The Zubin Foundation
Improving the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnically diverse individuals by reducing suffering and providing opportunities
2026 Policy Recommendations to Mr John Lee, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
30 June 2026
Email: ceo@ceo.gov.hk
Preamble
Hong Kong’s long-term social cohesion, social harmony and stability depend on building an inclusive society where everyone can fully participate and contribute, including Hong Kong’s ethnically diverse population. With the rapid population growth of the ethnically diverse community, ensuring access to opportunities must become a strategic priority embedded into the HKSARG’s 5-year strategic plan. Drawing on its frontline experience and deep community partnerships, The Zubin Foundation presents these key observations and priority recommendations to ensure societal integration and stability in Hong Kong.
1. Introduction to The Zubin Foundation (TZF)
A. TZF (IR: 91/12344) is a registered charity committed to improving the lives of Hong Kong’s Ethnically Diverse Individuals (EDIs) by reducing suffering and providing opportunities.
B. TZF is an integrated service provider for the Ethnically Diverse (ED) community. We deliver direct services including one-on-one mental health counselling, operating the Call Mira helpline for women in distress, supporting victims of forced marriage and domestic violence, connecting youth to jobs, scholarships, internships and training, counselling children and families facing end-of-life situations, equipping parents with essential skills and knowledge, and engaging the elderly through social and emotional support programmes.
C. TZF also works closely with NGOs, public hospitals, religious organisations and places of worship, as well as government subsidised schools, kindergartens, and other agencies, ensuring broad, trusted, and community embedded reach.
D. Our recommendations set out in this document are based on:
o First-hand experience and observations from our direct work with low-income EDIs.1
o Partnerships with NGOs, medical units and healthcare workers, schools, universities, and other agencies.2
E. Focus areas of our policy recommendations are:
a. Part 1: Ethnically Diverse Individuals of Hong Kong
▪ Section 2: Growth of ED Population: Opportunities and Challenges
▪ Section 3: Children
• Special Educational Needs / Neurodiversity
• Child Safeguarding
▪ Section 4: Youth and Education
▪ Section 5: Women
• Divorce
• Forced Marriage
▪ Section 6: Adult Mental health
▪ Section 7: Elderly
1 See Appendix 1 for List of Multi-Stakeholder Evidence Base and Sources of Insight
2 See Appendix 1 for List of Multi-Stakeholder Evidence Base and Sources of Insight
▪ Section 8: Carers
Improving the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnically diverse individuals by reducing suffering and providing opportunities
▪ Section 9: Advisory and Statutory Bodies
▪ Section 10: Change of Terminology
b. Part 2: Hong Kong as an International Convenor on neurodiversity
▪ Section 11: Hong Kong SEN Situation
▪ Section 12: Hong Kong to become an International Convenor on Neurodiversity
c. Part 3: Building Healthier Digital Environments for Children
▪ Section 13: Social Media
Part 1: Ethnically Diverse Individuals of Hong Kong
2. Growth of ED Population: Opportunities and Challenges
A) Significant Growth in Population: ED Population and ED Youth
a. According to the 2021 Census, the ED population grew significantly between 2011 and 2021, increasing by 53%, excluding foreign domestic helpers (197,022 to 301,344) i
b. During the same period, the ED youth population (aged 15–24) grew even more rapidly by 76% (19,536 to 34,321), with South Asian youth rising by 86% (7,812 to 14,566) ii
B) We anticipate a continued rise in the ED population because:
a. Many Hong Kong born EDIs marry spouses from their country of origin, contributing to sustained population growth.
b. Family sizes within parts of the ED community remain large with the average family size of 6 people.
c. ED women arriving from abroad, particularly from Pakistan, who marry Hong Kong ED men tend to have multiple children, which is a common family norm.
C) Opportunities for Hong Kong
Among the opportunities, two stand out for their strategic value: the continuous, rapid growth of ED youth and their alignment with Hong Kong’s global positioning as a ‘super connector’. Together, they present a unique convergence of talent that can drive economic benefit, distinguish Hong Kong from other Chinese Mainland cities, and strengthen social inclusion.
a. Untapped Talent Pool
i. The rapid growth of ED youth presents a major opportunity for Hong Kong in that they are increasingly tertiary educated, multilingual, and culturally agile.
ii. With the right support, they can strengthen workforce competitiveness, fill labour shortages, and enhance social cohesion.
iii. Without targeted policies, however, there is a risk of it becoming a missed generation facing underemployment and disengagement.
b. Belt and Road Initiative: A Strategic Advantage for ED Communities
i. ED communities offer Hong Kong a strategic edge as a “super connector.”
ii. Their language skills, cultural understanding, and cross-border networks can facilitate investment opportunities, trade, business, and diplomacy across key regions.
iii. To harness this human resource within Hong Kong, targeted initiatives, such as recruiting ED youth into Advisory and Statutory Bodies (ASBs) and government roles, are essential.
D) Challenges
Improving the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnically diverse individuals by reducing suffering and providing opportunities
Among the challenges identified, two stand out due to their wide-reaching and long-term impact: barriers to education-to-employment pathways and limitations in Chinese language proficiency These issues underpin many others and must be prioritised to prevent deepening inequality and social instability.
a. EDIs are increasingly university-educated but struggle to find suitable employment, leading to youth disengagement and mental health concerns. This is a barrier to social inclusion.
b. Another key struggle is Chinese language proficiency Most ED students take IGCSE Chinese, which is of a much lower standard and restricts access to jobs that match their academic calibre compared to their Chinese counterparts. The 2014 Chinese Language Second Language Learning Framework has not delivered the intended outcomes. Without equal access to strong Chinese language education from a young age, ED communities remain marginalised as Chinese language is fundamental to inclusion into both employment and community.
c. At the same time, EDIs are fluent in English and many other languages. Given Hong Kong’s preeminent role as a world city and well-placed conduit between China Mainland and the rest of the world, these language skills of EDIs should be recognised, actively mobilised and encouraged.
E) 5-Year Strategic Plan
To strengthen social cohesion and enable positive participation of the ED community in employment, education, and public life, the Government should consider the following:
a. At its core, recognise ED communities as a strategic asset to economy and social cohesion.
b. Role: To consider the future of EDs across major areas of life- employment, healthcare, education and welfare.
c. Accountability: Develop a high-level ED Committee cross-bureau, representation of government secretaries as well as external stakeholders, with KPIs, timelines.
d. ASBs: To ensure EDIs are included across all ASBs over time with a clear plan to on board on the critical ASBs as soon as possible.
e. Inclusion of EDs in mainstream NGOs: The government needs have a plan to integrate EDIs into mainstream NGOs EDs are part of HK population, and it is important that to present HK as an socially cohesive city, that there is not a two-track system for its population.
• Currently The Zubin Foundation is the only integrated service provider for EDs in Hong Kong and much of the reason why we exist is because the local NGOs, many subvented and integrated service providers do not have the know-how to engage directly with the ED population. They do not have the linguistic or cultural sensitivities, staff engagement at a senior level or board representation. In short, they mostly employ fairly lower-level staff and have an extremely high staff turnover of such staff
• In the next 5 years, the government should be encouraging all subvented NGOs that take funds for ED work to have (1) ED representation on their boards, (2) training to better understand this growing community
• In the next 5 years, TZF and other NGOs who are providing direct services to EDs, who would ordinarily be served by mainstream subvented NGOs, should be financially supported- especially with regard to specific cohorts of the population, see sections below.
f. Representation across all major ASBs: Increase ED representation across Government and
Improving the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnically diverse individuals by reducing suffering and providing opportunities
major ASBs to strengthen inclusive policymaking
g. Inclusive language: Adopt official terminology shift to “Ethnically Diverse Community” and “Ethnically Diverse Individuals” in recognition that the community has said that the term ‘minority’ is marginalising and reinforces the stigma of otherness which is counterintuitive to the promotion of social integration and harmony in Hong Kong.
3. Children
A) Special Educational Needs / Neurodiversity
a. Approximately 14% of children across Hong Kong's public sector ordinary schools is identified as having Special Educational Needs (SEN) in public ordinary schools.iii This proportion is increasing, in line with global trends.
b. International evidence from the UK shows that ED children are disproportionately represented in certain SEN categories, including sensory impairments and severe learning difficulties. iv TZF’s frontline SEN work indicates similar patterns locally.
c. It is also not uncommon for ED families to have multiple children with different forms of SEN, placing significant emotional, caregiving, and financial strain on already vulnerable households.
d. Hong Kong’s SEN system remains largely rooted in a deficit-based model that emphasises limitations rather than strengths. A shift toward a neurodiversity framework is needed, one that recognises autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and related conditions as part of natural human variation, while acknowledging that individuals may also possess significant strengths or giftedness.
e. Currently, there is no unified conceptual or operational framework across bureaux. Health, education, and welfare sectors apply different definitions and assessment standards, resulting in inconsistency, duplication, and fragmented service delivery. Children frequently “fall through the cracks,” especially during transitions such as from kindergarten to primary school. Mental health is often treated separately from SEN, despite clear evidence of high comorbidity.
f. Governance remains siloed, with no high-level cross-bureau body providing strategic oversight. Data systems are not integrated, and Individualised Education Plans (IEPs) lack cross-sector recognition.
g. ED families face compounded inequities. Language barriers, limited multilingual resources, unfamiliarity with service systems, and financial constraints delay or prevent access to timely assessment and intervention. Services are predominantly delivered in Cantonese, with limited culturally responsive provision. Parent Resource Centres (PRCs) rely heavily on centre-based models that are often inaccessible to families managing multiple children, live far from the centres and have complex caregiving demands.
h. Support for ED children remains concentrated in a limited number of designated centres, such as Early Education and Training Centres (EETCs) and Special Child Care Centres (SCCCs). While these centres play a vital role, some are not easily accessible to many ED families because of their geographical location. As the number of ED children with SEN increases across Hong Kong, the current distribution of services may not adequately reflect districtbased demand or ensure equitable access.
i. Fund research into the numbers and types of SEN found in the ED communities.
Improving the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnically diverse individuals by reducing suffering and providing opportunities
j. Postschool pathways for EDIs are gravely underdeveloped. Young people with high functioning autism or ADHD face limited vocational options, high risk of unemployment, and prolonged dependence on family support, resulting in long-term social and economic costs.
k. Recommendations:
i. Prioritise Equity for ED Families
1. Explicitly recognise ED families with SEN children as a priority group particularly those from low-income and non-Chinese speaking families.
2. Provide community outreach, bilingual SEN facilitators, and parent education in native languages.
3. Strengthen district-based provision to ensure services are accessible within local ED communities.
4. Equip Cantonese-medium EETCs with professional interpretation, multilingual resources, AI assisted communication tools, and cultural competency training for staff.
5. Increase the number of English-medium EETCs as a medium to long-term strategy to meet rising demand.
ii. Age 0–6: Expand Multilingual and Culturally Competent Services
1. Develop comprehensive multilingual SEN resources, including intervention guides, training materials, and home-based therapy tools.
2. Expand professional interpretation services across schools, clinics, and NGOs.
3. Introduce AI assisted translation tools to facilitate real-time communication between service providers and families.
4. Mandate cultural competency training for frontline staff, covering cultural beliefs about disability, family dynamics, and communication styles.
iii. Age 6–12: Close the Kindergarten-to-Primary Gap
1. Digitalisation of all SEN assessment information about each child (from Department of Health) and SEN intervention plans at kindergarten (from SWD) to be shared with primary schools (EDB), with consent of parents.
2. Maintain continuity and intensity of therapy and SEN support to SEN children during early primary years.
3. Introduce early review mechanisms to prevent missed intervention windows.
iv. Parents of SEN Children (0-18 years): Redesign Service Delivery
1. Shift from centre-based Parent Resource Centre (PRC) models to more flexible school based, community-based, outreach, and home-based services.
2. Introduce flexible scheduling, digital learning platforms, and mobile services to better support families managing multiple caregiving responsibilities.
v. Strengthen Parent and Caregiver Support
1. Provide structured, skills-based parent training programmes.
2. Develop peer support networks, particularly within ED communities.
3. Integrate mental health support for caregivers, recognising high stress levels.
4. Position parents as active partners in intervention planning and delivery.
vi. Integrate Mental Health into SEN Policy
1. Embed mental health screening into SEN assessments.
Improving the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnically diverse individuals by reducing suffering and providing opportunities
2. Provide integrated counselling and psychological support within schools and community settings, including culturally responsive services for ED children.
3. Train frontline staff to identify early signs of mental distress and comorbidity.
vii. Strengthen Post-School Transition and Employment Pathways
1. Expand vocational training programmes in appropriate languages.
2. Develop specialised pathways for gifted and twice-exceptional students
3. Introduce targeted employer partnerships for inclusive hiring initiatives for young adults with SEN, particularly those with high functioning autism or ADHD.
4. Encourage the employment of more EDI youths to specialise in SEN education training to complete the circle of support.
B) Children’s Safeguarding:
Mandatory
Reporting of Child Abuse (MRCA):
a. Inclusion of Religious Settings, ED Parent Education, and Cultural Sensitivity Training
i. With the introduction of Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse (MRCA), Hong Kong has taken an important step in strengthening child protection. As implementation progresses, it will be helpful to ensure that safeguarding systems fully reflect the realities of Hong Kong’s ED communities. Many ED children regularly attend religious institutions, such as mosques, madrassas, churches, temples, and gurdwaras, and these settings could be further engaged within safeguarding frameworks.
ii. Through TZF’s Ethnic Minority Well-being Centre and parental programmes, we have observed that some ED parents may not yet be fully aware that corporal punishment is unlawful in Hong Kong or may be unfamiliar with local child protection laws and positive discipline approaches. This highlights the importance of continued outreach and education.
iii. Frontline professionals, including social workers, police officers, educators, and immigration officers, play a critical role in safeguarding. Strengthening cultural competency and communication skills can further support effective engagement with ED families and help ensure that signs of distress are recognised early and addressed appropriately.
iv. With the implementation of MRCA, there may be an increase in ED children requiring foster or residential care. It would therefore be timely to review whether existing placements are sufficiently culturally and linguistically prepared to meet their needs and provide appropriate support.
b. Recommendations
i. Strengthen Inclusive Implementation of MRCA
1. Ensure MRCA guidance and outreach explicitly cover religious institutions attended by ED children.
2. Expand education and outreach to ED parents on Hong Kong’s child protection laws and positive parenting approaches.
3. Deliver culturally sensitive parenting programmes in native languages through NGOs and religious institutions.
ii. Enhance Cultural Competency of Frontline Personnel
1. Provide structured cultural sensitivity training for social workers, police officers, educators, and immigration officers.
2. Include guidance on recognising abuse within different cultural contexts,
Improving the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnically diverse individuals by reducing suffering and providing opportunities
identifying distress in ED children, and responding with empathy and clarity.
iii. Prepare Foster and Residential Care Systems
1. Review the foster care register to ensure sufficient families can support ED children, including language and cultural matching where possible.
2. Review residential homes to ensure cultural readiness, staff training in inclusion, and partnerships with NGOs that can provide specialised support.
4.
Youth and Education
A) Rapid Growth of ED Youth Population
Hong Kong’s South Asian youth population (ages 15-24) grew by 86% between 2011 and 2021 (from 7,812 to 14,566), while the broader ED youth population increased by 76% (from 19,536 to 34,321).v Despite this significant growth, access to post-secondary education remains imbalanced. Only 22.2% of Nepalese and 25.1% of Pakistani individuals have attended post, secondary education, compared to 34.6% overall.vi
B) Education-to-Employment Gap and Rising Mental Health Needs
Even university, educated ED youth, including over 240 supported through TZF scholarships, are struggling to secure appropriately skilled employment. This mismatch between jobs available ad gradates wanting to work is contributing to disengagement and rising mental health concerns. There is also a noticeable increase in international and ED youth seeking mental health support, through our Ethnic Minority Well-Being Centre (funded by Health Bureau) highlighting the urgency of youth wellbeing as Hong Kong seeks to attract and retain global talent.
C) Language as a Structural Barrier
a. Sometimes unnecessary Chinese language requirements remain a barrier for ED candidates. Even for roles that do not require reading or writing Chinese, employers often list written Chinese as mandatory. This limits workforce participation and prevents full use of available ED talent, which continues to remain an underutilised resource in Hong Kong.
b. Without access to equivalent Chinese language education from a young age at school, the ED community will continue to be on the fringe and marginalised as Chinese language is fundamental to the growth of industry in Hong Kong. There is a serious problem in teaching Chinese language to non- Chinese children in Hong Kongs public schools, and the Chinese Language framework introduced in 2014 has not resulted in the meaningful outcomes proposed at that time of non-Chinese children becoming equivalently proficient in reading and writing Chinese as their Chinese counterparts. There are many reasons for this including the lack of a Cantonese second language pedagogy and curriculum, the lack of Romanisation, the lack of teacher encouragement to learn Chinese at a higher level than IGCSE and the lack of teachers with learned skills to teach Chinese as an additional language.
c. These disparities underscore the need for targeted support to ensure equitable access to education and opportunity. Without deliberate action, this growing and capable youth population risks underemployment and marginalisation. Proactive inclusion of ED youth in education, employment, and policy frameworks will unlock their potential and strengthen Hong Kong’s social and economic stability.
D) Recommendations:
Improving the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnically diverse individuals by reducing suffering and providing opportunities
a. Ensure that ED youth are explicitly included in Government youth employment strategies and initiatives.
b. Adopt targeted hiring initiatives like existing Labour Department inclusion efforts3 to increase ED representation by employing 10 ED graduates under Belt and Road Office to strengthen Hong Kong’s role as a “Super Connector” in the Belt and Road Initiative. These graduates, from Hong Kong, will speak diverse languages and help to further the aims of the Belt and Road Initiative.
c. For civil service roles that do not require written Chinese-language requirements should be based on the principal of ‘genuine occupational qualification’ as per the SDO, RDO, FMSDO and DDO. The Government should issue clear guidelines requiring language requirements to align strictly with job duties, removing unnecessary barriers and promoting fair hiring.
d. Strengthen mental health support systems for both local and international youth, particularly as Hong Kong attracts more overseas students, recognising that well-being is fundamental to workforce participation and the city’s global competitiveness.
e. Urgently supplement the second language framework with a meaningful education tool (possibly including AI) and resources to address the lower Chinese proficiency of the ED community. We continue to recommend a second language curriculum for learning Chinese at school, including the use of Romanisation as is the case in Chinese Mainland.
f. Establish a “Chinese as a Second Language Working Group” , under the Education Bureau, including ED social workers, NGOs, parents and teachers. Part of the problem in the past has been the lack of engagement with members of the ED community in developing a solution. This is a major barrier and will continue to be so. Any future Chinese language curriculum or tool must be developed with serious engagement from the ED community for it to work.
5. Women
A) Support for Women in Divorce Proceedings
a. Through TZF’s helpline and community engagement, we continue to observe that ED women, particularly those in Muslim marriages and marriages registered in Pakistan, face significant challenges in navigating divorce proceedings in Hong Kong. These systemic gaps have persisted over the years, including a lack of coordination across departments, leaving many women in prolonged uncertainty and vulnerability.
b. We continue to see cases where divorce proceedings for Muslim marriages cannot progress effectively within Hong Kong’s legal framework notwithstanding that these marriages are monogamous and one of the parties satisfy the jurisdiction requirement to commence proceedings in Hong Kong. Some women must return to their country of origin to initiate divorce, which is often not feasible due to caregiving responsibilities, financial constraints, or safety concerns. Others remain in legal and social limbo for extended periods which again adversely impacts the individual’s physical and mental well-being
3 The Labour Department promotes inclusion through the Racial Diversity Employment Programme (RDEP), partnering with NGOs to provide free, case-managed employment support and job matching for ethnic minority job seekers. It also operates the Ethnic Minority Ambassador Programme, recruiting multilingual youth under YETP as Employment Services Ambassadors. These ambassadors support non-Chinese speaking job seekers at Job Centres and recruitment events, helping them access government employment services. Source: https://www1.jobs.gov.hk/0/en/information/Rdep/Intro/
Improving the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnically diverse individuals by reducing suffering and providing opportunities
c. Cases involving domestic violence are particularly concerning. Due to housing constraints, we have encountered victims who are required to continue living with perpetrators, placing them at serious risk.
d. More broadly, many ED women lack access to support networks, safe housing, childcare options, and independent residency status. Spousal-dependent visas further heighten their vulnerability. These structural barriers and lack of institutional support limit access to justice, safety, and the ability to rebuild their lives with dignity.
e. Recommendations:
i. Expedite Legal Aid processes for ED women in high-risk family situations.
ii. Provide clear guidelines and targeted training for Legal Aid officers and frontline staff on handling cross-border and religious marriage cases.
iii. Enable the Housing Authority to facilitate safe separation arrangements, including long term separate housing for victims and perpetrators where necessary. In many cases of domestic violence, the victims are women who are the primary carer of the children and placing the women and children in temporary shelters is not a feasible option while the perpetrators continue to remain in the family home.
iv. Strengthen cross-department coordination (Legal Aid, Housing, Social Welfare) to provide holistic support, including counselling, legal guidance, and emergency housing.
v. Improve accessibility at Family Court registries by providing materials in Hindi and Urdu and recruiting ED staff or interpreters to support EDIs to complete documents for filing in the Family Court registries.
B) Forced Marriage (FM) and Long-Term Support for Women and Girls
f. Forced marriage (FM) is the marriage between a woman and a man without her or his free will. While men may also be affected, FM is largely a gendered practice disproportionately impacting woman. The 30+ women TZF has supported are mostly girls and women who are Hong Kong permanent residents
g. Through partnerships with other NGOs, we understand that FM cases are surfacing more frequently as women in the ED community become better educated and have greater access to information.
h. The Hong Kong Police should be commended for referring FM cases to TZF and for their openness to training.
i. Based on our observations, in some South Asian communities' men migrate to Hong Kong as spousal dependents after marrying locally raised women – the women, from Hong Kong, are often more educated, gainfully employed and socially integrated. In some cases, these husbands come from very patriarchal communities, have lower levels of education with less cosmopolitan exposure.
j. Significant gaps in education, life experience, and social integration between spouses can create mismatched expectations, a disparity in values, communication barriers, and power imbalances. Over time, these dynamics can affect relationship stability and, in some cases, have been observed to increase women’s vulnerability to control or coercion.
k. Recommendations:
i. Recognise FM as a form of gender-based violence and child abuse and include it in relevant policy frameworks.
ii. Provide mandatory FM training for frontline personnel, including the Hong Kong Police Force, Social Welfare Department, Education Bureau, and Immigration
Improving the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnically diverse individuals by reducing suffering and providing opportunities
Department. For many victims, an encounter with frontline staff may be their only opportunity to seek help, internationally referred to as the “one chance” rule.
iii. Equip social workers and relevant professionals with clear referral pathways and guidance on specialist FM support services.
iv. Develop a coordinated strategy to support FM survivors, including safe housing, counselling, legal aid, education, and employment pathways to enable independent rebuilding of their lives.
v. Raise awareness within the ED communities about consent in marriage and available support for those at risk.
vi. Raise the legal marriage age from 16 (with parental consent) to 18. As Hong Kong defines a child as under 18, the current threshold creates a loophole for a child to be forced in marriage with their parent’s consent. TZF recommends a thorough review of this policy and its child protection implications.4 Hong Kong should be in line with Chinese Mainland whose minimum age of marriage is 20 for women and 22 for men.
C) FM and Immigration
l. There is an increasing trend of families pressuring daughters to marry less educated men from their “home countries,” often relatives from patriarchal and conservative backgrounds. These marriages are frequently poorly matched. In some cases, men seek marriage to Hong Kong women as a pathway to migration, while families support such arrangements to maintain ties to their extended families in their country of origin.
m. We are seeing a rise in cases where men with significantly lower educational attainment migrate to Hong Kong through marriages that raise concerns about genuine consent
n. Recommendation to the Director of Immigration:
i. Review these cases more closely and introduce safeguards to ensure that such marriages are genuine and entered with the free and informed consent of the Hong Kong ED woman.
6. Carers
A) Many ED women in Hong Kong are full-time carers for children with special needs, elderly relatives, or family members requiring rehabilitation. Their caregiving responsibilities, often prolonged due to larger family sizes, limit workforce participation and personal development.
B) ED families also tend to have larger households, and face longer waits for public housing, often 78 years or more, exceeding the general average of 5-6 years. Overcrowded living conditions further strain carers and increase family stress.
C) Although childcare, elderly care, and rehabilitation services exist, access is limited and exist only in certain districts. Small quotas, language barriers, and low outreach reduce utilisation among ED families.
D) By supporting ED carers, the Government can unlock a pool of untapped talent, reduce carer burnout, and promote greater social inclusion and economic participation.
E) Recommendations:
a. Increase overall quotas for and improve access to childcare, elderly care, and rehabilitation services, explicitly including ED families.
4 Please see Appendix 2 for a reference summary of minimum legal marriage ages in other jurisdictions.
Improving the lives of Hong Kong’s ethnically diverse individuals by reducing suffering and providing opportunities
b. Explore provision of more large-sized public housing units to better accommodate bigger ED households and reduce carer stress.
c. Introduce targeted initiatives supporting ED carers and enabling workforce re-entry.
d. Provide cultural sensitivity training for frontline staff across social welfare, healthcare, and education sectors.
e. Partner with NGOs and community leaders to deliver linguistically and culturally appropriate outreach.
7. Elderly
A) The ED elderly population in Hong Kong has grown steadily over the past decade which is in line with the trend in Hong Kong and many parts of the world. Many are permanent residents facing age-related challenges, such as isolation and chronic illness, compounded by language and cultural barriers.
B) Limited Cantonese proficiency and unfamiliarity with local systems restrict access to public services. Most government-funded elderly services operate primarily in Cantonese, with little or no multilingual support.
C) Reports of exclusion from mainstream elderly centres highlight service gaps and risks of social isolation.
D) Rising healthcare and mental health needs among ED elderly are not adequately reflected in current service planning or governance structures.
E) As the ED elderly population grows, Hong Kong’s elderly care infrastructure must evolve to meet their needs. Culturally appropriate day care and residential services will promote dignity, inclusion, and well-being for this vulnerable group.
F) Recommendations:
a. Research and Planning: Conduct a territory wide study to assess the needs of ED elderly and inform targeted policy responses.
b. Service Provision:
i. In the short term, expand outreach by increasing Employment Services Ambassadors and strengthening referral pathways, including funding support for NGOs already serving ED elderly.
ii. In the medium term, establish at least two government funded elderly centres in districts with larger ED populations with funding for transport provisions for elderly across Hong Kong to access these services.
c. Develop culturally appropriate day care and residential services, with language support (dialects such as Urdu, Hindi, Nepali, Tagalog, and Bahasa Indonesia) and consideration of dietary and religious needs.
d. Develop culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health services for ED elderly, including community-based counselling, outreach through trusted NGOs and other institutions.
e. System Strengthening
i. Provide compulsory cultural competency training for frontline elderly service staff.
ii. Encourage ED representation at board level within service providers.