Small statures, big hearts: life lessons from a Hong Kong couple with dwarfism and how the city can be more inclusive
- Pierre Cheung and Katy Choi have never let their physical condition stop them from living a full life, and they are on a quest to help others through volunteer work, as well as shared stories
- Hong Kong’s built environment places more emphasis on wheelchair users and people with visual and hearing impairments, but more can be done
After two years of dinner dates, movie outings and joint fitness sessions, Pierre Cheung Chun-kong, 34, and girlfriend Katy Choi Wing-kei, 38 – like most loving couples – are considering marriage.
But they do not intend to have children, because they fear passing on a condition to their young ones.
“I would be heartbroken to see our kids go through what we have experienced,” Choi says.
The couple first met at an event for people with dwarfism, a condition which causes a person to be considerably shorter than average, most no taller than 147cm.
There is a 50 to 75 per cent chance of parents with the condition passing this on to their children.
According to survey results released by City University in December, 60.3 per cent of 523 respondents without dwarfism feel little people in Hong Kong are discriminated against, and 22.6 per cent view the degree of discrimination as serious or very serious.