Racial harmony in Hong Kong can begin by building bridges between ethnic minority and Chinese youth

Paul W.C. Wong and Gizem Arat say it is just as important to highlight similarities between ethnic minorities and the majority population as acknowledging their differences

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Young women from Hong Kong’s ethnic minority communities check their placards before submitting their wish list for the policy address to then chief executive Leung Chun-ying in 2017. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 5:55pm, 20 Mar 2018Updated: 5:55pm, 20 Mar 2018

March 21 is International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which aims to raise awareness of cultural diversity and social inclusion worldwide. In Hong Kong, where ethnic minorities comprise 8 per cent of the population, ethnic minority youth in particular should be the focus of efforts to promote racial harmony and tolerance for three reasons.

First, the latest census data shows that while the overall number of youth in Hong Kong decreased over the past 10 years, the population of non-Chinese youth increased from 13,117 in 2006 (1.5 per cent of the youth population) to 27,651 in 2016 (3.6 per cent).

Second, in a rapidly ageing Hong Kong, we not only need a large but also a strong and united working population to support socioeconomic development.

Third, after closing “designated schools” in 2013-14, more non-Chinese students are now attending “mainstream” schools. Hence, racial harmony between Chinese and non-Chinese young people has recently been the focus of attention.

From a social policy perspective, although the language barrier is the biggest hurdle to achieving racial harmony, raising awareness of unity and respect for racial and cultural diversity among the Chinese majority is equally important. This cannot succeed solely through the efforts of the government and non-government organisations. Rather, every Chinese person should appreciate the advantages of diversity at school, work and in the community.