IMPACT OF DIVERSITY LIST CANDIDATES 2016 - 2019

Diversity List was set up to increase the voices of ethnic minorities on government Advisory and Statutory Bodies (ASBs). In total, The Zubin Foundation has put forward a total of 98 candidates for the HKSAR government to consider, see Figure 11. Since then, the government has made 36 appointments for 23 individual Diversity List candidates (as seen in Figure 11), and this means that 23.5% of all those candidates that we have put forward have been selected. This is tremendously successful.

TotalAppointments MadetoDiversity ListCandidates

The HKSAR government has substantially increased the numbers of ethnic minortities on ASBs. Prior to 2016 when Diversity List began, there were less than a dozen ethnic minoirities on ASBs, excluding Caucasians.

In addition to the numbers of ethnic minorities on ASBs, the SAR government has also sought to include ethnic minorities on ASBs that have a higher number of Bureaux Secretaries and Heads. This demonstrates the administration’s commitment to understanding, as well as including, the ethnic minority voice in the institutional framework of Hong Kong. This is critical if Hong Kong is to begin to address large systemic problems that pertain to ethnic minorities including education, discrimination and poverty. Of course, including ethnic minorities brings countless additional benefits to Hong Kong as a whole; by including individuals from diverse backgrounds, Hong Kong stands to gain from wider perspectives.

There is much work to be done to continue to embed the representation of Hong Kong’s ethnic minorities throughout the work of the government. For example we believe that each ASB should have at least one ethnic minority voice and that at least 4% of all members on ASBs should be ethnic minorities. This would mirror the actual composition of the Hong Kong population. In addition, and just as pertinent, is the desperate need in Hong Kong for leadership to start to ensure there is visibility of ethnic minorities in all their public websites and media. Again, this message of ethnic minorities as part of Hong Kong must be reflected.

Including our 2020 candidates, The Zubin Foundation has now put forward a total of 122 candidates, seen below.