Letters | Coronavirus in Hong Kong: city shows it hasn’t stopped caring for the differently abled
- Even before the pandemic, persons with disabilities had to plan outings well in advance and practise social distancing
- In taking care of their needs during the pandemic, Hong Kong has shown there is hope despite new challenges
I was selected as a TEDx HKU speaker before the pandemic. When the coronavirus arrived, anxiety hit. I was unsure how to explain that it was not safe for me to deliver the talk in person. I did not want to pull out of something I had committed to. In the end, I did not have to explain because the event was postponed, and, by the time the new date was set, the world knew of the risks. It was automatically understood that I was from a vulnerable group – those with pre-existing health conditions.
Before the pandemic, I planned to show up on stage in my wheelchair to show how travelling was different for me, to explain the meticulous planning required and how private transport was the preferable option. With the pandemic making the last two a norm for everyone, I had to change my strategy.
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Hong Kong by wheelchair: a different perspective on our city's accessibility
I instead started the talk by sharing my previous plan and noting that the only difference for those with disabilities now is that we have to speak up even louder that we are worthy of treatment, no matter whether we have a low survival rate. The soaring number of coronavirus cases has raised the question of whether the lives of those with disabilities are worth saving, as an article in The New York Times highlighted in March.