While conducting a research study for my doctoral thesis as a Fulbrighter on students with disabilities at the University of Hong Kong, I spoke to the International Services Office, the Disability Services Office, and two students with disabilities.  I hope that their information and my own observations of the culture will encourage Americans to consider studying in Hong Kong. 

The Office of Student Affairs

When studying at the University of Hong Kong, international students will probably become very familiar with Mrs. Sylvia Wong.  Mrs. Wong has many roles; she coordinates financial aid, international students, and disabled students’ services. In her position at the Office of International Student Exchange, she deals primarily with exchange and academic matters whereas in her other position at the Office of Student Affairs, she deals with support issues regarding visas, housing, campus life, general adjustment matters, advice, and farewell gatherings.

When I questioned Mrs. Wong about what recommendations she could offer to international students with disabilities, she stated, “They have to alert us of their specific needs and to work out all necessary arrangement at an early stage of admission…and we need to be in close contact with relevant offices in his home institution and our office of international student exchange.”

Accommodations in Classes

Some of the accommodations that Mrs. Wong noted and that I observed are directed at students with visual disabilities. The University of Hong Kong has a special room in its library, which has a variety of equipment for students with visual impairments including a CCTV, screen-reader, Braille display, Braille embosser, scanner, etc.  Students with visual impairments are supposed to receive handouts electronically from their instructors in advance, but this doesn’t always happen, as was noted by Clint, a 28-year old student of literature who does not read printed material. Despite his frustrations when instructors forget to send him electronic materials, he felt that the University opened his view of the world.

In general, accommodations are fewer and less comprehensive than in the United States. For instance, no FM loops or sign language interpreters are provided to hard-of-hearing or Deaf students. Students with hearing or vision impairments are routinely given one third more time than their peers without disabilities. So, if a test is scheduled for 60 minutes, they will have 80 minutes to complete the test.

Students can make use of the Personal Development and Counseling Center, which deals with adjustment and personal issues.  International students can also utilize resources such as health care, computer support, and career advice.

It appears to me that the University of Hong Kong does have students with psychiatric and learning disabilities enrolled. However, it is probably very difficult for students with different disabilities to make it as far as higher education in Hong Kong. University admission is contingent on passing very competitive examinations in high school and many teachers are reluctant to modify their curriculum or instruction to suit needs other than those of students who learn in traditional ways.

Based on my research, I learned that non-apparent disabilities such as diabetes, hepatitis, and HIV are not classified as disabilities on the China Mainland.

Local Students with Disabilities

Based on my experience, Americans studying in Hong Kong who have disabilities will likely experience even stronger culture shock than those without disabilities.  I have found that maintaining close friendships with people with disabilities in the U.S. who understand my history and worldview is essential. Having said that, I have had many positive experiences as a woman who is Blind in Hong Kong. The local students with disabilities that I interviewed also have had both positive and negative experiences.

For example, Po Sing is a twenty-one-year-old student who will be graduating from the University of Hong Kong with a degree in geography. He is hard of hearing and wears hearing aids in both ears. Po Sing has a job as a teacher at a local high school.

Po Sing feels that his university experience helped him to learn how to develop organizational skills.  He also said that his status among friends and relatives has risen as a direct result of being a University of Hong Kong student. Po Sing has completed and excelled at his courses by speaking to his instructor directly about content he missed during lectures or by asking his friends what was said. His biggest frustration came as a result of feeling like he couldn’t enroll in a foreign language class due to his disability.

Kathleen was another student with a disability that I interviewed. She is twenty years old and is majoring in political science. She walks using a prosthetic leg, due to an above-the-knee amputation of her right leg soon after her birth. Kathleen hopes to find work with the Hong Kong government upon her graduation. Kathleen stated that most of her frustrations were a result of navigating an inaccessible campus. She recommends that international students who are coming here decide their housing situation based on transportation availability and to devise some method to open heavy doors to buildings.  Despite her difficulties, Kathleen noted that the university experience has given her a newly founded confidence.

Like these students from the area, I have found that some disability services are difficult to arrange unless I procure help from a local ally.  Sometimes just having someone who is willing to interpret language and cultural nuances between a given service office and myself is sufficient. Hong Kong is much more developed than other areas in Asia, with the exceptions of South Korea and Japan. Charity societies are common in Hong Kong offering aid to people with disabilities, whereas self-advocacy groups are less prevalent. The only self-help group that I have had contact with is the Hong Kong Blind Union.

Accessibility: Classrooms

In classrooms arranged with theatre-style seating, I have yet to see a ramp alternative to the steps. Braille and large-print signage for room numbers are rare. However, many elevators are labeled in Braille, and some of the elevators verbally announce floors. It should be noted that guide paths are present in abundance in Hong Kong, unlike the U.S. These dual strips of metal allow a person who has a visual impairment to slide his/her cane between the pieces of metal for direction along routes.

Accessibility: Housing

Students with disabilities can acquire housing on or off campus. Living in a university-based dormitory requires a rather intensive application process, however. For students with mobility impairments, the University of Hong Kong presents numerous physical environment challenges. Although plans exist and are underway to change the current situation, the only way for people using wheelchairs to arrive on campus is to be driven in by car. To access some of the dormitories, a person would need to negotiate a few steps or perhaps use a portable ramp. Elevators do exist once you are inside the buildings.

Students who find loud noises bothersome may experience great difficulties locating quiet places to live. Because carpeting is rarely used, apartment buildings and dormitories often reverberate with the echoes of slamming doors.

Accessibility: City of Hong Kong

Steps are prevalent in Hong Kong since the island is very mountainous. When ramps do exist, they are often narrow. Many of the ramps have strips of metal every eight inches or so which serve to slow down wheeled carts as they are propelled downwards. Since I don’t use a wheelchair, I’m not sure how these strips would affect mobility. But, I would imagine that they would result in a bumpy ride and might impede one’s ability to go uphill.

Occasionally, I see horizontal grab bars in toilet stalls. However, all toilet stalls are smaller than in the United States. I’ve never seen a larger toilet stall for someone needing more space to transfer to a toilet. Often, Western-style toilets are not available; squat toilets are more common throughout Asia.

It is my understanding that many cultural venues are taking steps to address issues of accessibility. However, this practice is not universal. For example, I visited the largest Buddha statue in Southern Asia on the Hong Kong island of Lantau. One had to climb 256 stairs to arrive at the statue. I was told that the decision not to offer an elevator to the summit was deliberate, since the Buddhist religion stresses that humans should not rely on mechanical assistance when making religious pilgrimages.

Accessibility: Transportation

I’ve heard that some public buses are equipped with lifts or ramps, but I have yet to see one being deployed. The local subway system is superior in many ways to those I have encountered in the United States. Guide paths, talking ticket machines, and stop announcements in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English are present. However, I am not sure whether physical access for wheelchair users is provided at all stations.

Cultural Attitudes

As a person who is blind, I have always been treated with the utmost respect when dining in Hong Kong. However, I have never seen or been offered a Braille menu and I was once refused entry into a restaurant and a taxicab in Guangzhou, a city in Southern China.

The amount and level of help provided by members of the public to people with visible disabilities, such as my blindness, is much greater than in the United States. When I walk from my dormitory to my office daily on a trip of about five minutes in duration, I usually receive two or three offers of assistance. People often offer to open doors, push elevator buttons, or help me find my way, whether I ask for assistance or not. I do hear from multiple sources that people with physical disabilities often endure gawking or staring by strangers. Sometimes, children make fun of us and are not reprimanded by their parents.

The cultural attitude towards people with disabilities in Hong Kong is complex, as in all cultures. Based on my experience, pity is the predominant feeling of the general population towards people with disabilities. I’ve been offered money as a beggar in Hong Kong and several people have tried to heal ‘my affliction.’ Since people with disabilities are much less visible in Hong Kong and in the People’s Republic of China, we are met with much more misunderstanding and fear than in the United States. However, once members of the public get to know us, they are warm and kind.

Contact Information

Mrs. Sylvia Wong
Office of Student Affairs
Office of Student Affairs, Room 303
Meng Wah Complex
The University of Hong Kong
Pokfulam Road
Telephone: 852-2857-8301 (voice only)
Fax: 852-2546-0184
E-mail: sylchan@hku.hk
Website: http://www.hku.hk/osa/

Christie L. Gilson, who is blind, is conducting research at the University of Hong Kong as a Fulbright Fellow in 2006. You can read more about her experiences by following her Blog. 

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Study completed: July, 2006