Seminar

From Race Discrimination Legislation to the Development of Equal Opportunities in Postcolonial Hong Kong

Asia/Hong_KongFrom Race Discrimination Legislation to the Development of Equal Opportunities in Postcolonial Hong Kong
    Asia/Hong_KongFrom Race Discrimination Legislation to the Development of Equal Opportunities in Postcolonial Hong Kong
      Overview

      Title:

      From Race Discrimination Legislation to the Development of Equal Opportunities in Postcolonial Hong Kong

      Speaker:

      Miss Baig Raees Begum (PhD Candidate, Department of Social Work & Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong)

      Date:

      November 25, 2009

      Time:

      4:30 pm

      Venue:

      The Reading Room, Room G-4 (Ground Floor), Tang Chi Ngong Building, The University of Hong Kong

      Language:

      English

      Enquiry:

      (Tel) (852) 2859-2460
      (Email) casgen@hku.hk

      Abstract

      Under rapid globalisation, domestic policies have come under the growing influence of the external forces. Starting from the late colonial era, members of Hong Kong’s civil society have been increasingly lobbying the United Nations to strengthen their influence on local policymaking. However, different from the usual trilateral relationship among the state, the civil society and the UN, Hong Kong is tripped in two trilateral relationships with the Chinese Government forming the other angle. As stipulated by the Basic Law that the Central People’s Government shall be responsible for the foreign affairs relating to the HKSAR, the internationalisation of the current race discrimination legislation debate not only enriched the dynamics of the local actors, but also drew in the sovereign state in the debate. Though not directly involved in the debate, the sovereign state’s attitude towards international pressure and its mentality on race relations have constantly shaped the local debate.

      Through exploring the relationships among the four policymaking forces which shaped the development of race relations in Hong Kong, the study found that the relationships among the political actors have never been static and their evolving relationships have shaped the outcome of the legislation. Being the first equal opportunity debate after the handover, such actors’ interaction pattern could further serve as an example to future equal opportunity debates in the contemporary Hong Kong.

      Poster