Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Hong Kong is a city in Asia which attracts migrants from all over the world. It had positioned itself to become the world city of Asia. One objective of the marketing strategy of the city’s Brand Hong Kong programme is to maintain cultural diversity and a global network of people. In recent years, there has been growing concern about minority rights. Various laws and policies have been implemented in order to facilitate their integration processes. However, the effectiveness of ethnic minority policies has been widely challenged in the face of their failure to address minority needs and their counter-productive effects on anti-discrimination. This research aims to identify and explore the ethnic minority policy gaps – discourse, implementation and efficacy – which can explain the policy failure.

Over the first decade of the twenty-first century, there was a marked increase in the number of African migrants coming to Hong Kong. However, little is known about their everyday life struggles in different social settings. Drawing on a questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews, this research examines the nature and process of social, economic and cultural integration of migrants from Africa into the Hong Kong community. Integration is a multidimensional process of interactions between migrants and the host population at individual, community and societal levels. This research examines the factors that facilitate or impede the integration processes at these levels. The African case study in turn informs the ethnic minority policy gap framework, highlighting the importance of identifying the full range of factors at different levels impacting the integration processes in which ethnic minorities are engaged.