These are trying times for Hong Kong, to say the least. We have seen it bring out the best in people and the not-so-nice. What is amply clear through our experience this past year is that beating the coronavirus is a collective effort. Nerves are frayed, fears are rife and fatigue is at an all-time high, creating a perfect climate for tolerance and empathy to be in short supply. However, at no other time have we needed this more. Given the helplessness we all feel against this invisible enemy, it is easy to pick scapegoats to blame and focus our anger on. We have seen this happen with mainland Chinese at the initial stages of Covid-19, to the recent targeting of the dance cluster members, to foreign domestic workers and most recently the ethnic minority communities in Yau Tsim Mong district. It is unfair to stigmatise and blame a whole segment of society or a community based on the behaviour, or rather misfortune, of a few. This kind of generalisation is not only incorrect, but is also dangerous misinformation that serves no constructive purpose except to create social chasms and exacerbate divisions. It reflects and promotes bias and stereotyping. Often media reports pick up on this narrative of racial bias, discrimination and hardship to further the notion of ethnic minority alienation. It is sad that stories which go against this narrative are less or seldom written about. In the same district two months ago, we saw evidence of human solidarity in the aftermath of the Yau Ma Tei fire that claimed the lives of eight Nepalese community members and caused injuries to many more. I was overwhelmed to hear of the support the community had received from the people of Hong Kong, not just fellow members of ethnic minorities. The compassion, solidarity and empathy that we saw was colour blind. Donations pour in for victims of Diwali blaze at unlicensed Hong Kong diner I would like more such reports to be highlighted. We should be talking about what we share in common rather than focusing on the differences, especially if the claimed differences stem from cultural stereotyping and broad brushing. More than ever, we need tolerance, empathy and solidarity. This is a time for us to come together as one human race. The virus makes no distinction; it would be a folly for us to. Ricky Chu Man-kin, chairman, Equal Opportunities Commission