Hong Kong’s equality watchdog ‘slacking’ in anti-discrimination promotion and education, NGO says
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong’s equality watchdog has not done enough to educate the public on anti-discrimination in recent years, an NGO has said after a Paralympic athlete was turned away by a restaurant because of her wheelchair.
It was “totally unacceptable” that boccia player Ho Yuen-kei, who bagged two gold medals at the Paris Paralympics, was barred from entering Thai restaurant Ayutthaya last week, Hong Kong Unison Executive Director John Tse said on a RTHK radio programme on Monday.
According to Ho, who shared her experience on social media platform Threads, staff at the eatery had told her that there was no space for her wheelchair. Although the athlete said her wheelchair did not take up much room when it was parked at the table, she was still denied entry.
Tse described Ho’s encounter as a “textbook definition of discrimination,” saying he was “very surprised” that this kind of treatment still existed after an anti-discrimination law was passed in the city almost 30 years ago.
“The more surprising news is that the EOC is not picking up [the case]. The EOC is supposed to be the enforcer of the anti-discrimination legislation. We really have to re-examine the role of EOC,” Tse said.
The EOC told HKFP last week that while it was “concerned” by Ho’s experience, it would not comment on individual cases. It said if a service provider refused to offer services to someone because of their disability without reasonable justification, they would be seen as breaching the Disability Discrimination Ordinance.
Tse said on Monday that the EOC was responsible for promoting and educating the public about anti-discrimination practices. But the watchdog had been “somewhat slacking behind” in recent years, he said, adding that anti-discrimination was not a common topic of discussion among the general public.
When asked if the catering industry required more training on anti-discrimination practices, Tse said citywide education was needed as discrimination also took place in other sectors. He cited the removal of two individuals with visual impairment from a HK Express flight in May. The case went public in July and was reported to the EOC, but the watchdog later said the incident was a result of improper procedures, not discrimination.
“We are really disappointed with the way how discrimination cases are handled in Hong Kong,” Tse said on RTHK on Monday.
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