Letters | Hong Kong’s child abuse reporting law should cover more professions
- Readers discuss the limitations of the bill on mandatory reporting of child abuse, why Hong Kong shops offer relatively poor service, and America’s unfair targeting of Chinese businesses
Those working in sports institutions, tuition centres, religious institutions and child-related social service organisations often have frequent contact with children in their work. We’ve seen horrific abuse scandals in these settings both locally and globally, and Hong Kong cannot afford to leave these loopholes open.
Expanding the range of professions covered can help ensure there is timely intervention where abuse has occurred.
As debate on the bill continues, pressure is mounting for lawmakers to take a more comprehensive approach. An overhaul of child protection laws and policies is needed. When push comes to shove, mandatory reporting is a passive and remedial approach which comes into play only after abuse has already occurred.
Ultimately, we need to create an organisational culture that is safe for children and where everyone upholds their responsibility to protect children. To this end, Plan International has developed a Child Safeguarding Policy framework following a comprehensive literature review of the legal requirements in different jurisdictions and the underlying high-risk factors in institutional child abuse. We urge the government to encourage institutions to proactively implement such a framework to prevent child abuse.
We hope mandatory reporting can finally shine a light on the shadows where child abuse hides, along with a safeguarding policy that gives children the safety net they deserve.
Kanie Siu, chief executive officer, Plan International Hong Kong
Service standards let down by a lack of workers
The lower service standards in Hong Kong are due to labour shortage and lack of local competition.
Many food and drink companies on the mainland require their service staff to go through rigorous training and abide by stringent rules. Service crew at drink outlets, for example, receive training for days, even weeks, learning to familiarise themselves with the products, greet customers with enthusiasm and cope with complaints.
Companies even send undercover agents disguised as customers to check on their employees’ performance, and devise disciplinary actions and rewards to manage staff attitudes.
Such training is possible because mainland companies are usually able to hire full-time employees. In Hong Kong, however, most restaurants and drink outlets struggle to recruit formal staff and rely heavily on part-time employees who do not go through such training.
Hong Kong is lagging behind other popular travel destinations in hospitality standards, and must catch up fast. To achieve this, the government must take a leap of faith in introducing measures that make the import of labour easier and break the long-standing monopoly of cabs.
Anson Chan, Guangzhou
US targeting of TikTok is blatant protectionism
America must accept that its hegemony on world trade has slipped and all that people of good will are asking is that China be allowed a fair playing ground in global business.
Gitura Kihuria, Nairobi, Kenya