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Latest issue of Equality Perspectives addresses online hate speech and other forms of racism in Hong Kong
Do Facebook users cross a line when their rants about South Asians living in Hong Kong escalate into a threat of violence? Should we hold social media operators accountable? Are ethnic minorities (EMs) enjoying the same education and employment opportunities as other citizens do? What is it like to grow old as an EM in the city?
These are some of the questions raised in this year’s spring issue of the EOC’s journal, Equality Perspectives, published online and through Hong Kong Economic Times on 26 February 2019. In a series of deep-dive stories, we cover topics like hate speech on social media, the learning difficulties facing non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students, the root causes of widespread poverty among EMs, as well as access to elderly care for EM communities. Wrapping it up is a special section featuring members of the EOC’s Youth Consultative Group on Racial Equality and Integration, who opened up about the changes they envision for Hong Kong.
Throughout the issue, we provide recommendations on corporate practices, policy measures and legislative reform. Our analysis of the flaws with the current education policy targeting EM children, in particular, echoes the findings of the direct investigation report recently released by the Office of the Ombudsman on government support for NCS students. This latest issue also calls for revisions to the Race Discrimination Ordinance (RDO) as proposed by the EOC under the Discrimination Law Review in 2016, such as expanding the definition of race to citizenship, nationality and residency status, and repealing the provision that exempts discrimination in vocational training by way of medium of instruction.
Indeed, the status quo is far from ideal, and only with a combination of Government’s willpower, legal protection, corporate involvement and individual action can we pave the way for racial equality in Hong Kong.
