Six years after the handover, it looks like gweilos could finally be on the way out.
Under a new anti-racism law being drafted by the government, the use of words such as gweilo - 'ghost man', commonly used to describe caucasians - and ah cha - for people from the subcontinent - may land people in trouble if they are used to provoke, embarrass or harm a person of a particular ethnic background.
Deputy Secretary for Home Affairs Stephen Fisher said racial harassment and incitement to racial hatred and violence would be an offence under the anti-racism law. However, he added there would not be a specific list of words as context and meaning were more important in judging intent.
'We don't want to have lists because some may have become terms of endearment over time, even though they might have once been racial slurs,' he said. 'I don't think all expats are averse to the word 'gweilo' as some expat cartoonists like to use it to be funny.'
But the use of racial slurs aimed at provoking, causing embarrassment or harm to people will constitute an offence punishable with a fine or imprisonment if the effect is proven.
'Human beings are very good at reading faces and you can easily know whether certain moves are welcome or not,' he said.