We speak with Victoria Tang-Owen, president of the Hong Kong Down Syndrome Association and Tatler’s Asia’s Most Influential honouree, and Hongkongers with Down syndrome and their families, to learn what the city needs to do to better cater to this community
Twenty-eight-year-old Christine Lau had just finished her regular Sunday morning Chinese dance class when she turned up at Tatler’s photo shoot in early July, and was excited to demonstrate what she’d learnt. “Dancing makes me happy. I have been learning ballet since I was four. My favourite production is Swan Lake,” she says.
Tatler spoke to Lau and four other members of the Hong Kong Down Syndrome Association (HKDSA) to get a better understanding of the challenges faced by people with Down syndrome in Hong Kong, a subject that is not widely discussed outside of the community of families and caretakers. They were joined by HKDSA president and Tatler’s Asia’s Most Influential honouree Victoria Tang-Owen.
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Dancing isn’t just a hobby but a serious business for Lau. Over the years, she has studied jazz and modern dance, and has represented Hong Kong in international events, including the 2016 International Abilympics Bordeaux, the world’s largest vocational skills competition for people with disabilities, and the Pyeongchang Special Music and Art Festival in South Korea in 2014. Today, Lau—with an intermediate foundation level in ballet issued by the Royal Academy of Dance under her belt—is a teaching assistant for the dance groups at Rotary Club of Hong Kong Island West Hong Chi Morning Hope School-Shine and HKDSA.
She is a rare Hongkonger—particularly one with a disability—who has been able to turn a hobby into a career. HKDSA’s director Erica Lee says while many members of the association take an interest in and show an aptitude for dance due to the prevalence of hyperflexibility among people with the condition, very few of them find work as dance professionals. More commonly, they find manual labour jobs; those with only mild intellectual disability may find work with large companies such as office mail delivery, cleaning, packaging or as an office assistant. “These aren’t a lot of options,” Lee admits.
Down syndrome is a genetic condition that causes cognitive impairment and developmental delays, which lead to learning disabilities that can be a challenge at school or the workplace. Physically, people with the condition are at a higher risk of heart diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy.
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The latest figures provided by Hospital Authority show that, at the end of 2021, there were an estimated 3,000 people with Down syndrome in Hong Kong. At the time of writing in early July, the HKDSA had 942 members aged between 11 months to 63 years old. Only about three per cent of the adult members are employed by organisations other than HKDSA; the rest who are adults work in sheltered workshops, are unemployed or attend classes and day activities at District Support Centres for Persons with Disabilities.
The general lack of understanding of the condition in the local job market has been a deep-rooted problem. “Many corporates still don’t know what Down syndrome is, what positions are suitable for people with the condition or how to support them, so they turn down applicants with Down syndrome,” Lee says. There are incentives: there is government funding available to cover wages during work attachment and job trial periods; salaries and duties can be reduced in accordance with an individual’s capabilities; and businesses can be recognised as “Caring Companies” by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. And some companies do happily sign up and even offer the full salary.