On 18 June 2015, Members of the EOC discussed the various matters related to the Commission’s business, including the latest work progress of the EOC’s strategic priorities, at the 110th EOC Meeting. This marked the first EOC Meeting of the six newly appointed Members, namely Mr Ivan CHAN Chi-kin, Professor Susanne CHOI Yuk-ping, Ms Elizabeth LAW, Ms Juan LEUNG Chung-yan, Ms Shirley Marie Therese LOO and Miss YU Chui-yee. Members noted recent media reports on the difficulties of ethnic minorities in accessing banking services and in enrolling ethnic minority children to kindergartens and primary schools. Members were briefed on the measures by the EOC to address these concerns, including the upcoming seminar for banking practitioners, ‘Commissioners Dialogue – Treat Customers Fairly: Sharing from Equal Opportunities Commission’ on 6 July 2015, which the EOC is organising with The Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) and The Hong Kong Institute of Bankers (HKIB). Other planned initiatives by the EOC’s Ethnic Minority Unit include new resource materials on the Race Discrimination Ordinance for school administrators and teachers, as well as parents and students, with a view to assisting them in building an inclusive school environment.

In relation to the advocacy work of the EOC, Members noted that steady progress has been achieved in the various research studies launched by the EOC. These included the “Exploratory Study on Age Discrimination in Employment” and the “Study on Discrimination against Ethnic Minorities in the Provision of Goods, Services and Facilities, and Disposal and Management of Premises”, which reports will be available in late 2015; as well as the “Study on Pregnancy Discrimination in Small and Medium Enterprises”, scheduled for completion in spring 2016. In addition, the EOC has initiated the “Equal Opportunities Awareness Survey 2015”, whose findings will be available in the first quarter of 2016.

Read the press release
Learn more about the seminar “Commissioners Dialogue – Treat Customers Fairly: Sharing from Equal Opportunities Commission”

On 5 June 2015, the South China Morning Post published a Letter to the Editor from Dr York CHOW, the EOC Chairperson, which was a response to the Public Eye column published on 3 June 2015 (“Ugly sickness of racism shames our society”). In his letter, Dr Chow emphasised that the EOC has all along been deeply concerned with the discrimination faced by Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities, including in accessing equal education and in the provision of services. Dr Chow also highlighted the EOC’s work to heighten public attention on the need for racial equality, including the setting up of a dedicated unit to focus on the specific needs of ethnic minorities through policy advocacy, training, and outreach to the public, as well as other public education initiatives over the years. “As a diverse city committed to inclusion, we must do better to remove the existing systemic barriers faced by ethnic minority community members and ensure everyone is treated with respect,” wrote Dr Chow.

Read the full letter (in English only)

In 2013, the Commission set up the EOC Blog to facilitate easily accessible updates on our various initiatives and community engagement. These include the latest happenings of the Commission, such as activities organised, events attended, speeches delivered, and media interviews given by the EOC Chairperson and other representatives. This is part of the EOC’s continuous drive to ensure transparency on our work, and to keep the general public readily informed on our daily operations. Please click on the link below to see more details.

The EOC Blog

On 20 June 2015, the Hong Kong Society for the Deaf will organise a public event to raise awareness on various issues faced by deaf people and people with hearing impairment. The event will feature the premiere of micro films on topics related to hearing impairment, as well as films produced by and featuring both people with and without hearing impairment. In addition, there will be sharing from representatives of the EOC and The Centre for Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies of the Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, as well as game booths. This initiative is a funded project under the Commission’s Community Participation and Funding Programme. All are welcome! Please see below for more details.

Date:	20 June 2015 (Saturday)
Time:	2:00 – 5:00PM
Venue:	Star Atrium at Plaza Hollywood

About Hong Kong Society for the Deaf

Professionally trained guide dogs can facilitate access and independent living for people with visual impairment or other disabilities. The Hong Kong Guide Dogs Association (HKGDA) has launched various public education initiatives to enhance public understanding and break misconceptions about guide dogs. On 13 June 2015, HKGDA organised a public event at Lok Fu Plaza to widen awareness about their “Puppy Raisers” programme, a necessary and crucial component of a guide dog’s training. A representative from the EOC also took part in the event to show the Commission’s support.

A “Puppy Raiser” provides a foster home for a guide dog puppy, usually from the age of 8 weeks to 14 months, and helps the puppy in their care to socialise and get acquainted with different scenarios of Hong Kong daily life including urban areas and public transport. These form an important foundation for the puppy’s service training later. For more information about the programme and how you can support it, please contact HKGDA.

HKGDA Website
HKGDA Facebook page