Under the Race Discrimination Ordinance (“RDO”) , it is unlawful to discriminate, harass and vilify a person on the ground of his/her race. With the RDO in place, people of different races can live and work as one community. The RDO offers protection in several areas including the following:

• employment;
• education;
• provision of goods, facilities or services;
• disposal or management of premises;
• eligibility to vote for and to stand for election to public bodies, etc;
• offering of a pupillage or tenancy in a barrister’s chambers;
• participation in clubs.

The RDO provides the following exceptions under which the decisions made because of, or having an impact on, race would not be unlawful:

• genuine occupational qualification ( RDO section 11 );
• employment intended to provide training for skills to be used outside Hong Kong ( RDO section 12 );
• employment of persons with special skills, knowledge or experience ( RDO section 13 );
• existing local and overseas employment terms ( RDO section 14 );
• cemetery, crematorium or columbarium;
• special measures.

For more details, please see the relevant section of ” Anti-discrimination ” under the CLIC website.