Letters | Hong Kong still has work to do on engaging ethnic minority groups

Readers discuss entrenched prejudice and persistent obstacles facing Hong Kong’s minority communities and the benefits of ending the city’s traffic jams

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Workers from ethnic minority communities make Christmas crackers in Hong Kong’s Kowloon Bay on December 10, 2021, as part of a charity project. Photo: Edmond So

Published: 2:30pm, 31 Jul 2022

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Hong Kong’s new government is looking for suggestions to support the city’s ethnic minority groups, acknowledging the importance of diversity to Hong Kong’s success. With ethnic minority groups making up of around 8 per cent of Hong Kong’s population and growing steadily, the city has a chance to become truly diverse and inclusive with improved policies.

But obstacles remain. Hong Kong’s ethnic minority groups continue to face racial discrimination, unfair treatment and difficulties in finding stable jobs, with nearly half of the community becoming jobless during the fifth wave of Covid-19.

There are well-meaning initiatives taking place. The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS) this year launched the Professional Traineeship Programme for the Ethnic Minorities to subsidise NGOs and business partners to hire minority youth as trainees. But while the underlying purpose is worthwhile, some in the NGO sector question whether it can succeed as currently constituted.

When announcing the initiative, the council emphasised that they would select employers with multicultural management competence and resources to train the minority youth hired. The selection process could be more transparent, though.

Public information has been scant, and according to the list of 13 NGOs selected as partners that we have seen, 10 do not seem to have any ethnic minority representation on their board or leadership teams. Three of the groups do not even appear to have an English-language website, raising questions about their suitability to nurture local minority talent.