On 12 December 2018, the SAR Government introduced the Discrimination Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2018 into the Legislative Council for First and Second Reading. The long-awaited Bill was put forward more than two years after the EOC made recommendations to the Government in March 2016 on reforming the city’s anti-discrimination laws under the Discrimination Law Review (DLR). Out of the 73 recommendations, 27 being priority areas, made by the EOC, 8 amendments have been included in the Bill, spanning from prohibiting discrimination on the ground of breastfeeding and on imputed race to expanding the scope of harrassment protection, including providing protection from sexual, racial and disability harassment in common workplaces where there is no employment relationship.

Professor Alfred CHAN Cheung-ming, Chairperson of the EOC said, “The EOC welcomes the introduction of the Bill into the Legislative Council. We believe there is a need for the law reforms to fill the existing gaps in discrimination protection and to harmonise the laws. We look forward to continuing the discussion with the Government on the implementation of the proposed amendments and other priority recommendations of our DLR, with a view to addressing existing inequalities and modernising the anti-discrimination laws in Hong Kong.”
 
Meanwhile, the EOC is in the process of preparing comprehensive guidance on the amendments, and will conduct public education programmes to help all relevant stakeholders understand the effect of the new provisions when they come into force.

Read the press release
Read EOC’s Submissions to the Government on the Discrimination Law Review
Read Government’s release on the gazettal of the Bill

Extremism, xenophobia and intolerance – these should have no place in a modern metropolis that prides itself as Asia’s world city. Yet these are happening in Hong Kong, and on the rise. As reported by several media outlets recently, the EOC has received an increased number of complaints about racially offensive and vilifying remarks on social media platforms, some targeting at NGOs that provide services for ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. Acting on the complaints, the EOC requested a social media operator to provide data on the users so that the Commission could follow up and investigate into the complaints.
 
Under Rule 5 of the Race Discrimination (Investigation and Conciliation) Rules (Cap. 602B), the EOC “may require information for the purposes of investigating into an act and in endeavouring to settle the matter to which the act relates, by notice in writing served on a person require that person to furnish such information as specified in the notice, and in the notice specify a place, time, period or date for furnishing such information.” Any person who, without reasonable excuse, refuses or fails to comply with a notice served on him commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine at level 4, i.e. penalty between HK $10,001 and HK $25,000.
 
Notwithstanding the statutory powers and legitimate request of the EOC, the social media operator has not provided the data to date. Instead, it asked the Commission to get a court order from the United States, where its headquarter is based and the data is held, for the release of the data.
 
The EOC does not believe in the need to seek for a court order from the United States, given that the Commission is applying its statutory power to enforce the legislation in Hong Kong. The Commission is currently re-examining the legal points while contemplating further actions. The EOC hopes that the social media operator would fulfil its responsibility to stop hate speech and extremist propaganda from spreading on its online platform.

Read the news reports on EOC’s effort to combat online hate speech
About the Race Discrimination Ordinance

The 2017/18 Annual Report of the EOC has been released, and was tabled at the Legislative Council on 12 December 2018. Carrying the theme “Transforming for a Better Future”, the report summarises the key initiatives and activities of the Commission during 2017/18, notably the review of the complaint-handling process and the governance review, that served to enhance the accountability and quality of the EOC’s services, while advancing equal opportunities for marginalised groups. As Professor Alfred CHAN Cheung-ming, EOC Chairperson put it in the report, “We are aware that in order to bring about meaningful transformation, often times we must start by reinventing ourselves... The past year was about transforming ourselves to put up a stronger fight and break new ground... Our long-term vision is for the EOC to become a more robust enforcer of the anti-discrimination laws and a more impactful influencer on public policy.”

Read the EOC 2017/18 Annual Report

To promote understanding of the advantages of fostering an inclusive workplace to enterprises, the EOC participated again in Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s SmartBiz Expo, which was held from 5 to 7 December at Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre. The EOC promoted the messages of “Want a win-win employment relationship? An equal opportunities workplace can help you” and “An equal opportunities workplace relies on the contributions of employers and employees” during the three-day Expo. Additionally, over 4,300 promotional publications and 2,900 souvenirs were distributed to Expo visitors. The EOC collected positive feedback from the attendees, with over 96% of the questionnaire respondents rating the EOC booth “very good” or “good”, along with compliments received on the booth’s design as well as the helpfulness of EOC staff members.

Download the “Equal Opportunities in Employment: Good Management Practices”