HK Blind Lawyer is Phoenix Rebirth “Freedom Flower” Blooms in Canada

By Zhang Jing, WRIC                                           6-24-2025

 

 

Joy Luk, a blind lawyer currently exiled in Toronto, Canada, is Hong Kong’s first and only blind lawyer, and a frontline warrior in Hong Kong’s democracy movement. In 2019, at less than 40 years old, she frequently appeared on the front lines of protests, big and small. Holding a megaphone, she stood between police lines and protestors, mediating and providing legal aid to arrested protestors. As a result, she became a target for the police and was often harassed. She left Hong Kong at the end of 2021, came to Canada, and was granted political asylum.

 

Currently, the indomitable Joy Luk has not only been admitted to the University of Toronto Faculty of Law but has also diligently attended every single class, completing the initial steps for national lawyer certification in Canada. Once other steps are completed, she will officially obtain her Canadian lawyer’s license. Recently, at the request of the Law Society of Ontario, she submitted an official recent personal photo, suggesting that Joy Luk is expected to officially begin her legal career in this foreign land within the year.

 

Image from South China Morning Post.

 

 

Joy Luk was born blind due to retinal atrophy caused by premature birth and studied at the Ebenezer School for the Blind from a young age. Later, with the advent of text scanners, the text from thick textbooks and reference books could be stored and then read by visually impaired students using speech software or braille displays. In her upper primary and junior secondary years, Joy developed a strong interest in law. She listened to “The Unwritten Law,” which was later adapted into a movie, and couldn’t help but imagine herself in the protagonist’s shoes, wondering if her own future would be similar. She found a braille version of the Basic Law in her school library and read it multiple times. She later earned a Bachelor of Laws from City University of Hong Kong and a Master of Laws in International Human Rights Law from the University of Hong Kong, becoming Hong Kong’s first blind lawyer. She interned at a law firm and was passionate about promoting democracy, human rights, and disability rights. She also worked in the complaints department of the Hong Kong Equal Opportunities Commission, handling discrimination and sexual harassment cases, putting her knowledge into practice.

 

In mid-November 2019, after the intense clashes at CUHK (Chinese University of Hong Kong) subsided, the conflict shifted to PolyU (Hong Kong Polytechnic University). The clashes escalated on the evening of the 16th, with riot police firing numerous tear gas rounds at protestors, who retaliated by throwing petrol bombs at the intersection of Chatham Road South and Austin Road. After much difficulty, lawyer Joy Luk arrived at Entrance A of the Polytechnic University. She painstakingly climbed over piled-up debris to enter the PolyU campus. She was mentally prepared for arrest, imprisonment, and disbarment. “If I’m disbarred because of this political movement, so be it,” she said.

 

Lawyer Joy Luk with Reverend Chu Yiu-ming. (Online)

 

 

Around noon on the 17th, the conflict between police and citizens intensified, with police deploying two water cannon vehicles and a ‘Rapier’ armored vehicle. Tear gas and petrol bombs flew back and forth. The scene was engulfed in flames and smoke. Around 3 o’clock, police again deployed two water cannon vehicles, firing long blue and clear water jets. Immediately after, police suddenly charged at the protestors. Instantly, shouts and reprimands filled the air, the scene was extremely chaotic, and protestors were forced back into the campus.

 

On November 10, 2019, Joy Luk was at Sha Tin MTR station where a group of protestors were “renovating” the station. The station was about to close its gates, and she just made it, lying down directly under the rolling gate to buy the protestors at least 10 more minutes to prepare. (Online image)

 

Image from the internet.

 

 

At the time, Joy Luk was at the front. This was completely different from the scenes she had experienced in the past: acting as a “tank man,” blocking between police and protestors, reasoning with police, and delaying time for protestors to escape. But this time, she was hit by a water cannon and injured. On the afternoon of the 17th, Joy Luk was hit by tear gas at the PolyU siege conflict site. Suffering from heart disease and asthma, and having gone without medication for an entire day and night, coupled with the attacks from water cannons and tear gas, her physical condition was very poor. Several students took her to the on-site first aid station. On the afternoon of the 18th, the police issued an order, demanding protestors leave by 10 PM, otherwise they would be considered guilty of “rioting.” At 6 PM, Joy Luk vaguely felt the danger escalating, and she advised a female student next to her to leave: “You are still young, you still need to study.”

 

Joy Luk is an international human rights lawyer; she decided to stay. She said, “When protestors are arrested, I can use my legal knowledge to inform them of their rights.”

 

As she recalled this civilized and orderly protest movement: “The true goodness and beauty of the crowd were truly moving, and as a visually impaired person, I felt it even more deeply. I still remember Denise Ho carefully holding my hand and guiding me through the crowd.” Denise Ho is a Canadian-Hong Kong pop singer who was arrested at the end of last year for having served as a consultant for Stand News. A few days later, Stand News announced its closure.

 

“The Hong Kong police’s use of violence to suppress everything precisely highlights the true spirit of this non-violent protest,” said Chu Kwok-chung of the Toronto Association in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (Toronto Alliance). He had strongly urged the Canadian government to expand the lifeboat scheme, ease conditions for political asylum, and expedite refugee approval procedures. The Toronto Alliance strongly urges the Canadian government to accelerate the processing of political asylum applications and relax the screening conditions for Hong Kong applicants. Chu Kwok-chung said: “Canada should pay more attention to the loss of freedom in Hong Kong, so that these brave Hongkongers can start new lives here.”

 

The persistence of the blind female lawyer is not just a story encouraging people to strive for personal success; it is a line in the epic of Hongkongers’ fight for freedom, a note in a tragic and heroic battle song, and an ordinary yet unforgettable inspirational deed.

 

 

Donate to support the blind lawyer’s living expenses during her studies, so she can continue to be a human rights lawyer: 

https://gofund.me/695148b9