Good afternoon everyone,

First of all, my sincere thanks to Sally (Ms Sally WAN, Deputy CEO, AXA Hong Kong) for providing us with such a nice venue for this programme today, and all of you for your precious time to gather here to offer your views and share your experience with us.

Ethnic minorities amount to 8% of the total population in Hong Kong, which is near six hundred thousand in number. Statistics shows that our ethnic minority population is about 10 years younger than our society’s medium age, and therefore it should be an important human resource in our labour market which we should treasure. Unfortunately, there are two factors hindering their contributions: first is the language barrier and the second is the availability of suitable job vacancies for them in the market, owing not only to language barrier but more significantly the prejudicial attitude adopted by some people against ethnic minorities.

The EOC is committed to improving racial equality in Hong Kong. The Racial Discrimination Ordinance has been in place for a decade now, but I believe equality could not be achieved solely by enforcement of the law. Equality goes further beyond that, as it is equally important for us to promote the value and principle of equality by setting up effective and practical policies and guidelines, as well as to enhance people’s awareness by education.

The Racial Diversity & Inclusive Charter, as the name indicates, is an initiative of the Equal Opportunities Commission to promote racial diversity and inclusion in the workplace. It started last year and has been receiving very positive responses and support from employers and employees across various industries and sectors in Hong Kong. Today’s programme features a panel discussion and a workshop on these issues, which I trust would be a great learning opportunity for all of us here.

Achieving racial equality and inclusion in a society needs collaborative effort by all. With our joint and diligent efforts, I firmly believe that we can help build and maintain a level playing field for ethnic minorities, and to make Hong Kong a pluralistic and inclusive city with barriers for none.

To conclude, let me welcome you all to this very first roundtable of the Racial Diversity & Inclusion Charter. Please enjoy the afternoon.