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Yu Yuet

TVB dramas might be getting a lot of flak these days, but their influence on generations of Hongkongers is undeniable.
Bill Tse Sze-kin, 21, grew up attached to the television.
He was born prematurely on the mainland, and blinded in one eye by a light in his incubator. He developed into a toddler with atrophied leg muscles, so his father, a Hongkonger, brought him to the SAR.
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Here, TVB shows were his life, from programmes on ancient sword fighting to uniformed forces. But it was a legal series called The File of Justice that left a particularly strong impression.
Life took a sad turn when Tse was 9. His remaining eye failed him and his father died of cancer. He was sent to study and board at Ebenezer School and Home for the Visually Impaired. It all proved too much for the 9 year old.
“There was no processing of emotions, at that age. I was sad, I was hurting, that’s all I knew.”
He became rebellious and emotional, running out of class in tears from time to time.
That was until two ladies who volunteered at the school began tutoring Tse. He credits them for “saving” him. He became particularly close with one of them.
“Auntie knew my background. She knew I wasn’t too stupid for school; I was just rebelling. She encouraged me to find myself a goal. I remembered The File of Justice and how cool everyone looked at the bar, so the idea of becoming a lawyer took root.”
For a time, the bar dream was largely superficial, but it gave Tse a direction.
“Then I read Professor Johannes Chan’s The General Principles of Hong Kong Law in secondary school; that’s when I truly became interested.”
He’s thankful for the digitalisation of books, which gives him access to a lot more reading material than is printed in braille.
However, with no senior secondary education programme at Ebenezer, Tse had to get himself into a mainstream school to continue studying. So, he became the first ever blind student at Tang King Po College.
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It was a new experience for both the school and Tse. ”I never had to deal with blackboards before,” Tse says. “The first few months were really hard, but everyone was tremendously nice about reaching out to help.”
He loved school even though just getting there was an obstacle course.
Up on Kennedy Road in Wan Chai, the school can be reached through Hopewell Centre’s 17th floor exit. But as the circular building lacked accessibility features, Tse had to get there extra early to find someone to show him where the lift was, and let him know when it was the right floor.
For Tse, whose legs never got better, even a stretch of flat road is an arduous journey, since it’s impossible to use both a guide cane and a walker or wheelchair. “I’m stubborn. I want to guide myself. So I pushed myself to walk with no aid, even though it’s super exhausting. Now I have to make sure I don’t get fat.”
The Professional Teachers Union has nominated Tse for an Overcoming Personal Challenge Award in the South China Morning Post’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards.
Of all professions, law is as tough as it gets with all the text involved. But Tse is forging ahead towards his goal, having recently made it into the legal studies programme at HKU SPACE.


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Bill Tse Sze-kin, 21, is working hard to achieve his dream to become a lawyer. Photo: Nora Tam

(For Spirit of HK Series) Bill Tse Sze-kin, 21, who is blind and has walking difficulties, is working hard to achieve his dream to become a lawyer. Tse has been accepted into HKU Space legal studies programme. 16JUN16 SCMP/Nora Tam

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Hong Kong

Education

Bill Tse Sze-kin has been nominated for an Overcoming Personal Challenge Award in the South China Morning Post’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards
