Media

The largest ever study of ethnic minority youth and their aspirations, challenges and sense of identity has been conducted and co-authored by Associate Professor Puja Kapai from the Centre for Comparative and Public Law, Faculty of Law, at the University of Hong Kong and the Zubin Foundation. 253 ethnic minority youth between the ages of 16 and 24 were interviewed.

Of the ethnic minority youth interviewed, over two thirds (64%) were born in Hong Kong. Others were born in Pakistan (11%), Nepal (9%), the Philippines (6%) and India (3%). Most of them were from low income families.

The study revealed that 84% of ethnic minority youth are happy in Hong Kong, yet 43% of them do not think that they will live in Hong Kong in 10 years’ time. “This is mainly because of language barriers that result in employment and social exclusion. We can expect a brain drain if things do not improve,” said Professor Kapai.

The report also looked at terminology. When the respondents were asked “How do you feel about being called an ‘ethnic minority?”, only 7% of youth like the term. An overwhelming majority (72%) of the respondents indicated that ‘It’s okay’. About a fifth of the respondents (18%) do not like being called an ‘ethnic minority’. Most of them would prefer to be called a Hong Konger or a Hong Kong Pakistani, for example.

“Over 60% of ethnic minority youth respondents were born in Hong Kong but most of them expressed that Hong Kong Chinese think negatively of them. Enhanced public education is needed to dispel negative stereotypes held by the general population against ethnic minorities. We need to get into schools to teach children that all of us are Hongkongers regardless of our different ethnic and cultural backgrounds,“ said Mr Ming Wai Lau, Founder and Director of MWYO, which is a youth-oriented think tank and a collaborator for this project.

The Zubin Foundation’s Founder, Ms Shalini Mahtani said that what is needed is a two-pronged approach- the first was education. “The youth need Chinese language to have a career in Hong Kong and they know this. We recommend that the Hong Kong government consider a Top Up Chinese Scholarship Fund so that these youth have an opportunity to learn Chinese, post-secondary school, to a high level, so that they can access universities and careers”. There is also a need for a revamping of imagery of ethnic minorities. “Ethnic minority youth feel invisible- they do not see themselves on the MTR and in government advertisements. The government can easily change that”.

Puja Kapai reiterated: “In the face of rising global populism, negative and harmful stereotypes which alienate Hong Kong’s ethnic minority youth must be urgently tackled. As the findings reveal, these ethnic minority Hong Kongers have a wide range of career aspirations, rooted in their belief that they have much to offer Hong Kong, their home. However, nearly half of the respondents are envisioning a future outside of Hong Kong. This would be a tremendous loss of a diverse talent pool. It is imperative that the government think of a holistic approach to develop the necessary conditions to nuture from young this population group, which shares a deep commitment to Hong Kong’s future. They see their past, present and future closely entertwined with that of Hong Kong.”

Mrs Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, the Chief Executive of the HKSARG was at the launch of the report and said: “Ethnic minority population forms an integral part of our social fabric and has an increasingly important presence in Hong Kong. Non-ethnic Chinese youth is, without a doubt, an asset to the dynamics of our society and a valuable pool of human resources to contribute to Hong Kong with its array of talents, language proficiencies, skillsets and network. The Government is committed to continuing our support and assistance to meet the diversified needs of our ethnic minority community.”

Notes to Editors: 
Executive Summary - Chinese
https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/da2d17_9aac7c9d1a174a7798e1b2b10b1d42b3.pdf

Executive Summary - English
https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/da2d17_89a5e6503e0047b4814684df8f8df387.pdf

Full Report
https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/da2d17_15ec7967235d4fe69ffe5ae78dc8dc5b.pdf

Media contact:
Sandy Chan
Programme Director, The Zubin Foundation
Tel: +858 6421 2677
sandy@zubinfoundation.org

About The Zubin Foundation
The Zubin Mahtani Gidumal Foundation (also known as The Zubin Foundation) is a non-partisan social policy think tank and registered charity committed to shedding light on enduring barriers to fairness and opportunity Hong Kong. The Zubin Foundation’s core focuses are ethnic minority welfare and patient welfare. 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