One of the last things Harinder Veriah said before her death in a Hong Kong hospital seven years ago was: "I am bottom of the pile here. I am Indian. Everyone else here is Chinese."
Her husband, the British journalist Martin Jacques, believes that neglect derived from racial discrimination was responsible for the death of his wife after she suffered an epileptic fit on the first day of the new millennium, which left him to bring up the couple's son Ravi, then just 16 months old.
As he struggled to make sense of the tragedy, Jacques' anger grew. He is still pursuing a negligence case against the hospital through the courts.
But he also grew increasingly convinced that it was wrong that, in Hong Kong, supposedly an international city, there were no laws outlawing racial discrimination. And he was determined to act.
The legal battle with the hospital over responsibility for Veriah's death is still to be resolved.
But last Wednesday the Hong Kong government finally yielded to the campaign that had been sparked by her death and announced the introduction of anti-discrimination laws.
It was a campaign that exposed some of the taboo subjects in a largely Chinese society where racism is deeply ingrained, and a campaign that gave a voice to victims who were supposed to remain silent.
Harinder, better known as Hari, was excited about coming to Hong Kong both to pursue her career as a lawyer and as a Cantonese- speaking Asian brought up in multicultural Malaysia.
She soon found out that what she thought were cultural advantages were overshadowed by the color of her skin. It was a discovery made earlier by other members of Hong Kong's Indian community.
It was against this background that Jacques caused shock waves by appearing in a coroner's court quoting his wife's words to him about racial discrimination she was experiencing in the hospital. But the evidence was dismissed by the coroner, who delivered a verdict of death by natural causes.
Jacques did not accept this judgment and he sought a new inquest in London.
This resulted in an open verdict, with the coroner, Stephen Chan, saying "there are questions as to the level of care given to this unfortunate woman in those final 20 minutes and the level of management care during her short stay in hospital."
She suffered an epileptic fit on Jan. 1, 2000, and was dead the following day. The hospital that treated her has firmly denied all claims of negligence and racism and is fighting the negligence case.
The government consistently maintained that legislation was not a proper way to solve problems of discrimination, but it finally yielded to pressure from a mouting campaign and has produced a bill that outlaws racial discrimination.
Meanwhile, Chinese nationality law insists that only those of Chinese race or being of a recognized ethnic minority within China can qualify for citizenship.
The new Hong Kong law is seen by some as a major step forward, but has provoked disappointment from others who campaigned for its enactment.
"It is much worse than we expected," said Law Yuk-kai (
The bill's definition of racial discrimination is based on that contained in Britain's 1976 Race Relations Act, which was seen as so inadequate that the law had to be amended.
Jacques is cautious about endorsing the new legislation.
But he said on Saturday that "Hari's death led to the wave of indignation and protest that has culminated finally in this bill. In that sense, she did not die in vain. It is a memorial to her. The bill addresses and acknowledges racism."
"That is a big advance on it simply being ignored and condoned. In time, the lives of hundreds of thousands of people of darker skin will be improved. Out of the carnage and destruction of her death, something has happened that should make life better for those of darker skin. It is a start, an important beginning," he said.
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