I am writing to express my concern regarding the problem of racial discrimination and the targeting of ethnic minorities over the discovery of coronavirus clusters in Hong Kong. Some people’s comments show a misunderstanding of Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities , and how they supposedly enjoy large gatherings in defiance of social distancing restrictions. As a result, some in the community have blamed members of ethnic minority groups for spreading the virus. I have even seen the blame heaped on them on some internet forums, malicious words showing hatred and antagonism. However, such negative stereotyping, that tars entire groups of people with the same brush, is self-defeating. If we think more deeply, it should be clear that some of “us”, the local population, have also had gatherings of family members during the pandemic. It is a fact that many members of ethnic minority groups have to contend with poor living conditions, renting subdivided units in old tenement buildings with poor plumbing and ventilation. But it is these places, not the people, that make it easier for infections to spread. Yet, when people see coronavirus spreading in Yau Tsim Mong, they start playing an unreasonable blame game against ethnic minorities. Then the problem snowballs, as more and more people blindly follow the herd and choose to believe untruths. Perhaps the Covid-19 pandemic has put too much economic and social pressure on people, and they are just venting their frustration and anger on those who are supposedly not complying with social distancing regulations. However, it is surely an incontestable truth that no one particular group is more responsible for the outbreak than others, for the simple reason that in society, everyone has a share of responsibility to curb the spread of the virus. It is very sad to see people abrogating responsibility for fighting the pandemic to others, and it is time to stop the negative stereotyping. We should show respect to everyone so we can all collaborate better in fighting Covid-19 together. Moses Tam, Kwun Tong
