EditorialHong Kong must help ethnic minority groups bridge the digital divide
A recent report indicates ethnic minority groups in Hong Kong are not deriving as much benefit from online services as they could
Given that Hong Kong is an ethnically diverse and multicultural society where east meets west, as well as a magnet for talent, equality of access deserves attention.
The equality watchdog says ethnic minority groups do not benefit as much as they could from online services. It calls for using artificial intelligence (AI) to provide multilingual support and simplify app registration. An HKU research team interviewed 412 members of ethnic minority groups about how they used devices to access public information, healthcare services, social media and government applications. According to EOC chairwoman Linda Lam Mei-sau, ethnic minority members mainly used the devices to browse social media and read news, rather than to access online services.
Only 55 per cent found the information provided by government apps user-friendly. More than 60 per cent had registered for the Hospital Authority’s “HA Go” app, but only 25 per cent used it to book appointments instead of walking in or booking by phone. Focus groups attributed this to complex registration processes and low digital literacy of the older generation.
Language barriers were identified as another major hurdle. Most apps, particularly government apps, were mainly available in Chinese and English only, but some ethnic minority groups were not proficient in either language. The report cited the example of New York, where major government online platforms provide multilingual support in more than 100 languages.
EOC head of policy, research and training Doris Tsui Ue-ting suggests using AI-powered translation tools to support multiple languages. With the development of AI amid an ageing population, there is an argument for such initiatives. Maintaining cohesion in a diverse society is important for technological progress.