Don’t blame new migrants from mainland China for Hong Kong’s housing and health care woes, rights groups say while calling for race hate law
- Groups also accuse some local politicians and professionals of playing ‘politics of hatred’
- Society for Community Organisation says new mainland migrants work hard and do not drain public resources
Rights groups have called for a race hate law in Hong Kong as new migrants from mainland China are being accused of “eating up” the city’s resources although most work for a living.
The Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) and the New Immigrants Mutual Aid Association also accused some local politicians and professionals of playing the “politics of hatred”.
They said new mainland migrants worked hard and did not drain public resources. The groups cited a 2013 government consultation document on population policy that 70 per cent of the migrants worked and had taken up low-skilled jobs.
And only 3 per cent of them lived on public assistance.
“We are extremely disappointed that even some professionals and politicians also made discriminative allegations before having studied the data,” Sze Lai-shan, of SoCO, said on Sunday.
She called for a race hate law.
