Letters | ‘Ethnic minority problems’ are really education and poverty problems
Readers discuss the negative stereotypes associated with Hongkongers of South Asian origin, a stumbling block in a controversial housing plan, and China’s automation
According to the 2021 population census, 91.6 per cent of Hong Kong’s population are Chinese, and the remaining 8.4 per cent (irrespective of race, skin colour and country of origin) are of non-Chinese ethnicity. Like all migrants who leave their ancestral country for another place, they are classified as ethnic minorities in their adopted home. Such categorisation by the Census and Statistics Department is a useful informational tool for effective governance. But this should not be misused as a label for creating certain narratives.
That the term “ethnic minority” has dismally devolved into a generalisation that refers only to South Asians and the ones that are in perennial need of saving is most disappointing. However, indulging in grammatical gymnastics to move away from the term “ethnic minority” is not going to divest it of the stereotypical stigma that has become inseparably associated with it.
What we can do is add some context. It can’t be that hard to quantify the term with descriptions such as “underserved” and “socio-economically marginalised”. Like in other societies, the social challenge being referred to frequently relates to class, status and income, rather than ethnicity itself.
The incredible contribution and leadership of ethnic minorities is unquestionably etched in the city’s socio-economic fabric. When this continues to be the case even today, why then is this positive picture of ethnic minorities not reflected in the media?
