Whether it is ordering food, trying on a coat, or opening a bank account, the things some people do with ease and stress-free as customers can be a struggle for ethnic minorities in Hong Kong – not because they have a longer list of demands, but because of prejudice and bias on the part of service providers.

In a two-part video series recently released on YouTube, Linkedin and Facebook, the EOC talks to Hongkongers of different ethnic backgrounds about their experiences as customers: the good, the bad, the surprises and the frustrations. The videos reveal signs of differential treatment in housing, shopping, dining and access to financial services, before offering tips for businesses to be more racially friendly.

Writing on the same subject in a Letter to the Editor in The South China Morning Post dated 9 September 2021, EOC Chairperson Mr Ricky CHU Man-kin explained the protections under the Race Discrimination Ordinance against racial discrimination and harassment in the context of provision of goods, services or facilities. He also encouraged members of the public to contact the EOC for assistance if they believe they have been subject to racial discrimination and harassment.

• Watch the first episode
• Watch the second episode
• Read Mr Chu’s letter