Passing laws to combat racial discrimination is a complex task, especially in a multiracial, post-colonial society such as Hong Kong. Difficulties inevitably arise - but they must be overcome.
Though a predominantly Chinese society, Hong Kong is also home to a substantial community of non-Chinese expatriates. They include civil servants from Britain and other Commonwealth countries who were brought in to fill senior administrative and professional posts in the government when the city was still a British colony. Others came from all over the world as middle and senior managers at multinational corporations. The first group has shrunk since the 1997 handover, but the latter has maintained its strength.
One way in which this group's distinctive social status has traditionally been marked out is through the 'expat package'. Now, such packages are made available to employees of many different races and nationalities - including those who are Chinese. They are hired overseas and typically receive - in addition to their salary - allowances to cover the costs of housing, their children's education, private medical care and holiday travel.
That has presented a tricky problem as the government seeks to outlaw racial discrimination. The better packages of remuneration offered to employees from overseas, compared to those hired locally, could amount to discrimination of the kind which the new laws - currently being drafted - are intended to combat.
It is an issue which must be handled carefully. Discrimination on the grounds of race or national identity must be outlawed. But at the same time, flexibility is needed if Hong Kong's ability to attract talent and remain competitive is not to be impaired.
The government has decided that it should be permissible under the proposed legislation being drafted for employers to distinguish between employees on local terms and those on overseas terms. But restrictions will be imposed on the circumstances in which overseas terms can be paid.
This is a laudable attempt to strike a balance. However it does raise some difficult questions. Everyone can understand that an employer should not give a better package to an employee purely on the basis of their race or country of origin. The new laws should certainly prohibit such conduct.
