Care team for minorities raring to go

A care team for ethnic minorities will start within the year, says Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration Warner Cheuk Wing-hing.

The initiative is part of a set of measures unveiled by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu in his policy address last October, aimed at supporting integration into the community, especially in the education, employment, welfare and health-care sectors.

Cheuk, speaking at the opening ceremony of the Racial Diversity and Inclusion Sports Day, organized by the Equal Opportunities Commission at Hang Seng University, said significant progress has been made in promoting equal opportunities since the enactment of the Race Discrimination Ordinance 15 years ago.

"Over 400 enterprises have signed the racial diversity and inclusion chapter for employers, compared to just 11 at the beginning," he said.

Also, the number of schools participating in the scheme increased from 60 to 179.

"The government has been adding resources to the commission since 2015 to establish ethnic minorities units and strengthen its work in areas such as promotion, education, training, and community engagement," he said. As part of efforts to facilitate in the integration, the government has encouraged departments to design language tests tailored to the specific positions, as an alternative way for applicants to meet requirements.

"More than 300 ethnic minority applicants passed the Chinese/English written exam designed for police recruitment," Cheuk said.

He added that basic Chinese training has been provided to students in government internships.

Highlighting the importance of emotional and counseling support, Cheuk said the operation of a service center in Jordan was established last year.

Recognizing the number of non-ethnic Chinese individuals living in Hong Kong, many of whom were born or have settled in the city, Cheuk said that they are an integral part of the "Hong Kong family."

In addition to the existing eight service centers, the government has initiated preparatory work for establishing two support service centers in Kowloon Central and New Territories East.

ayra.wang@singtaonewscorp.com