Focus on Asia - The Green Party Perspective

The Asia Forum Executive Committee, in partnership with Creative HQ, cordially invites you to join us on Monday 12 October to hear from Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan, the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand's Spokesperson for Trade, as the third speaker in our 2026 election series, Focus on Asia.

Speaker: Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan, MP
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand Spokesperson for Trade, Education, Ethnic Communities, Justice, Seniors, Courts, Overseas New Zealanders and List Member of Parliament based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland 

Date: Monday 12 October 2026
Time: 5:30pm-7:00pm
Location: Creative HQ Office, Level 1
7 Dixon Street, Hope Gibbons Building on corner of Taranaki and Dixon Street
Wellington 6011

Places are limited due to capacity and registration is required. This event will be run under the Chatham House rule.

Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan, Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand List Member of Parliament, based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland

Born in Tianjin, China, Lawrence grew up in East Auckland where he attended school. He then went on to the University of Auckland and received his doctorate in Ancient History specialising in Egyptology in 2017. During his study, he also spent some time excavating in Egypt and researching in continental Europe. A passionate advocate for education and students, Lawrence has worked in the tertiary education sector for more than a decade. He taught at the University of Auckland before going on to focus on international education.

Lawrence has worked closely with international students over the years to ensure that they are fully equipped for their educational journey in Aotearoa. Lawrence initiated a series of workshops at his school on Te Tiriti, sustainability, rainbow, and disability issues to encourage new international students to engage with some of these topics. He also worked with the University of Auckland on the Junior Arts Programme and ran community-based programmes on Egyptology.

Lawrence joined the Green Party in 2017 and became increasingly active in 2018. From 2020 to 2023, Lawrence was the Green Party’s Policy Co-convenor (the first Asian member of Kaunihera, the Green Party’s governing body) and led the development and updates of Party policies alongside the female Policy Co-convenor and Policy Hub. In 2023, he was elected as the Party Co-convenor, a role he stepped down from when he was sworn into Parliament. He is a strong believer of the Green Party’s charter and has worked tirelessly within the Party to uphold the charter principles.

In 2023, Lawrence ran as the candidate in Epsom, one of the most diverse communities in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. As the Green Party’s first Chinese MP, Lawrence hopes to create bridges across various tauiwi communities and bring together the collective wisdom of these communities to find solutions to the bigger challenges facing Aotearoa.