Hong Kong must reflect on its everyday racism to deepen ties with Global South

While Hong Kong isn’t marred by the explicit racism seen elsewhere, that’s doesn’t mean it is absent – particularly for those of South Asian descent
In his final column, the Post’s outgoing Asia editor contemplates what the city’s rocky race relations mean for its Southeast Asia, Middle East pivot

Bhavan Jaipragas

Published: 10:30am, 27 Oct 2023

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Regrets? We’ve all had a few. As I look back on my seven-year stint with Hong Kong’s leading newspaper, one of my regrets is not having delved deeper into the heartbeat of the city.

In 2016, I joined the Post, part of what was then an embryonic team tasked with crafting original features and analyses on Asia.

As a reporter, my lens was often focused on Malaysia and Singapore.

Even amid the seismic protests of 2019, my coverage remained trained on the region’s reactions to Hong Kong’s upheaval.

A protester holds an umbrella as police fire tear gas during a demonstration in Hong Kong on January 1, 2020. Photo: AP

I had various opportunities, even outside work, to immerse myself in the fabric of Hong Kong society, but I let them slip away, perhaps – in retrospect – due to a misconception that there were far more interesting issues to explore outside Hong Kong.

If I could turn back time, I would have spent the last seven years building a depth of knowledge on Hong Kong’s race relations.

While scholars and journalists have investigated this area in the past, my personal curiosity remains piqued. The city may be overwhelmingly ethnic Chinese, but as any long-term resident would tell you, beneath this majority lies a complex tapestry of identities.

As we know, the ethnic Chinese community itself is not homogeneous when it comes to self-identity. And then there are the native ethnic minority groups, the permanent foreign residents, and transient workers from across the globe.

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All call Hong Kong home, but how varied are their self-identities? How do their interactions and connections, both shared and divergent, shape the city’s social landscape? If I were a metro news reporter in this city, that would have been my dream beat.

An exploration of race relations inevitably involves an examination of racism. While Hong Kong isn’t marred by racial violence on the scale of the United States or France, that doesn’t mean it’s entirely absent. My personal experiences in Hong Kong hint at racism’s subtle, yet persistent, presence.

The insidious nature of casual racism can leave one questioning their own experiences. Are you overreacting? Are you reading too much into innocent words or actions? Yet, instances of clear racial bias do occur.

Like the time a woman preferred to wait for the next lift rather than share one with me and a friend, or the numerous times I’ve been mistaken for a delivery person when entering restaurants or upscale residential buildings.

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Long-term residents of Hong Kong, particularly those of South Asian descent, will likely echo these experiences.

A column I wrote in 2021 criticising requests by some for non-South Asian delivery men elicited a response I didn’t expect.

I got emails from South Asians and others – including ethnic Chinese Hongkongers – thanking me for highlighting this episode of not-so-subtle racism.

Because of these types of incidents and my own experiences in the city, I have often wondered about the self-identity of Hong Kong’s native-born members of ethnic minority groups.

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Is casual racism accepted as a small price to pay for a life in a city envied by much of Asia for its high standard of living?

These questions merit thorough investigation, not only by the media but also by the authorities. The city’s leadership of late has emphasised the importance of stronger ties with Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu alluded to this in his policy address this week as well.

It is indeed wise for Hong Kong to deepen its ties with the Global South.

Other Asian economies are doing the same as a way of hedging against an overreliance on Western nations too exposed to the ebbs and flows of the US-China rivalry.

But if Hong Kong is serious about being the meeting point of entrepreneurs from Hanoi and Mumbai to Riyadh, it must think hard about whether it is doing enough to signal to the world that it is welcoming people of all races, nationalities, and backgrounds.

Bhavan Jaipragas is the Post’s outgoing Asia Editor. Part of this commentary’s text was produced with the assistance of ChatGPT.