As widely reported by the media this week, Hong Kong’s home-grown air carrier found itself embroiled in controversy when its cabin crews were accused of discrimination and insulting Mandarin-speaking passengers. A leaked audio recording, released by a Mainland netizen, revealed that the flight attendants made derogatory remarks and made fun of the passengers.

The incident sparked a public outcry. The airline swiftly apologised, fired three flight attendants, and pledged to review its policies to ensure that its employees respect tourists of different backgrounds and cultures.

As a statutory body tasked with enforcing the anti-discrimination ordinances in Hong Kong, the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) holds grave concerns about the incident, as well as the discrimination faced by Mainland people in the city.

Under the Race Discrimination Ordinance, it is unlawful to discriminate, harass or vilify a person on the grounds of his or her race in areas of activities including employment, education, provision of goods and services, disposal and management of premises, participation in clubs etc. “Race” refers to a person’s race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin.

Language is not a protected characteristic. However, language-related requirements or conditions may result in indirect discrimination against a particular ethnic group if members of this group are unable to meet those requirements or conditions and suffer detrimental treatment as a result. If a service provider, for instance, requires a customer to speak a particular language as a prerequisite to accessing certain goods or services without providing justifiable reasons, such conduct could amount to unlawful indirect discrimination, which means imposing a requirement that effectively bars customers of a particular race or subjects them to detrimental treatment. The ordinance does not require the victim and the perpetrator to be of different races.

Before this controversy, the discriminatory experiences encountered by Mainland visitors and immigrants were already a hot topic. From protests against Mainland tourists in the early days to more recently restaurants refusing to serve Mainland customers during the COVID-19 epidemic, the EOC came forth and spoke against the behaviours, explaining the provisions of the law and calling on the public to embrace and accommodate people’s differences.  

As part of its ongoing work to review the implementation of the anti-discrimination ordinances, the EOC submitted its findings of a legal study to the Government in 2021, layout out the proposals to tackle discrimination, harassment and vilification between people from Hong Kong and those from the Mainland through legislation. The EOC has been liaising closely with the Government to follow up on this.

This high-profile incident arising from the cabin crews has drawn the ire of Mainland people and cast a shadow on the efforts of the HKSAR Government and the tourism sector to build Hong Kong into an inclusive and attractive tourist spot in the post-pandemic era. Yet I believe that it was an isolated case, as most frontline service staff in Hong Kong are professional and treat customers with quality service and respect. Many Mainland netizens have in fact shared heartwarming experiences, such as receiving help from strangers in public transport, to emphasise that they felt the warm and inclusive side of Hong Kong.

Indeed, many professionals are working tirelessly to uphold Hong Kong’s image as a world-class destination, while others are striving to rebuild business and tap into the rebound in Mainland visitor arrivals after the pandemic. Whether from the business viewpoint or the perspective of equal opportunities, it would only do good for companies to provide quality goods and services to customers from different backgrounds and treat them equally with courtesy and respect.

At the end of the day, the key to eliminating discrimination, aside from legislation, is education. From instilling the values of diversity, inclusion and respect into school children, addressing implicit biases and prejudices among ourselves and standing up against discrimination in everyday life to introducing diversity and inclusive policies in the workplace and arranging cultural sensitivity training for staff, all of us have a role to play in creating an inclusive Hong Kong free of discrimination.

Eliminating discrimination is not only a legal requirement. It is also the ethical, moral and humane way to behave in modern society. Only through a multi-pronged approach that encompasses law enforcement, prevention and education and with the collective effort of every sector and level of society can we create a welcoming and inclusive Hong Kong that we proudly call home.

Ricky CHU Man-kin
Chairperson, Equal Opportunities Commission

A version of the article appeared in SCMP on 30 May 2023.