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The Government has provided funding grants to the non-governmental organisations to establish and operate four regional support centres for ethnic minorities which will come into operation in mid-2009, the Constitutional & Mainland Affairs Bureau says.
These centres will provide telephone interpretation service in seven ethnic minority languages, as well as language and other integration programmes.
In response to the comments about racial minorities by Legislative Councillor Priscilla Leung in RTHK's "Letter to Hong Kong" today, the bureau said that the Government is committed to fostering racial equality and harmony.
The Government policy is to encourage racial minorities' integration into society while preserving their unique cultural characteristics, and to eliminate racial discrimination.
The enactment of the Race Discrimination Ordinance is a major step forward demonstrating the Government's commitment to eliminating unlawful racial discrimination.
After the full implementation of the ordinance around mid-2009, the Equal Opportunities Commission will enforce the law and handle racial discrimination complaints.
There are also initiatives from bureaux and departments concerned to cater for the needs of ethnic minorities. The Education Bureau provides support for designated schools to cater for the needs of non-Chinese-speaking students.
The Vocational Training Council and the Employees Retraining Board also offer dedicated programmes for non-Chinese-speaking students.
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