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The Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing, said today (October 18) that the Home Affairs Department (HAD) would allocate more resources to expand its services for ethnic minorities, including the setting up of additional support service centres, the provision of more radio programmes in minority languages and the implementation of an ambassador scheme by the end of this year.
The Policy Address proposed the stepping up of support services for ethnic minorities.
Mr Tsang visited a social enterprise and a social service organisation in Kowloon City this afternoon. Before the visits, he went to a vantage point that gave him a panoramic view of the proposed multi-purpose stadium complex at Kai Tak. He said the Government was studying finance options and the mode of operation for the stadium complex and would start the preliminary work as soon as possible.
Accompanied by the Kowloon City District Officer, Miss Winky So, Mr Tsang then toured Kowloon City to learn more about local support services for ethnic minorities as well as their employment and living situation. First he visited the Bread Bunch bakery to learn how this social enterprise assists disadvantaged and ethnic minorities in moving towards self-reliance and early integration into the community.
Established this year with seed capital provided by HAD's Enhancing Self-Reliance Through District Partnership Programme, Bread Bunch is operated by the Urdu Neighbour Centre. In response to a suggestion by the Kowloon City District Office, the Hong Kong Kowloon City Industry and Commerce Association has taken up a collaborational role to assist the centre with grant applications and market research, as well as with tasks such as decoration and design.
Mr Tsang visited the bakery's kitchen to see the local baker and an ethnic minority apprentice at work.
"Ethnic minority groups are a part of the Hong Kong community. The bakery proves that with the support of district personnel and the active participation of non-profit-making organisations, social enterprises are able to provide jobs for the ethnic minorities and enhance their employment skills with the aim of fostering a culture of mutual help, which is worth promoting," he said.
"As was stated in the recent Policy Address announced by the Chief Executive, we will strengthen support for ethnic minorities and new arrivals from the Mainland to facilitate their integration into the community, and to foster mutual understanding and respect within the community.
"Hence, the HAD will open an additional support service centre in Yau Tsim Mong District and two sub-centres in Sham Shui Po and Tung Chung so as to expand the integration programme and provide services for more ethnic minorities. These centres provide a wide range of services including counselling and referral services, interpretation services, Cantonese and English language classes, and a series of integration activities.
At present, the HAD is directly subsidising NGOs to operate four support service centres for ethnic minorities in Wan Chai, Kwun Tong, Yuen Long and Tuen Mun. The centres, together with their district service points, will be able to reach out to ethnic minorities and provide them with support services. Noting that more centres will be opened, Mr Tsang said that together with their district service points, these centres will form a comprehensive district network to help ethnic minorities integrate into the local community.
In addition, to enable ethnic minorities to obtain updated information, Mr Tsang said the HAD would provide radio programmes in Hindi and Thai, in addition to Bahasa Indonesia, Nepali and Urdu. Through these radio programmes, they will be kept informed of important government notices and local news, and also provided with other information and entertainment.
Mr Tsang added that the HAD would launch a new ambassador scheme at the end of this year in districts with more new arrivals and ethnic minorities. Ambassadors will take the initiative to reach out to people who have similar backgrounds to introduce government and related services and refer them to the relevant government departments for further assistance if necessary.
Apart from the bakery, Mr Tsang also visited the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children (HKSPC) where he was briefed on the services provided by the Children and Family Services Centre in Ma Tau Chung. Before concluding the visit, he chatted with students of ethnic minorities attending a homework tutorial in the Centre.
The Centre promotes racial harmony through a series of activities like parties, concerts and leaders' training workshops to encourage people of South Asian origins to establish friendships with local people and enhance their understanding of and belonging to the community.
Ends/Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Issued at HKT 18:58
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