A blind Form 4 student was honoured by the Hong Kong Outstanding Students' Association yesterday with its first Passion for Life award.
While 11 winners received the association's annual award for outstanding students, 20-year-old Poon Chi-kwong received the inaugural award for his hard work and achievements at mainstream schools despite being blind since birth.
Dubbed the 'Sunshine Boy' by the association, Chi-kwong has excelled in Chinese history at CCC Kwei Wah Shan College in Braemar Hill, where he also won a singing contest.
'I wish to be a singer, because I want to let people understand that ability is more important than appearance,' he said after accepting his award. 'I can't see, but I have stronger feelings than others. People are too superficial nowadays, I hope I can influence what people think.'
Mr Poon previously studied at the Ebenezer School and Home for the Visually Impaired in Pok Fu Lam, where he had to repeat Form 3 because no other school would accept him. However, with a schoolmaster's help and his own hard work, CCC Kwei Wah Shan College made an exception to take him as a student.
Of the outstanding students this year, Leung Ka-wing - a 14-year-old student at Sha Tin Government Secondary School - was the youngest.