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, foolishly said he wouldn’t be doing business with Ms Wong. Now he has no choice if he wants the National Party to again slip past Labour into government when the neck-a-neck poll is finally decided on November 27.
We’re indebted to the veteran journalist Jale Moala – an illustrious figure in the Fijian media – for the article on Qiulae Wong he has written for the Fiji Sun which lifts the lid on her remarkable story.
Who’d have thunk that story begins in Lautoka and at Eddie Hin – though the Wongs are clearly an exceptional family and, well, everyone knows the West is best. Quilae isn’t the first local to make a splash in the wider world – albeit a very big splash – and won’t be the last.
A class act who has upended New Zealand politics…
Leave a Reply