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LettersEthnic minorities in Hong Kong: how community centres can foster integration

Readers discuss efforts to create a more inclusive city, a recent suspected murder-suicide case, and a heartwarming experience on a minibus

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People visit Hong Kong’s first-ever outdoor halal food festival, co-organised by the M.E.L.T. Ethnic Minority Resources Centre and the Hong Kong Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community, in Tsim Sha Tsui on April 19. Photo: Nora Tam
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The push for greater integration of non-Chinese Hongkongers, including those of South Asian descent, into Hong Kong society has led to multiple initiatives. The enactment of legal instruments and the establishment of the Equal Opportunities Commission have provided a legal remedy and oversight in the fight against discrimination.

More recently, the city has set up care teams and community centres focused on members of ethnic minority groups in various districts to help them better integrate into the community. There are 10 such centres, providing various services such as language classes, recreational activities, psychosocial support and after-school tutoring.

While these services are important and the government’s commitment to helping the ethnic minority community is sincere, it must be asked whether these centres are doing enough to promote integration, or if they are unwittingly maintaining the status quo. A vital step towards integration would be to initiate programmes that foster connections between ethnic minorities and the majority group.

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