平等機會委員會 | |
Abbreviation | EOC |
---|---|
Formation | 20 May 1996 [1] |
Type | Statutory body |
Legal status | Active |
Headquarters | 16/F, 41 Heung Yip Road, Wong Chuk Hang |
Location | |
Services | Investigation Advocacy Advisory |
Fields | Human rights |
Chairperson | Ricky Chu Man-kin |
Cecilia Chan Lai-wan Andy Chiu Man-chung Contents | |
Expenses (2018) | HK$125,967,377 [2] |
Website | Official website |
Equal Opportunities Commission | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Traditional Chinese | 平等機會委員會 | ||||||||
|
The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) is a public body in Hong Kong responsible for implementing anti-discrimination laws and advocating against discrimination. It was created in 1996 under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance as the city's first public semi-governmental body focused on anti-discrimination.
In 1994,the median wage of women in Hong Kong were about a third lower than that of men,and classified advertisements often limited senior positions in the private sector to men and low-paying jobs sought for female applicants. [3]
The Hong Kong government has had a history of opposing anti-discrimination legislation. [4] : 337 When the United Kingdom ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1986,the treaty also applied to other British dependent territories. [5] : 22 However,the Hong Kong government asked that CEDAW to not be extended to the city until it could assess its effect. [6] : 9 It said that the ratification of CEDAW might lead to "significant economic and social consequences", [7] and specifically,that CEDAW and anti-discrimination laws would harm Hong Kong's laissez-faire market and traditional Chinese customs that treat men and women differently. [5] : 22–23
In the 1990s,the Hong Kong government was increasingly pressured to address equality and human rights. During the 1991 legislative election,which produced Hong Kong's first directly elected lawmakers,women's groups pressed candidates into acknowledging discrimination against women. [4] : 363 As a result,the 1991 Legislative Council asserted more pressure on the executive than its predecessors. [4] : 362 In November 1991,Legislative Councillor Emily Lau helped form an ad-hoc group in the legislature to study women's issues. [4] : 363 In March 1992,an inter-departmental working group on sex discrimination was created to advise the government on whether to extend CEDAW to Hong Kong. [7] On 16 December 1992,Lau introduced a bill that called on the Hong Kong government to support the application of CEDAW in the city. [4] : 363–364 The government opposed the bill,but it was nonetheless passed after all but the three ex-officio members voted in its favour. [4] : 365
The Hong Kong government did not act on the bill immediately and maintained that the public must be consulted first. [6] : 9 After nine months of preparation,it issued the Green Paper on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in August 1993. [4] : 366 Legal scholar Carole Petersen said the government had understated discrimination against women in the green paper. [4] : 366–368 By the end of the public consultation,Secretary for Home Affairs Michael Suen said that "[it] would be difficult for [the government] to come up with credible arguments not to extend CEDAW". [8]
Anna Wu,then an appointed Legislative Councillor,tabled the Equal Opportunities Bill 1994, [9] : 345 a few years before to the handover of Hong Kong,which Wu believed was a window of opportunity to expand equality rights. [1] The bill sought to outlaw discrimination on grounds including sex,marital status,pregnancy,sexuality,race,age,disability,and political and religious conviction. [4] : 372 If passed,it would also prohibit employers from placing advertisements that specify the sex and age of jobseekers. [10] As a private member's bill that did not affect government revenue,the Equal Opportunities Bill was tabled without government consent. [1]
Wu also put forth the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission Bill,which would create a statutory body for equality and a tribunal to adjudicate claims under the Equal Opportunities Bill. [4] : 372 The Equal Opportunities Tribunal could cost 800 million Hong Kong dollars to set up. [10]
The proposed equality institutions were also opposed by China. Legal scholar Wu Jianfan of Peking University and Hong Kong pro-Beijing politician Raymond Wu said the bill would violate the Basic Law,which was to become Hong Kong's mini-constitution following the United Kingdom's transfer of the city's sovereignty to China in 1997. [11] Wu Jianfan said the tribunal was not mentioned in the Basic Law and therefore could not exist in Hong Kong under Chinese rule. [11]
The Hong Kong government rejected the bills in June 1994 and instead tabled two other bills with a narrower scope that separately banned sex and disability discrimination. [12] The bill on sex discrimination also sought to set up an equal opportunities commission instead of the independent human rights commission Anna Wu had proposed. [12] Wu and equality groups criticised the decision,saying that the equal opportunities commission,unlike the human rights commission,could only monitor and settle discrimination complaints,and did not have the legal power to prosecute people who violated anti-discrimination laws. [3]
Despite government opposition,Wu's Equal Opportunities Bill proceeded to different stages at the Legislative Council. Public hearings on the bill were held in 1995. In April 1995,Wu decided to break the bill into three,each addressing different areas of discrimination to ensure that some parts of it could pass before the legislative session ends. [13]
On the other hand,the government on 27 May 1995 pushed to resume second reading of its Sex Discrimination Bill against the wishes of the bills committee and before amendments were finalised. [14] The Sex Discrimination Bill was passed at 1:25 am on 29 June 1995 after a nine-hour debate,during which the government and pro-business legislators stopped attempts by liberal lawmakers to expand the bill's scope by removing the Small House Policy exemption and shortening the grace period for small businesses. [15]
The EOC was established on 20 May 1996 with Fanny M. Cheung has its first chairperson, [16] after candidates such as Elsie Leung turned down the offer that included a salary of $157,250 and a monthly cash bonus of $70,320. [17]
In 1997,the EOC brought its first sex discrimination case to court against Apple Daily ,which placed an advertisement for "pretty female reporters" to report on balls and social events. [18] The District Court ruled in favour of Apple Daily,with the judge deciding that the ambiguous language used in the advertisement,placed in the celebrity section of the newspaper,meant it did not violate the Sex Discrimination Ordinance. [18] The Court of Appeal overturned the decision,saying that allowing the ambiguous language would permit employers to advertise freely for only one gender. [19] The court did not impose penalties,and the EOC said it was more important to clarify the law than to punish the newspaper. [19]
On 1 August 1999,Cheung was replaced as chairperson by Anna Wu,who had been a member of the commission since its founding. [20]
Former appeals court judges Michael Wong then replaced Wu from 1 August 2003. Supporters of Wu said her contract was not renewed because she had criticised the government as the EOC's chairperson. [21] Wong's tenure as chairperson was short. Wong dismissed Patrick Yu before he took the post as the commission's operations director because Yu had said in the South China Morning Post that Hong Kong should enact a race discrimination law,which Wong saw as an inappropriate comment. [22] Before joining the EOC,Yu was the executive director of the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities. On 6 November,Wong stepped down after being embroiled in a scandal involving the dismissal of EOC director of operations Patrick Yu,who was appointed by Anna Wu,and allegations that he had accepted free airline tickets as a Court of Appeals judge. [23] The Independent Commission Against Corruption investigated Wong on suspicion of bribery,but he was not charged due to insufficient evidence. [24]
Name | Photo | Tenure | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Fanny M. Cheung 張妙清 | 1996 - 1999 | Founding chairperson. [25] [26] | |
Anna Wu 胡紅玉 | 1 August 1999 - 31 July 2003 | ||
Michael Wong Kin-chow 王見秋 | 1 August 2003 - 6 November 2003 | ||
Patricia Chu Yeung Pak-yu 朱楊珀瑜 | 15 December 2003 - 15 December 2004 | ||
Raymond Tang Yee-Bong 鄧爾邦 | 12 January 2005 –28 February 2010 | ||
Lam Woon-kwong 林煥光 | 1 February 2010 –31 March 2013 | ||
Dr. York Chow Yat-Ngok 周一嶽 | 1 April 2013 –31 March 2016 | ||
Alfred Chen Cheung-ming 陳章明 | 11 April 2016 –10 April 2019 | ||
Ricky Chu Man-kin 朱敏健 | 11 April 2019 [27] –Present |
The EOC's main function is to implement the four anti-discrimination ordinances in Hong Kong,namely the Sex Discrimination Ordinance,the Disability Discrimination Ordinance,the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance and the Race Discrimination Ordinance. It aims to promote equal opportunities by receiving complaints and investigating alleged cases of discrimination. [9] : 341 If potential discrimination is found in cases,the EOC can provide legal assistance,including representation in court,to the person making the complaint. [28] It also conducts research and offers public educational programmes to promote equal opportunities. [9] : 341–342
The EOC also has the power to review the effectiveness of the anti-discrimination ordinances and propose amendments. [9] : 342 The EOC's first Discrimination Law Review started in 2014 and had its final report published in 2016. [1]
This article's Criticism or Controversy section may compromise the article's neutrality by separating out potentially negative information.(April 2019) |
In 2003, Michael Wong Kin-chow was removed as the Chairman of the EOC after an investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) revealed that Mr Wong had deliberately made improper applications to the HKSAR Government for reimbursement of several first-class flights between 1998 and 2001, valued at HK$171,666. [29] It was also reported that Mr Wong had continued to draw his pension as a former High Court judge while he was employed at the EOC. The ICAC's report was submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in November 2005 who ultimately decided not to lay charges. [30]
On 1 June 2016, a concern was raised by some legislators that the newly appointed chairperson, Alfred Chen, had expressed views which suggested he was not suitably aware of the key issues necessary to execute his duties as head of the EOC. These included a dismissal of the need to address the lack of any anti-discrimination ordinance to protect sexual minorities, confusion of concepts such as gender identity and sexual orientation, and declaring that the EOC should echo the views of the government. [31]
Citizens Party was a small pro-democracy political party existed in Hong Kong from 1997 to 2008. It was founded by Legislative Council member Christine Loh in May 1997.
Emily Lau Wai-hing, JP is a politician in Hong Kong who champions press freedom and human rights. A former journalist, she became the first woman directly elected on the Legislative Council of Hong Kong in the 1991 LegCo elections. She has served as Legislative Councillor for the New Territories East Constituency throughout the 1990s and 2000s until she stepped down in 2016. She was chairperson of the Democratic Party of Hong Kong until 2016.
Cyd Ho Sau-lan is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (Legco) for the Hong Kong Island constituency.
The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is an international treaty adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. Described as an international bill of rights for women, it was instituted on 3 September 1981 and has been ratified by 189 states. Over fifty countries that have ratified the Convention have done so subject to certain declarations, reservations, and objections, including 38 countries who rejected the enforcement article 29, which addresses means of settlement for disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the convention. Australia's declaration noted the limitations on central government power resulting from its federal constitutional system. The United States and Palau have signed, but not ratified the treaty. The Holy See, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, and Tonga are not signatories to CEDAW.
The District Court is the intermediate court system in Hong Kong, having limited criminal and civil jurisdictions. The District Court was established in 1953 with the enactment of the District Court Ordinance. It is located in the Wanchai Law Courts, Wanchai Tower, 12 Harbour Road. In the past there were six district courts, namely Victoria, Kowloon, Fanling, Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun and Sha Tin, before being amalgamated and moved to the same location in March 1991.
Human rights protection is enshrined in the Basic Law and its Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap.383). By virtue of the Bill of Rights Ordinance and Basic Law Article 39, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is put into effect in Hong Kong. Any local legislation that is inconsistent with the Basic Law can be set aside by the courts. This does not apply to national legislation that applies to Hong Kong, such as the National Security Law, even if it is inconsistent with the Bills of Rights Ordinance, ICCPR, or the Basic Law.
The Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor (HKHRM) is a local non-governmental organisation which was established in April 1995. It aims to promote better human rights protection in Hong Kong.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) persons in Hong Kong, may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents.
Anna Wu Hung-yuk, GBS, JP is a former non-official member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong. She qualified as a solicitor after graduating from the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong. She is currently a management consultant.
Secretary for Justice v Yau Yuk Lung Zigo and Another was a controversial and significant judicial review court case in Hong Kong. The case was mainly about sexual orientation discrimination and legal procedures of potentially unconstitutional legislation. The case also led to the creation of a new judicial review standard regarding discrimination and, later on, the extension of protection against domestic violence for LGBT community.
The Hong Kong Pride Parade is an annual march in Hong Kong in support of LGBT rights. Homosexuality has been legal in Hong Kong since 1991 but there is no legal recognition of any same-sex relationships and limited protection against discrimination.
Nelson Wong Sing-chi is a Hong Kong politician and social worker. He had been member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong between 2000–04 and 2008–12. He was the founding member of the Democratic Party before he was expelled in 2015 for his support in the government's constitutional reform proposals. He was also briefly a founding member of the Third Side, a centrist political party.
Yoko Hayashi is a Japanese lawyer and partner in the Athena Law Office. She was formerly an alternate member to the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights from 2004 to 2006. In 2008, she became a member of the Committee which monitors the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and in 2015 was serving as Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Hayashi has used her legal expertise to improve the status and protect the rights of women.
Holden Chow Ho-ding is a Hong Kong solicitor and politician. He is vice-chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), the largest pro-Beijing party in Hong Kong, and a former chairman of Young DAB, its youth wing. He was elected to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong in 2016, through the District Council (Second) "super seat". He was re-elected in 2021 through the New Territories North West geographical constituency.
Joanne Leung Wing-yan is the first openly transgender politician in Hong Kong.
Intersex rights in China including the People's Republic of China, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, etc., are protections and rights afforded to intersex people through legislation and regulation. Obligations also arise in United Nations member states that sign international human rights treaties, such as the People's Republic of China. Intersex people in China suffer discrimination. Issues include both lack of access to health care and coercive genital surgeries.
The Transgender Resource Center was started in 2008 by Joanne Leung Wing-yan, a transgender woman from Hong Kong. The Hong Kong-based organization provides information on and to transgender people in Hong Kong and mainland China. It also advocates for legal reforms to protect the transgender community.
Hong Kong does not recognise same-sex marriages or civil unions. However, same-sex couples are afforded limited legal rights as a result of several court decisions, including the right to apply for a spousal visa, guardianship rights and joint custody of children, and spousal benefits for the partners of government employees.
Tiffany Yuen Ka-wai is a Hong Kong activist and politician, who has been a member of the Southern District Council for Tin Wan since 2020. She was the vice chairperson of Demosistō before resigning from the party in 2018. For her participation in the 2020 Hong Kong pro-democracy primaries, she was arrested in January 2021 along with over 50 other pro-democrats on national security charges and remains in jail as of October 2021.