by Ricky Chu, Chairperson of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC)
"Language is often brought up as a barrier that prevents those from racially diverse communities from participating in mainstream activities, including policy making. However, I argue that this problem is one that can be solved and should have been solved by now. Why is it that learning of spoken Cantonese and written Chinese is not keeping pace with the demand? "
"Many adults I know from non-Chinese communities, particularly parents, would like to learn the language to help their school-going children but are starved of viable language learning options. As far as students go, it is inexcusable that they spend their entire schooling years in local schools and yet come out without adequate fluency in Chinese, especially reading and writing. "
"The Equal Opportunities Commission along with several NGOs have been pushing the Government for a much-overdue revamp of the education system for years and we still do not see desirable results. "
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