Chinese-language proficiency remains a significant barrier for ethnic minorities in accessing career opportunities. Despite an increasing number of non-Chinese young people in Hong Kong pursuing post-secondary education, many of them graduate from schools without the necessary proficiency in Chinese, particularly in reading and writing.

“Fixing the Chinese language learning issue plaguing the non-Chinese children and youth is a longstanding issue which has a domino effect on job-seeking and long-term prosperity,” EOC Chairperson recently wrote in an opinion article published in local media outlets.

He continued, “In the last five years, less than 10% of the non-Chinese students enrolled on mainstream Chinese courses in middle school, and most of them eventually took the overseas Chinese examination to fulfil the language requirement for graduation instead of the local examination. Unsurprisingly, this results in a big gap between their Chinese proficiency levels and local workplace requirements, a realisation that comes too late.”

The EOC put forth several recommendations in the 2019 report titled “Closing the Gap: Report of the Working Group on Education for Ethnic Minorities”. These recommendations include the implementation of a comprehensive Chinese-as-a-second-language curriculum, specialised training for second-language teachers, and the introduction of Chinese language examination options structured within a qualification ladder.

“At a time when Hong Kong is facing a looming manpower crunch with ageing population and declining birth rate and is in a competition with neighbours to attract talent, it becomes critical for us to develop the talent pool we have in the form of our non-Chinese youth. They are ready to serve Hong Kong, a city they call home. All they need are the right tools to make that a reality.  Let us not fail them,” Mr Chu concluded in the article.

• Read the article in China Daily
• Read the article in Ming Pao Daily (in Chinese only)