VI. Race Discrimination

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.