Letters | Don’t blame Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities for being marginalised. Fix the system first

Readers discuss the realities on the ground that stop ethnic minorities from learning the Chinese language and integrating into Hong Kong society

Reading Time:3 minutes

People cross the road in Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong in 2018. All children, irrespective of their ethnicity and cultural background, deserve equal opportunity in education. Photo: Edward Wong

Published: 11:30am, 22 Jun 2023

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I refer to the letter, “City’s ethnic minorities must embrace Chinese” (June 18).

Children are the biggest asset and resource of any society and essential for securing its socio-economic sustainability. Thus, it falls upon the rest of us to provide and promote an education environment that is nurturing and inclusive.

Thus, equal opportunity in language learning must be provided to all children, from their formative years, irrespective of their ethnicity and cultural background. This is the most logical solution to achieve social integration and cultural immersion.

The Hong Kong government’s efforts to prioritise education and the Education Bureau’s continuing commitment to promote Chinese language learning – in terms of the handsome funding and resources given to schools that serve non-Chinese-speaking children – deserve applause. Equally worthy of appreciation and respect are the tireless efforts of the students themselves, in continuing to try daily to learn and use the Chinese language.

Ethnic minority parents understand the need for their children to embrace the Chinese language. Unfortunately, the harsh reality is that the environment is less than nurturing and supportive of the children’s efforts.

In March 2021, an Audit Commission report on the education support measures for non-Chinese-speaking students listed many areas for improvements. In December last year, the Education Bureau found in its annual review of Hong Kong’s schools that many schools had failed to provide sufficient support for teaching Chinese to ethnic minority pupils.