More Funds Urged For NGOs Aiding Ethnic Minorities

The government has been urged to work more closely with NGOs who are assisting ethnic minorities, and give them more funds, to make sure ethnic minorities have equal access to public services and to help them better integrate into the local community.

A special task force under the Commission on Poverty made the recommendations, after interviewing 130 people of South Asian origin, as well as about 50 staff members from government departments and NGOs.

In its report, the task force said some South Asians, despite having settled in Hong Kong for generations and taken the city as their home, have difficulty integrating into society and moving up the social ladder because of language barriers, cultural differences, low education and a lack of skills.

The task force acknowledged that the government and NGOs have been helping them overcome such difficulties, but said there is room for improvement.

It said the government should give more funding to NGOs and work more closely with them. Specifically, it said government departments should approach NGOs in different districts to provide interpretation assistance, so that ethnic minorities have better access to public services.

The report said the government should award longer grant agreements to non-governmental service centres commissioned by the Home Affairs Department to allow for longer-term planning, and for staff members to build up their relationship with people from ethnic minorities.

The list of recommendations also includes ways in which government departments can improve their own services.

The report said the Home Affairs Department should design a mechanism to help new arrivals.

It said the Labour Department should work with NGOs to organise seminars for employers to help them accommodate ethnic minorities’ cultural and religious practices, and hold talks for job seekers on local labour market conditions.

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