SA Chinese close historic Equality Court case
Today, 5 December 2019, the local Chinese community closed its historic case against 12 respondents in the Equality Court. Over the past two weeks, the Chinese Association Gauteng (TCA), acting on behalf of over 100 000 people, has presented wide-ranging evidence for why the respondents’ comments on social media platforms amount to racist hate speech, harassment and unfair discrimination. “We believe the court will see that our case against these heinous comments is indisputable. In a diverse democracy such as ours, underpinned by principles of equality and dignity, it cannot be acceptable to say about a particular group of people, ‘wipe them out’ or ‘get rid’ of them”, says Erwin Pon, TCA Chairperson. Four respondents have submitted to the court their willingness to tender unconditional apologies and to reach settlement on all the terms TCA has sought. These include, amongst others, that they pin their apologies on their Facebook profiles for a period of 6 months and do 500 hours of community service to remove anti-Chinese hate speech on social media platforms. The 8th respondent, Mariette van der Linde de Klerk, vehemently denies having made the comment attributed to her. The 4th respondent, David Clive Horne, maintains that his comment is read out of context and that he hasn’t committed hate speech. “TCA is pleased that we were able to present evidence on the history of racism that has faced our community and on how, too, hate speech and racism impact us currently. We are confident that the court will find that all the comments amount to hate speech. Through this case, the Chinese experience in South Africa has finally been made visible”, says Francis Lai Hong, TCA Vice Chairperson. Closing arguments will be presented in court in February 2020. Click HERE to see TCA Chairperson, Erwin Pon, give testimony on the impact of the comments on the local Chinese community. To arrange media interviews contact: Melanie Judge – 083 271 2543 or melanie@justcommunication.co.za Natasha Adonis – 079 7999654 or natasha.adonis.comms@gmail.com
About TCA:
The Chinese Association in Gauteng (TCA) was formed in 1903. Its primary aim is to promote and preserve Chinese culture, heritage, language and religion, and to advance the welfare of the Chinese in South Africa. It also promotes unity, harmony and goodwill amongst those of Chinese descent, and embraces the interests of all other fellow South African citizens. For more information visit http://www.tcagp.co.za
