Media

HKU Centre for Comparative and Public Law and Zubin Foundation to release report on Status of Ethnic Minorities in Hong Kong 1997-2014

22 Sep 2015

The Zubin Foundation, in partnership with the Centre for Comparative and Public Law (CCPL), the Faculty of Law, the University of Hong Kong will release a report on “The Status of Ethnic Minorities in Hong Kong 1997-2014” tomorrow (September 23, Wednesday).

The Zubin Foundation is a not for profit think tank working on social issues that don’t receive enough attention in Hong Kong. The report was commissioned by Co-founder and Chair of the foundation Ms. Shalini Mahtani and conducted by CCPL Director Ms Puja Kapai.

This is the first coherent report that reviews research on ethnic minorities and makes key recommendations for future policymaking in priority areas. The report covers all areas of life, from crime and health to employment and education, of ethnic minority people in the territory. What is unique too about this research is that two ethnic minority women, Shalini Mahtani and Puja Kapai, are behind it.

For many years the Hong Kong government has been asking for evidence of the fact that ethnic minorities are being marginalised in Hong Kong. The research compiled gives a fairly complete picture. Ethnic minorities are less educated, tend to be overwhelmingly in elementary occupations, have lower income levels and are much more likely to be poor and it’s therefore not surprising that their crime rates are rising. It’s hard to be an ethnic minority in Hong Kong - with discrimination and exclusion. The question is how committed is Hong Kong to address this.

The findings of the report would be of interest to the Government, policy makers, employers, educators, grant givers and NGOs.

A panel discussion entitled “Critical Issues Facing Ethnic Minorities in Hong Kong” moderated by Ms Shalini Mahtani will be held follow the launch of the report.

Details are as follows:
Date: September 23, 2015 (Wednesday)
Time: 8:30 to 10am
Venue: Main Dining Room, The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong, 2 Lower Albert Road, Central, Hong Kong

Speakers for launch of the report
  Puja Kapai, Associate Professor Director of CCPL Faculty of Law, HKU
  Shalini Mahtani, Co-Founder, Chair of The Zubin Foundation

Panel discussion on “Critical Issues Facing Ethnic Minorities in Hong Kong”
Ÿ   Dr. York Chow, Chairperson, Equal Opportunities Commission
Ÿ   Robin Hu, Chief Executive Officer, SCMP Group
Ÿ   Phyllis Cheung, Executive Director, HK Unison
Ÿ   Meena Datwani, Director-General (Enforcement), Hong Kong Monetary Authority
Ÿ   Vivek Mahbubani, Hong Kong-bred bilingual stand-up commedian

Moderator
Shalini Mahtani

About The Zubin Foundation
The Zubin Mahtani Gidumal Foundation (also known as The Zubin Foundation) is a social policy think tank committed to improving the lives of Hong Kong people. Our focus is on issues that do not receive sufficient attention in Hong Kong. Our current areas of work include ethnic minorities, patient care and special education needs (SEN) of non Chinese speaking children. The Zubin Foundation was established by two Hong Kong individuals, Shalini Mahtani and Ravi Gidumal in memory of their son Zubin who died tragically in 2009. (See www.zubinfoundation.org)

About the Centre of Comparative and Public Law, the University of Hong Kong
The Centre for Comparative and Public Law (CCPL) was established in 1995 as a non-profit virtual research centre at the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong. Its goals are to (1) advance knowledge on public law and human rights issues primarily from the perspectives of international and comparative law and practice; (2) encourage and facilitate collaborative work within the Faculty of Law, the University of Hong Kong, and the broader community in the fields of comparative and public law; and (3) make the law more accessible to the community and more effective as an agent of social change. It has over 20 years of experience in conducting contract and other research in the field of public and comparative law. (See: http://www.law.hku.hk/ccpl/ )

Media contact (Cantonese, Putonghua and English languages)
Sandy Chan
Programme Director, The Zubin Foundation
Tel: +858 6421 2677
sandy@zubinfoundation.org