White privilege, ethnic disadvantage, and stigmatized linguistic capital: COVID-19 infection rates and lockdown law enforcement in Hong Kong

Soc Sci Med. 2024 Nov:360:117323. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117323. Epub 2024 Sep 17.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated existing disparities in various societies. This study investigates disparities among racial, ethnic, and linguistic groups in Hong Kong's society in COVID-19 infection rates and lockdown enforcement practices that was imposed 545 times from January 2021 to September 2022 and affected 9% of the population. It is found that neighborhoods with more white individuals had lower infection rates than the overall population, while those with more ethnically minoritized groups had higher infection rates. Furthermore, hit rate tests reveal that the government targeted more neighborhoods with a higher share of individuals from linguistically minoritized groups. This novel finding suggests that not only race, but linguistic difference of the same ethnicity can cause bias. The study highlights the positive impact of providing ethnic support services on health outcomes in neighborhoods with a higher share of individuals from ethnically minoritized groups.

Keywords: Disadvantaged neighborhoods; Ethnic support services; Ethnic-linguistic equality; Hong Kong COVID-19 lockdown; Linguistic capital; Policy discrimination; Public health; Racial disparities; Selective law enforcement; White privilege.

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19* / epidemiology
  • COVID-19* / ethnology
  • Ethnicity / statistics & numerical data
  • Health Status Disparities
  • Hong Kong / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Law Enforcement
  • Linguistics
  • Pandemics
  • Quarantine* / statistics & numerical data
  • Residence Characteristics / statistics & numerical data
  • White People / statistics & numerical data