Hearing impaired tell of struggle because sign language is discouraged
Sign language is the most effective way for deaf people to communicate, yet it has been marginalised and stigmatised in Hong Kong, and is in danger of dying out, writes Elaine Yau
William Tang Siu-chung was left profoundly deaf after suffering a bout of fever at the age of three. With the use of a hearing aid, the 32-year-old photographer can recover 60 per cent of his hearing, but still struggles to communicate.
Forbidden by his parents to learn sign language, he strains hard to listen, lip reads, and replies in an off-key voice in his limited vocabulary. He didn't know sign language existed until he was studying in Form Five.
"I went to take the Form Five public exam together with able-bodied students. Then I saw a group of deaf people taking the exam in a special room. They were communicating in sign language. That was when I learned that there was a deaf community," he says.
It's not unusual for Hong Kong's hearing-impaired population to be non-conversant in sign language. The situation stems from a misconception that learning sign language discourages hard-of-hearing children from speaking, and a government policy to integrate these children into mainstream schools that do not provide sign-language education.
Tang feels this led to wasted school years. "At school, I had to follow the teacher with my eyes because I had to read his lips. But once his back was facing the class, I had difficulty understanding.
Tang dropped out of an accounting diploma programme offered by the Vocational Training Council after only three months because he was unable to learn without additional support. He was the only hearing-impaired student in class throughout his years of study. "People think a hearing aid is a panacea for us. But it's far from that," he says.