Letters | How the ‘ethnic minority’ label is loaded with meaning in Hong Kong

Readers discuss how the term is often used negatively to refer to less privileged people who have trouble learning Chinese, and worker protections in hot climates

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The Hong Kong men’s team lift the trophy at the Asia Rugby Seven Series 2021 in Dubai. Demographically speaking, some Hong Kong sports teams are composed mainly of ethnic minorities. Yet, the term “ethnic minority” is often used to describe a less privileged segment of the population. Photo: Asia Rugby

Published: 2:30pm, 31 Aug 2022

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According to a common definition of the term, an “ethnic minority” is a particular ethnic group or a group of people with a shared culture, tradition, language, history, etc., living in a country where most people are from a different ethnic group. Aligned with this and according to the 2021 population census results, in 2021, there were 619,568 persons of non-Chinese ethnicity in Hong Kong, constituting 8.4 per cent of the whole population in the city.

Thus, in Hong Kong, if one is not of Chinese origin and thus in the ethnic majority, then one is an ethnic minority – irrespective of their country of origin. So, Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities include all non-ethnic Chinese in the city – be they be from Malaysia, Nigeria, Brazil, the US, the UK, Australia, Japan and so on.

Yet, to judge by the constant mentions by various commentators and media platforms, the term “ethnic minority” is used ever so frequently and most unfortunately in an negative manner. They specifically refer to a particular segment – the educationally or socio-economically marginalised non- Chinese-speaking community of Hong Kong.

The socio-economically fortunate segment does not have to suffer the trials and travails of being branded as people who are unable to learn Chinese or whom local schoolteachers find it hard to teach Chinese. It therefore follows that the core issue and common narrative is not about being an “ethnic minority”; the issue is about being of non-Chinese ethnicity and coming from a less privileged or a marginalised background.

There are many non-Chinese-speaking “ethnic minorities” in Hong Kong contributing towards the city’s socio-economic well-being, be it in roles as captains of industry, extremely generous philanthropists or owners of blue-chip corporations. Hong Kong’s national sports teams (for example, the rugby and cricket teams) are almost entirely composed of ethnic minorities and they represent the city with immense pride and honour.

The international schools in Hong Kong do not use divisive terms such as “ethnic minority” and rightly so, as education is about inclusion.