Hong Kongers' bashing of typhoon victims condemned
MANILA, Philippines - A Hong Kong-based organization on Wednesday condemned some Hong Kongese' negative comments about the victims of the deadly super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) that swept across Visayas and parts of Luzon last week.
"The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) expressed today its concern over abusive and derogatory remarks, made on the internet and through other public channels, by some members of the community in relation to the Typhoon Haiyan disaster in the Philippines," the group said in a statement.
EOC chairman Dr. York Chow Yat-ngok said that with the tragedy, there is no place for Hong Kong residents' negative sentiments against the Philippine government in connection with the 2010 Manila hostage crisis.
Chow said that the scathing comments should not be directed to innocent Filipinos, much less those who lost loved ones and property due to the typhoon's fury.
"The EOC considers that these comments are highly inappropriate," Chow said.
"The EOC urges everyone to refrain from making these comments, which are not conducive to maintaining a friendly and mutually beneficial relationship between the people of Hong Kong and the Philippines in the long term," he added.
The group also warned the public that Hong Kong law does not allow forms of discrimination especially based on race.
"Under the Race Discrimination Ordinance, it is unlawful for a person, by any activity in public, to incite hatred towards, serious contempt for, or severe ridicule of, another person or members of a class of persons on the ground of their race," the statement reads.
The EOC was set up in 1996 aiming to influence policy against discrimination due to race, sex or family.
The Hong Kong government, meanwhile, is mulling on imposing economic and travel sanctions against the Philippines for the government's failure to redress the botched 2010 hostage situation which left eight Hong Kong tourists dead.
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