The Status of Ethnic Minorities in Hong Kong 1997–2014, released in September 2015, is the first coherent report reviewing research on ethnic minorities and making recommendations for future areas of focus for policy-makers, employers and educators.

 

Commissioned by Shalini Mahtani, Founder of the Zubin Foundation, a non-profit-making think tank focussing on social issues that are being neglected in Hong Kong, the report was compiled by Ms Puja Kapai, Director of HKU’s Centre for Comparative and Public Law.

 

It has already attracted significant interest from policy-makers, including Hong Kong’s Chief Secretary Mrs Carrie Lam, who met with the two women in December, 2015 to learn about the key findings of the study and asked them to present those findings and recommendations to the Commission on Poverty in January this year. “This is a big turnaround,” said Ms Kapai. “In September, 2015, the Government didn’t even send a representative to the launch of the report. Now, however, with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and numerous movers and shakers talking about this Report, it is very interested.”

The report focusses on the six largest ethnic groups in Hong Kong – Pakistani, Indonesian, Thai, Indian, Filipino and Nepalese (excluding the ‘White/Caucasian’ group) and looks into areas of life as diverse as education, employment, health and crime.

 

The main reason for putting it together was that no such comprehensive record existed and Ms Kapai repeatedly found that when she wished to discuss ethnic minority problems– be it women’s issues, discrimination, education inequalities or domestic violence – the relevant policy-makers would always ask for proof that such a problem even existed.

 

“The data deficit is deplorable,” said Ms Kapai, who was born in India and brought up since infancy in Hong Kong. “Any city that claims to be an advanced, first-world city should be demonstrably able to show that there is equality within its society. Yet this information is not in publicly available statistics. How can you improve a situation if there is no data telling you what the situation is? We need to be able to draw connections in order to develop sound policy – this impacts governance.”

 

The report is a collation of existing research of academics and NGOs and the data gleaned from the Census and Statistics Department. What is new is the analysis. “For the first time we can demonstrate there are clear policy gaps that impact ethnic minorities negatively,” said Ms Kapai. “The findings, which disaggregate the performance in different areas of life by ethnicity, highlight that different ethnic groups fare differently. Targeted policies that are particular to individual groups’ specificities are required to address the needs of individual ethnic groups.”

 

One of the most critical areas highlighted was education. “Here, Hong Kong is failing on nearly every level,” she said. “Fewer ethnic minority kids go through pre-primary (as these are all privately run), so they are more likely to start their education late and are more likely to drop out.”

 

She clarifies that in some areas of education money is being poured in, particularly Chinese education for non-Chinese-speaking children. “While that’s commendable, there is no balance. Other areas, such as under-employment are being completely ignored.”

 

Low employment levels are another area of concern. While this is partly a result of poor education, the primary barrier to finding employment is a lack of Chinese language skills. “Some 34 per cent of young can’t find work, which is way above the overall unemployment rate of 3.3 per cent,” said

Ms Kapai. “For women, the situation is even worse. Lack of employment or employment in low-skilled jobs also means that poverty levels are high for ethnic minorities. Around 32 per cent of children from these families are living in poverty. It’s a vicious cycle.”

 

Domestic violence among ethnic minorities is another problem the report has highlighted. It is an area in which Ms Kapai is doing research and she believes it is critical – a “ticking time bomb that cannot be ignored”.

 

The report also highlighted recent studies which reveal that there is a ‘racial hierarchy’ in Hong Kong. “Basically, the darker you are the greater the prejudice you face and the lower you fit in the hierarchy. Although interestingly– given this shade bias – Africans are not bottom of the hierarchy, Arabians are,” she said, adding: “The term ‘Arabian’ itself suggests naivete at best and ignorance at worse. Who exactly does ‘Arabian’ refer to?”

Positive impact

 

While many of the findings are negative, the report also focusses on positives in its recommendations, and suggests areas where ethnic minorities may have a positive impact. “Hong Kong has an ageing population and low birth rate,” explained Ms Kapai. “The ethnic minority profile is the opposite – lots of children being born and few aged. So there is a potential there for labour supply in the future, when Hong Kong will need it. Hong Kong’s well-being could be with ethnic minorities, so it makes sense to help improve their lives now.”

 

Recommendations include developing measures to ensure that ethnic minority populations have a say in the community. “We would like to introduce a diversity lens to ensure every policy and decision made is evaluated for its impact on ethnic minority groups. This would ensure everyone’s needs are being represented,” said Ms Kapai. “Ethnic minorities form 6 per cent of the population, so we propose that 6 per cent of every committee should be made up of people from ethnic minorities. The Zubin Foundation is now preparing a list of suitable candidates for such positions which it is hoped the Government would consider drawing from for its committees.”

 

The report has certainly stirred up the pot. On the day of the interview Ms Kapai had just come from a Consul-General roundtable meeting – and was arranging further meetings with chambers of commerce. Local television channel TVB was filming a documentary report on the Nepalese community as a result of the findings, and there has been extensive media coverage of the issues raised.

 

More meetings with the Government are on the cards. “We asked Carrie Lam if we could meet her regularly and suggested twice a year,” said Ms Kapai. “She said I will meet with you any time you want to discuss anything. That’s very encouraging. It suggests the Government is now at least aware of the significant problems and trying to do something. That’s a positive outcome and very

important.”