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The 2021 census statistics show there were over 600,000 non-Chinese residents in Hong Kong, accounting for 8.4% of the city’s total population. In a diverse society such as ours, cultural inclusion has always been a subject of discussion. This autumn, a group of Link University Scholarship recipients set out to understand the lives of Hong Kong’s non-Chinese communities through site visits and meetings with young people from different cultures. Their visit included stops at The Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council TOUCH Support Centre, which provides support for non-Chinese communities in Tung Chung, mosques and ethnic grocery stores.
Aliese, who is studying English-language education at the University of Hong Kong, has been looking for opportunities to interact with the city’s non-Chinese communities. As soon as she heard about the visit, she put her name down right away.
“They introduced me to their food, and are also not shy about sharing the challenges they encounter in their daily lives,” Aliese said. “It almost felt like they cherish these occasions even more than we do.”
With an aspiration of becoming a teacher after graduation, Aliese said the conversations allowed her to better understand the challenges faced by non-Chinese residents when they try to integrate with the mainstream community. One young person shared with her the hardship he had to endure because of the language barrier, which also impedes his school work.
Kenny, another participant, is a medical student at the Hong Kong Baptist University. Like Aliese, he said the tour opened his eyes to the challenges non-Chinese residents of Hong Kong face, including shopping for daily necessities. Even though non-Chinese people make up a relatively large portion of the population in Tung Chung, there are still only a handful of grocery stores that cater to their needs.
“There is still room for improvement,” said Kenny, adding that many of the non-Chinese residents already see Hong Kong as their permanent home. “The head of the local mosque spoke with us in fluent Cantonese. And they welcome the general population to tour the mosque and to get to know Islamic culture. To me, this is an important way to achieve cultural inclusion.”
The one-day visit was an opportunity for local university students to better understand Hong Kong’s non-Chinese communities. And most of them came to the conclusion that despite the differences in lifestyle, language and food, Hong Kong’s Chinese and non-Chinese communities actually share many things in common. The key is to build more bridges to help link these different communities. Some of the suggestions being put forward include food festivals and ethnic costume exhibitions, which can be promoted to the wider community through social media. “We all live under the same sky,” said Aliese “And thanks to my experience today, I’m now able to better tell the difference between Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism.”
Faye Chan, the Service Supervisor of the Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council and the organiser of this visit, pointed out the importance of mutual respect in achieving cultural and ethnic inclusion. To help non-Chinese people raise their sense of belonging and capability, the Council and the TOUCH Centre organize various developmental and supportive activities, language classes and counselling services for them.
This visit turned out to be a valuable experience for both the university students and participants from the non-Chinese communities. Yelija, a Nepalese Program Worker of The Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council B Square Outreaching Team for Ethnic Minorities, said that it was her first time speaking with local Hong Kong students in such a relaxing atmosphere, which enabled everyone to talk freely about their own culture, food and views about the local education system and lifestyles. “Even though we come from different cultures, this exchange really helped us build a better understanding with each other,” she said.
Achieving cultural inclusion always seems daunting, yet every little step can be a big help. “The visit was organised and carried out together by Yelija and teammates,” said Faye. “What we are trying to do is to give participants a framework and direction, and then let them work out the details.” She added their ultimate goal is to allow non-Chinese youth like Yelija understand the value of social service – how it can both help those in need and allow those involved to build their careers and integrate into society.
