Minority Hong Kong groups seek better language and allocation policies for housing

Minority groups have complained about the language barrier they face in applying for public housing.

Eleven Pakistanis and two Nepalese representatives met members of the Housing Authority’s subsidised housing committee yesterday to demand better public services for minorities, as they have difficulties understanding both English and Chinese, while insufficient interpretation services are provided.

“We have been thinking about the issue for years, but it is inefficient to hire staff for only one language group, as the staff might only deal with one or two cases a day,” said committee chairman Stanley Wong Yuen-fai. “We will study an efficient way to cope with this problem.”

However, Li Ka-shu from the Diocesan Pastoral Centre for Workers, who is helping the minority representatives, said this was the fourth time they had raised the issue since 2012 and there had been little improvement.

“There is a female Pakistani who made an application in 2009, but she did not understand the letters sent by the government,” Li said.

Apart from language services, housing allocation is also a problem. A Pakistani woman said she was part of a big family, but she was allocated only a small flat.