Chinese language rule eased for more Hong Kong government jobs so ethnic minority individuals will qualify
Language requirement lowered for another 22 roles but welfare groups say non-Chinese permanent residents need better proficiency training from young to boost social mobility
While this means 53 of the over 400 categories of civil service positions are now more accessible to non-Chinese permanent residents, welfare organisations said that to boost their career prospects in the long-term, ethnic minorities needed better language training from a young age.
In Hong Kong’s battle over language, ethnic minority children should get to learn Chinese in Mandarin, rather than Cantonese
In the 2016 by-census, excluding foreign domestic helpers, about 3.8 per cent of the city’s population or 254,700 people were classified as ethnic minorities. Many struggle with language proficiency – they may speak Cantonese but cannot read or write traditional Chinese characters – and this affects their ability to go to university and get a job.
In a blog post published on Sunday, Cheung gave examples of how the language requirement had been eased. Positions such as analyst or programmer and treasury accountant would require only the minimum passing grade of Level 1 in the recruitment exam, instead of the higher Level 2 grade.
Chinese-language help for Hong Kong’s ethnic minority pupils lacks transparency, NGO finds
Fourteen types of jobs involving technical or operational duties such as laboratory attendant in the Government Laboratory, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, would have the proficiency requirement lowered from Secondary 3 level to Primary 6 level.