Page 58 - Preservation for the Documentation of Chinese Christianity

Hong Kong Church Leaders' Statement on
Race Discrimination Legislation

W e w elcom e the introduction o f legislation to render discrim ination, harassm ent and vilification, on the
ground of race, unlawful. The C hristian Church, "which heralds the m essage o f love, the Christian Gospel,
categorically condem ns racism, xenophobia, and all form s of related intolerance as destructive to the vision
of peace which God desires and which human beings, organizations of goodwill, and above all the Church,
aim to prom ote." (His All Holiness the Ecum enical Patriarch Bartholomew, Statem ent for the UN Durban W orld
Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance, 2001). W e hold that
"racism is a sin because it separates us from God and our fellow human beings making us blind to the reality
o f people's suffering... Racism is a sin because it is a blatant denial of the Christian Faith and incom patible
with the G ospel... Racism is prim arily a sin because it destroys the very source o f hum anity - the image of
God in hum ankind." (World Council o f Churches, Central Committee, 2 0 0 2 ).

W e w elcom e the Governm ent's intention to introduce legislation against racial discrim ination in fulfillm ent
o f Hong K ong's international obligations. The International C onvention on the Elim ination o f All Form s of
Racial D iscrim ination w as extended to Hong Kong in 1969 and continues to apply to the Hong Kong SAR.
The UN Com m ittee on the Elim ination o f Racial Discrim ination, the UN Human Rights Com m ittee, and the
UN C om m ittee on Econom ic, Social and C ultural Rights, all have m aintained that the C onvention obliges
signatories to introduce specific legislation and have repeatedly urged the Hong Kong governm ent to take
action.

T he R ace D iscrim in a tio n Bill is u n d o u b te d ly a step fo rw a rd , b ut its lim ited scope (e xclu d in g m any
g o ve rn m en t acts from its coverage) w ill leave a num ber o f problem s unsolved. A p a rt from hoping that
m eaningful im provem ents will be made to the Bill, we are particularly concerned with the areas of education
and translation services offered by governm ent departm ents. Resources m ust be made available to overcom e
discrim ination in these two areas.
W e urge the governm ent to continue improving the teaching of Chinese to ethnic m inority students, so that
they can becom e as proficient as possible. Knowledge of the language is essential to advance integration,
to further vocational training and higher learning, and to help youth belonging to ethnic m inorities to pursue a
career.

The provision o f translation in governm ent services is essential to m ake them accessible to m em bers
o f ethnic minorities. Job openings advertised by the Labour Departm ent and notices issued by the Housing
D epartm ent should also be in English. There needs to be im provem ents in translation services fo r ethnic
m inority languages in the medical services.

Today is Human Rights Day, we call on all parts of our com m unity to com bat racial discrim ination in our
m id s t:

------- on the governm ent to live up to its obligation under UN International Convention on the Elim ination of All
Forms of Racial Discrim ination.

------- on the churches to raise the awareness of racial discrim ination am ong their m em bers and to sharpen
their consciences of racism as sin.
------- on all citizens to refrain from acts and words discrim inating against people from other races.

Mt. Rev. Card. Joseph Ze-Kiun ZEN
M etropolitan Nikitas LULIAS

Rt. Rev. Dr. Thom as SOO
Rev. Ralph Ting Sun LEE