CS: Don't Overlook Potential Of Minorities

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung has hailed the contribution of Hong Kong's 263,000 ethnic minority residents, describing them as an "important source of manpower" whose "potential should not be overlooked".

Writing on his official blog, he said the administration had implemented a range of policies intended to help minority residents, including extra funding for schools that take in minority pupils, support for parents who don't speak Chinese and more ethnic minority recruitment by the disciplined services.

Urging Hong Kong people to cherish the SAR's "rationalism, inclusiveness, harmony and diversity", Cheung wrote: "The government has all along been committed to building a caring and inclusive society and providing comprehensive support for [ethnic minorities] to facilitate their enjoyment of equal opportunities and integration into the community."

Cheung said that, in his role as chairman of the steering committee on ethnic minority affairs, he had met many different ethnic minority communities and visited centres for ethnic minorities.

"Amongst them, students and youths expressed to me their difficulties in learning Chinese and concern over their career prospects," he wrote.

Cheung said Chief Executive Carrie Lam's policy address this month contained a series of initiatives to help ethnic minorities, in addition to a HK$500 million package of measures announced last year.

The blog post was published a week after a police water cannon sprayed blue dye over the Kowloon Mosque, aggravating many Muslims. Officials moved quickly to apologise to the Muslim community. Cheung did not mention the incident in his post.