Civil service 'racism' attacked
Expatriate civil servants fear they will be 'ethnically cleansed' by the Government because of 'racist' policies.
They said the mindset of Australian politician Pauline Hanson had been 'institutionalised' in promotion and appointments. 'Before criticism is given to another country which is contemplating racism, Hong Kong should look at itself . . . and acknowledge the hypocrisy,' the Association of Expatriate Civil Servants told the Legco home affairs panel.
'What Ms Hanson talks about doing in Australia is already institutionalised in Hong Kong's civil service. Racial discrimination is alive and well in the civil service.' The protest came in response to the Home Affairs Bureau, which insisted racial discrimination was insignificant.
The association has been embroiled in a number of legal battles with the Government over dozens of localisation measures before the handover.
Figures showed the number of overseas officers had dropped 56 per cent to the existing 1,089 over the past eight years.
The civil service could be 100 per cent 'ethnically cleansed' within five years, the association warned.
Describing racism as 'endemic', it blasted the Chinese-language test for expatriates transferring to permanent terms.
Citing the bilingualism in the Canadian civil service as an example, the association claimed the language test was a disguised discriminatory requirement.
But the Senior Non-expatriate Officers' Association said senior staff should be able to communicate with the public in two languages.
It said it categorically opposed discriminatory practices in appointments and promotions, which should be based on performance.
The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce said racism in society and employment was 'not a serious concern'.
'We are perceived as one of the more 'equal' cities in the world, even though we did not have any legislative framework on discrimination until recently.'
