中文版

In this festive holiday season, may we wish you and your loved ones peace and joy and a wonderful New Year. We look forward to working with you in creating an inclusive, discrimination-free society in the year ahead.

  1. EOC releases Easy-to-Read Guide for Accessible Air Travel in Hong Kong

Cover of the Easy-to-Read Guide for Accessible Air Travel in Hong Kong
How many times have you flown this year? Once, twice, or more? These days, air travel has become so affordable that many people are travelling at least a few times a year whether for leisure or business. But for people with disabilities (PWDs), including those with reduced mobility, travelling does not come easy, and it is often not a matter of money.

One of our Board Members, wheelchair fencer YU Chui-yee, has to go abroad for competitions every now and then. With a fair share of air travel experience, Yu is well acquainted with the travelling routine. Even then, she has experienced inconvenience from time to time. For many PWDs who may not have such knowledge and experience, the flying may end up ruining their trip.

To help PWDs avoid unnecessary headaches when they travel by air, the EOC released the “Easy-to-Read Guide for Accessible Air Travel in Hong Kong” on 13 December. The foreword of the guide is in fact penned by Ms YU Chui-yee, who shares her personal experience with her fellow travellers with disabilities. The guide alerts PWDs of the things to pay attention to when they book a flight, at the airport, and on board a flight. It also includes an introduction of the rights and obligations of PWDs to air travel as provided under the Disability Discrimination Ordinance and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The guide is expected to be useful to not only travellers with disabilities, but also airlines which can make use of the guide to better understand the needs of and communicate with travellers with disabilities. To download the guide, please visit the EOC website.

Download the Easy-to-Read Guide
Read the press release
Explore the EOC’s “Barrier-free Life” resources

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  1. Young man recovering from panic disorder tells his story in latest EOC documentary

scenes from the documentary
It is always our wish to see more employers in Hong Kong hire people with disabilities (PWDs), including those who have recovered from mental illnesses. In the latest EOC documentary, Grab the Opportunity, we talked to Yuen, who is recovering from panic disorder, and his employer and supervisor, to see how mental illnesses are only human and how providing persons recovering from mental illnesses with job opportunities helps them regain confidence and benefits businesses at the same time.

In the documentary, Yuen’s boss offered a wonderful insight to other employers: in the face of labour shortage, it makes both business and moral sense to hire PWDs, who are often loyal and committed employees. Hiring and developing them is often better than having to keep spending money to recruit and train new staff.

Currently, many PWDs of working age, even some with a good education background, are stuck in unemployment, as many employers remain reluctant to hire PWDs due to cost and other concerns. But hiring PWDs is not as costly and complicated as it seems, and they can definitely bring positive contributions to their companies. It is time for employers to explore this untapped labour force if they want to find new talent.

Watch Grab the Opportunity on the EOC YouTube Channel
Read the EOC’s resources on how people who have recovered from mental illnesses can adjust to a work environment

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  1. Human rights are everybody’s business

e-banner of the UN
Why should we care about human rights in a developed city like Hong Kong? The truth is, even in this Asia’s world city, many people are deprived of certain rights that every individual is entitled to, such as the right to equal education opportunities and to work-life balance.

Riding on Human Rights Day, which fell on 10 December, and the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 2018, EOC Chairperson Professor Alfred CHAN Cheung-ming wrote a Chinese article and an English article to stress the importance of human rights in our everyday life. The articles also examined human rights in the Hong Kong context and shed light on the need to modernise the anti-discrimination legislation to better protect the rights of the city’s residents. The Chinese article was published in Hong Kong Economic Journal, and on inmediahk.net and the Stand News website, the latter of which also carried the English article.

Read the English article
Read the Chinese article

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  1. EOC joins forces with Christian Action, RainLily and International Organization for Migration on “Are you OK?” campaign

an image showing some foreign domestic workers gathering together
Yesterday (18 December) was International Migrants Day. In Hong Kong, foreign domestic workers (FDWs), who amount to over 350,000 people, make up the largest migrant population. FDWs play a key role in shaping our city’s economy – they allow the adults of many families to concentrate on work by relieving them from domestic chores, including childcare and elderly care duties. To date, one in seven households hires a FDW.

Despite their significant contributions to the economy, FDWs are often discriminated against and left vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, including sexual harassment. And many of those who suffer from maltreatment are reluctant to voice out, fearing that they would lose their job.

FDWs are protected from racial discrimination and sexual harassment by the Race Discrimination Ordinance and the Sex Discrimination Ordinance respectively. In addition to implementing these laws, the EOC has been promoting to FDWs their rights under the anti-discrimination legislation through training, publications, outreach activities, and other public education initiatives.

This month, the EOC, in collaboration with NGOs Christian Action, RainLily and the International Organization for Migration, will start recruiting ambassadors for a new campaign called “Are you OK?” This campaign calls on FDWs to voice out when they are in distress, and aims to foster a caring culture, letting those who have been abused know that someone cares about their situation.

Following recruitment in December, the ambassadors will receive training in January, after which they will join outreach programmes held by the co-organisers to raise awareness of the campaign among FDWs. The co-organisers are also planning for a public education event in March 2018 as a highlight of the campaign. Do stay tuned for updates in the coming months.

The “Are you OK?” campaign is subsidised by the EOC’s Community Participation Funding Programme, which also funds other initiatives by NGOs aiming at promoting the rights of migrant workers, such as a recent training session on the anti-discrimination ordinances by the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union.

Separately, riding on International Migrants Day, the EOC has invited representatives of associations working towards the welfare of migrant workers including FDWs to share their thoughts in videos. They include Archana Kotecha, Head of Legal Department of Liberty Asia and a counter-trafficking expert; and Eni Lestari, Chairperson of International Migrants Alliance who was Hong Kong’s only representative invited to speak at the United Nations Summit on Refugees and Migrants in New York last year.

The above videos, together with a video containing messages from various FDWs, can be viewed on the EOC’s EMbRACE campaign Facebook page and the EOC YouTube Channel.     

Watch the videos on the EOC YouTube Channel
Stay tuned for information on “Are you OK?” on the EMbRACE Facebook page

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Visit our website or download the EOC mobile app (Apple App Store / Google Play) to stay updated on the EOC’s work and positions, and to review our press releases and calendar training. Also, stay tuned on other equal opportunities issues and community initiatives by visiting our community resources and community events pages for information from our community partners, including publications, survey reports, publicity campaigns, and upcoming conferences.