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John Brennan

According to the government’s 2011 population census, about 451,000 local residents, or roughly 6 per cent of the population identify themselves as non-Chinese.
Ten-year-old Joelle Gabatino, whose family hails from the Philippines, attends TKDS Fong Shu Chuen Primary School and, because the medium of instruction is Chinese, she receives extra learning support as a non-native speaker.
“We have some teaching assistants who can speak our language and support our activities,” she says.
She has not had major problems, but recognising a widespread concern, Hong Kong-based property developer Hip Shing Hong has initiated a special CSR programme to assist children with roots in the Philippines, Nepal, India, Thailand and Pakistan. Not all children from one of Hong Kong’s ethnic minority groups have the good fortune to attend the “right” school, with the result that they struggle to fit in and may fall behind with their studies.
As a first step, the company held a Christmas party last year, which proved a big success.
“I enjoyed the games and had a warm feeling when I received Christmas gifts from the organiser,” Gabatino says.
David Fong, managing director of Hip Shing Hong, was delighted with the response. But as a board member of a primary school with a relatively large number of ethnic minority students, he is well aware of the challenges children encounter and that more can be done to help.
The company’s plan is to engage more closely with relevant schools and communities to establish a well targeted programme able to deliver long-term results.
“It is important to integrate children from minority communities and give them just as many opportunities as other kids in Hong Kong,” Fong says. “Our CSR project will try to give them a sense of belonging, so they feel they are cared about.”
For non-Chinese children, the initial language barrier obviously makes it that much harder to make friends and keep up in class. Their mother tongue and perhaps some words of English don’t really help in a school environment where lessons are in Cantonese or Putonghua.

It is important to integrate children from minority communities and give them just as many opportunities as other kids in Hong Kong
DAVID FONG

The adverse effects of this difficult start can extend well beyond school days, eventually harming prospects at university or job interviews.
“Perhaps the government and NGOs can encourage schools to employ more teachers who know ethnic minority languages,” Fong says. “They could also teach them to speak Putonghua and Cantonese well.”
This would also show that Hong Kong cares about the needs of all parts of society and is prepared to make the necessary effort to integrate families from other countries.
Fong believes that promoting social inclusivity is in the interests of Hongkongers from a Chinese background. A divided society, where certain groups feel disadvantaged and discriminated against, can lead to increased levels of discontent and other social problems.
“In the long term, we need to integrate children from minority communities so they too can climb the income ladder,” he says. “If not, the challenges are only going to grow.”
On a positive note, Fong suggests that China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, designed to improve trade and economic ties with countries across Asia, can create new kinds of opportunities.
“This opens up the possibility of upward mobility for ethnic minorities in Hong Kong,” he says. “If, say, a company has a project in Pakistan or India and someone based in Hong Kong has the qualifications and knows the language and culture, that person would probably be a better candidate.”


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Early intervention can ensure children from ethnic minority families don’t start off at a disadvantage.


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