Transcript PowerPoint 簡報 - St Francis' Canossian College

Does colour make a
difference?
Racial
Discrimination
• Introduction- What is
racial discrimination?
• Current situation in Hong
Kong
• Scopes of proposed
legislation
• Advantages
• Difficulties
• Expert’s views
• Limitations
• What else can be done?
• What can we do?
(different parties)
• Conclusion
Have you ever ……
• Called a Filipino “bun mui” or an Indian
“ ah cha” ?
• Covered your nose and frowned when
an Indian or Pakistani passed by?
• Intentionally kept a distance from the
minorities?
Are you racially discriminating against them??
What is racial discrimination??
International Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
(“ICERD”)
the term ‘racial discrimination’ shall mean any
distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based
on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin
which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or
impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on
an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental
freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or
any other field of public life.”
Current situation in Hong Kong
The Demographics : Ethnic Groups in Hong Kong
In 2001, some 52% (180,000) of them were foreign domestic helpers.
The majority of them were being racially discriminated against.
Have you personally experienced or witnessed racial discrimination in
Hong Kong?
no
28%
no answer
6%
yes
no
yes
66%
no answer
In what type of setting did the racial discrimination occur?
Aspects
Percentage
Employment -- hire, fire,
advancement
Admission to facilities
Sale/delivery of goods or services
Government services
Home purchase or rental
Medical care -- emergency care or
other
Access to institution of education
Business/investment -- opportunity
for enterprise
Other -- please specify
37
45%
27
33%
16
20%
13
16%
12
15%
10
12%
5
6%
4
5%
10
12%
Discrimination
tends to occur in
the working place
Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor
• the ethnic groups are labeled by the locals since they
have different colors of skin and facial features.
• Being considered as a second class citizen, they feel
irritated and provoked. Conflicts resulted.
• However, there are three equal opportunities ordinances
in Hong Kong. They deal with sex, disabilities and
family status discrimination respectively. None of them
addresses racial discrimination.
 legislation for protecting the minority right is urgent!
The government’s proposed scope of the antiracial discrimination law
- Employment
- Admission to trade unions, employers’
organizations, professional/trade organizations, or
occupations
- Conferment of professional/trade qualifications
- Admission to educational establishments
- Provisions of goods and services
- Admission to pupilage
Video from the ‘Pulse’
Should the government pass the
bill?
Advantages
• All people’s basic human rights would be
protected regardless of their race as all of us are
equal before the law
• Promote racial harmony
• Convey a more powerful message to discourage
the public from discriminating against certain
races both in their acts and attitudes
• The quickest way to tackle the instant problem in
a short term
Difficulties
• lack public support
as this bill could greatly impinge on the everyday
lives and benefits of ordinary people
In a survey conducted in 1996 on the need for
legislation against racial discrimination, there were 80
per cent of respondents opposed legislation in this
area. Therefore, the bill on racial discrimination was
not passed in the then Legislative Council in 2001.
Public misconceptions on racial
discrimination
People doubt about the need of legislation because
they mistakenly think racial discrimination is not
serious in Hong Kong
They think legislation is punitive and not an
effective means to change attitudes
Expert’s views
Miss Shirley Chan
Senior Programme Officer of Race
Relations Unit
She points out that,
• most of the conflicts between different races
were attributed to communication problems :
as the non-Chinese could not speak fluent
Cantonese. Therefore, misinterpretations appeared
during conversations
• stereotyping and labelling are deep-rooted
problems among Hong Kong people (e.g.
thinking Filipinos are all domestic maids, the East
Asians could only apply jobs like construction
workers and security guards )
• racial discrimination at work is pretty common
in Hong Kong : Most of the employers do not
consider the nature of the job (whether it necessarily
requires fluency in Chinese) and tend to reject all the
non-Chinese disregarding their abilities
• Besides legislation, civil education would be
the best way to educate people to get rid of
discriminative feelings and to believe everyone is
born equal, so race prejudice would no longer exist
• Advices : no more labelling on people of other
races. Try to stand in their shoes and
understand their cultures. We often say
something offensive to them and have prejudices
against them because we lack knowledge of their
cultures and not being considerate enough.
We should take the active role to break the ice and
explore more about their cultures.
Limitations
Race bias bill so full of holes it flouts UN pact, expert says
-SCMP 2007-04-15
“The principle of a race law is to protect vulnerable groups,
he said. But this one we have cannot protect anyone. It
violates UN conventions.
(the legislation) includes a wide range of exemptions,
including the language of instruction in schools. It allows
preferential treatment of overseas staff for reasons other than
race…”
“It has also been criticised for not including newly arrived
mainlanders as a racial group. Mainland immigrants are not
ethnic minorities but the fact is they are facing
discrimination, ” Patrick Yu Chung-yin, executive director of the
Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities said.
The law can not cover all the scopes of the possible
discrimination comprehensively. For example,
Education
Weakness
It should…
Could not help the
ethnic children to study
in Chinese schools
assist ethnic students in
their studies by
providing more
resources (e.g.
translation for parents,
hiring ethnic assistants )
Could not provide a
easy and official
recognized curriculum
of Chinese for ethnic
minority students
Practice “Chinese as
second language” policy
to provide the ethnic
minority students a
better chance to get into
university
Weakness
It should …
Vocational Training
Could only provide
Chinese vocational
training  language
problem may not
acquire specific skills
from training courses
Provide training
programme in English
/ or provide translation
fro the ethnic
minorities
Public Services
Job vacancies
published are all in
Chinese minorities
find it difficult to find
jobs
Translate them into
English to give equal
access to all
information
We can see that the bill could not help to alleviate the problem much
What else can be done?
Civic Education should be the
most effective long term solution.
What else can be done?
• Civil Education for the next generation :
a long-term and get-to-the-root solution
The message of racial equality should penetrate in people’s
mind from a young age, which is the most easily
influenced period.
Example: exchanges programmes, talks, part of the
curriculum
 understand the minorities’ cultures and to respect
them(such as Muslims don’t eat pork because of their
religion, or Indians eat with clean hands)
• Obligations of government:.
- different government organization can evaluate
their attitude towards different races. They
should adjust their policies if there is any
discriminative element
- strengthen the anti-racism organizations( e.g.
Race Relations Unit) in order to settle racial
disputes and promote racial harmony more
efficiently
- help improve the social status of immigrants by
holding courses that teach the ethnic groups to
learn the mother tongue in Hong Kong , so as to
get over the communication problem and increase
their compatibility when apply the job
• Assistance of the media : the media is a
powerful educational tool for the general public.It
should produce more programmes which
spread the message of racial harmony
What can we do?
(different parties)
As citizens
In our daily life:
•Mind our wordings- never label the minority groups with
nicknames (e.g. Ah Cha, Bun Bun)
•Mind our attitude- never consider ourselves as superior group –
we are all equal. (Some Filipinos are domestic helpers, not our
slaves)
•Mind our behaviour- respect the custom of other culture (e.g.
do not prepare pork dishes for the Islam)
As government
What can we do?
(different parties)
•Educate her people through civic education at a young age the
idea of equal opportunity
so as to develop their friendly attitude with other minority group
• provide cultural exchange programmes to let people to know
more about other cultures.
-- > to achieve a multi-cultural society
What can we do?
(different parties)
As employers
•to employ talents regardless of their races/ colour of their skin
•Give everyone a fair chance. Do not demand too much on the
minorities. Sometimes, certain kinds of job do not require the
ability to speak, or even write in fluent Cantonese, so it should
not be an excuse to refuse to employ a non-Chinese.
Conclusion
• Undoubtedly, legislation is the immediate way to combat
racial discrimination problem but it should be the way to
confine our offensive behaviour only. The problem could not
be cured from the root if people do not have the appropriate
attitude and correct manner to treat the minorities. Therefore,
civic education about racial harmony is vital to foster mutual
tolerance and the best solution to establishing a city of
diversified cultures.
Reference List
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination
http://www.hkhrm.org.hk/database/english/et010.html
ffice of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
http://www.unhchr.ch/
ome Affairs bureau, Hong Kong SAR Government:
www.hab.gov.hk
Race Relations Unit
http://www.hab.gov.hk/rru/tc_chi/aboutus/aboutus_rru.html
Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor
http://www.hkhrm.org.hk/english/reports/press/pr301098.html
http://www.hkhrm.org.hk/english/reports/survey.html
Asian Migrants
http://www.asianmigrants.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4&
Itemid=29
Asia Monitor Resource Center (AMRC) - Asian Labour Home
http://www.amrc.org.hk/5301.html
ACKGROUNDER ON ENACTING A RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
LEGISLATIONFOR HONG KONG
http://www.hkhrm.org.hk/0905seminar/backgrounder.pdf
Discussion
• 1. Why legislation is urgently needed in Hong
Kong?
• 2. Why do people support legislation?
• 3. What are the factors hinder the passing of
legislation?
• 4. Besides legislation, what other ways can be
done to eliminate racial discrimination?
• 5. As a student, what can be done to foster racial
harmony?