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HK launches interpretation service for ethnic groups

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-10-31 13:39

HONG KONG: An interpretation service to facilitate ethnic minorities in accessing local public services was launched on Saturday, according to the Hong Kong government website.

The service, provided under the funding grant of the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau of Hong Kong, is operated by the Hong Kong Christian Service as part of the services of their Center for Harmony and Enhancement of Ethnic Minority Residents (CHEER).

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The service aims at facilitating members of ethnic minorities who do not have a good command of Chinese or English to communicate with the service organizations concerned.

Seven ethnic minority languages or dialects are covered including Bahasa Indonesia, Hindi, Nepali, Punjabi, Tagalog, Thai and Urdu.

The interpretation service is mainly provided through telephone hotlines. The operating hours are from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday to Sunday except public holidays. The telephone interpretation service is provided free of charge.

The CHEER center is one of the four support service centers for ethnic minorities funded by the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau and operated by non-governmental organizations.

The centers offer a number of programs for ethnic minorities to facilitate their integration into the community.