The Hong Kong Equal Opportunities Commission: Calling for a New Avatar

Abstract

The Hong Kong Equal Opportunities Commission ('EOC') was set up to perform the important function of an independent body which would receive and investigate complaints of discrimination within the community and to help Hong Kong strive to become a society in which discrimination on grounds such as sex, disability, family status, and race would not be tolerated. Despite the broad powers of inquiry and investigation given to the EOC to enable it to effectively perform this critical role, its inherent limitations have resulted in the limited impact the EOC has had on the implementation of anti-discrimination laws in Hong Kong. This article discusses some of these inherent limitations and outlines the structural and substantive issues that have plagued the EOC in recent years. In view of these matters, it is argued that without an immediate change in the institutional design, membership and culture of the EOC, it is unlikely that the EOC will have any significant impact in the years to come. The article concludes with some suggestions on the changes that need to be put into place to help the EOC be born anew so that it can lead Hong Kong closer to substantive outcomes in anti-discrimination law and policy.