Blind. Hong Kong dissident. Refugee. And as of Monday, she’s a Toronto lawyer
Joy Luk can’t leave behind the time she spent on the front lines of Hong Kong’s massive democracy protests in 2019.
Seven years after the movement was crushed, the city’s first and only blind lawyer lives in Toronto as a refugee, and is reminded frequently of her worst moments during the uprising.
Luk says she has nightmares about being struck by police and is startled by a knock at her apartment door, a reminder of the visits to her home from belligerent officers amid a Chinese-government-backed crackdown on opposition.
But the spirit behind her extraordinary role in the Hong Kong protests hasn’t dimmed, even as she’s treated for post-traumatic stress disorder.
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The 47-year-old has spoken at vigils here commemorating the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, given talks on the “criminalization” of dissent and picketed outside China’s Toronto consulate.
A ceremony on Monday, though, will mark what might be Luk’s most impressive accomplishment since arriving in Canada. After obtaining a Global Professional Master of Laws degree at the University of Toronto and passing bar-admission exams made all the more challenging by her lack of sight, she’ll be officially admitted to the profession in Ontario.
“In the very beginning, when I arrived in Canada, I didn’t think I could be a lawyer again,” Luk said in an interview Wednesday. But she says she reminded herself of a favourite message from Apple founder Steve Jobs: “I accept failure, but I do not accept not trying … The worst case is I would not pass.”
Luk is grateful for the welcome she received in Canada, especially its willingness to provide care for her many health needs even before her refugee application was accepted. That said, she’s dismayed by one issue – the current federal government’s push to improve relations with China as a response to the massive tariffs imposed by the U.S.
She understands the motivation, but worries that Prime Minister Mark Carney is forsaking those whose rights Beijing tramples.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on nationalpost.com — the content belongs to National Post.
