Force welcomes applicants from minority groups
I refer to the report ('Minister pledges racial sensitivity in hiring', May 25) and Michael Chugani's Public Eye column ('Police should come clean on minorities', May 26) on the Chinese-language proficiency requirement for applying for the post of police constable.
All police constable applicants should possess Level 2 (Grade E before 2007) or above in Chinese language and English language (Syllabus B before 2007) in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination or equivalent.
In fact, the force accepts Grade D or above for British General Certificate of Secondary Education Examination-Chinese as the minimum language proficiency requirement.
Please note that for the recruitment of police constables, the objective of the selection process, that is, the physical fitness test, group interview, psychometric test, final interview board, is to critically assess applicants in various areas - communication, judgment, knowledge, confidence, resource management, community and customer focus, personality and physical fitness. These are skills required for a police constable.
Regarding the so-called 'three written questions in Chinese' mentioned in your May 25 report, this forms additional information on the applicant, which all candidates attending the group interview are required to complete.
It is not a language test and no grading or mark is given.