Consuls General, distinguished guests, partners and friends,

Good afternoon!

First of all, I would like to thank all of you for joining us today to celebrate International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Over the past year, we have heard so much about racial exclusion – whether in the form of travel policy or a wall between borders. Here in Hong Kong, racial discrimination is by no means distant or rare. In a study conducted by the Equal Opportunities Commission last year, it was found that the ethnic minority residents in Hong Kong come across discriminatory practices in daily life very often.

The crux of the problem lies in a lack of understanding, which leads to biases and stereotyping. To effectively eliminate racial discrimination, we must work together to promote better understanding among all races. This, in fact, is exactly the purpose of today’s event. By bringing together people from different ethnic communities and lining up a range of cultural performances and games, we hope to inspire better cultural understanding and respect for differences.

And to create further impact, I am very pleased to announce the launch of the EMbRACE campaign, our brand-new initiative to promote racial equality. We have selected this particular name for our campaign, as the word “Embrace” brings together two words – “EM”, which stands for ethnic minorities, and “Race”. Our aspiration is to promote the value of and greater support for racial equality. We have opened a Facebook page to reach a wider audience and started a series of talks on the issue.

In the coming months, we will not only roll out other initiatives, but will also engage different sectors. In addition to raising their awareness, we will encourage them to organise their own programmes, thereby extending the footprints of the campaign.

I would like to take this opportunity to invite all of you to support and be part of our EMbRACE campaign. Only through collective actions can our society achieve racial equality.

Once again, thank you for being here today. Do mingle, have fun and let yourselves fully soak in the joy of racial diversity.

Thank you very much much much.