Just Saying | Hong Kong banks’ utterly disgraceful treatment of ethnic minorities shames the entire city
Yonden Lhatoo shudders at the prospect of even more discrimination against the city’s ethnic minorities as banks turn away customers in the name of security
What will it take to shame Hong Kong’s banks into doing the right thing?
I’m talking about their abhorrent practice of turning away ethnic minorities seeking to open savings or credit card accounts in this town. It can be a humiliating and hurtful experience if you’re not Caucasian or Chinese.
But what’s interesting is that the facts and figures are directly from the Equal Opportunities Commission, based on its own research and audit checks, instead of the usual complaints and anecdotal evidence.
Among the three groups of people the watchdog sent out posing as customers to test the waters, 44 per cent of ethnic minorities were discriminated against, mostly by banks. Caucasians had it easier, with 24 per cent encountering bigotry. No issues with Chinese customers.