【明報專訊】Race can be about one's ethnicity, skin colour, ancestry and nation. The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination came into effect in 1969 and was joined by China in 1981. It became applicable to Hong Kong on 1st July 1997. In July 2009 the Race Discrimination Ordinance was enacted in Hong Kong, outlawing discrimination, harassment and defamation on the grounds of race.

One of the Ordinance's failings

The Race Discrimination Ordinance in Hong Kong does not apply to government departments such as law enforcement agencies. 23-year-old Waqas, who is of Pakistani descent, said in an interview conducted in March 2019 that since he was eight he had been subjected to nearly 30 body searches and had been repeatedly asked whether he had abused drugs or shoplifted. He was proved innocent every time. He argued that policemen had investigated him without good reason, and was hoping that the government would amend the ordinance so that it applied to the government. The government once expressed worry that such an amendment would result in a lot of lawsuits. Hong Kong Unison responded by pointing out that all ordinances concerning discrimination apply to the government, and the Race Discrimination Ordinance is the only exception.

Racism content banned on YouTube

In June 2019 YouTube, a video-sharing website, announced new policies and banned videos that praised Nazism and discrimination. Scott Allsopp, a Romanian who taught history at an international school, had a lot of historical videos on his channel including a speech made by Adolf Hitler when he became Chancellor. His channel was removed, but was restored after his appeal.

''Anti-China'' advertisement?

In February 2019 Zara, a Spanish fashion brand, unveiled an advertisement for its make-up products on Weibo. It featured Chinese model Li Jingwen, whose face was covered in freckles. Some netizens criticised the advertisement for implying that ''Asian women were freckled and yellow-skinned.'' The China Youth Daily, a mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China, commented that the advertisement did not ''uglify'' Chinese people. Zara responded by saying that the photo was taken in natural settings and the incident reflected ''a difference in aesthetics''.

Mermaid played by a black woman

In July 2019, Disney announced that 19-year-old Halle Bailey from the African American group Chloe×Halle(who are sisters), would play Princess Ariel in The Little Mermaid, a traditionally ginger-haired white character. This led to mixed reactions from netizens. Some praised the move while others said they would boycott the film for departing from the original story.

Translated by Terence Yip

[通通識 第602期]