Letters | Hong Kong should be a city where wheelchair users are welcome

Readers discuss cases of restaurants turning away customers in wheelchair, using ChatGPT to improve English-speaking abilities and discrimination against ethnic minority groups

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Elderly women sit on a bench in a housing estate in Hong Kong in April 2019. The demand for barrier-free facilities and services will grow in Hong Kong amid population ageing. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 11:30am, 23 Nov 2024

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Two recent incidents of wheelchair users in Hong Kong being denied entry into restaurants – one of them involving a Paralympian – have shone a spotlight on the challenges people with disabilities face in accessing essential services. The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) is deeply concerned.

We recognise the importance of educating the service sector. We are communicating with representatives of the catering industry to explore ways to help enhance workers’ understanding of the Disability Discrimination Ordinance and improve their knowledge about best practices for providing services to people with disabilities.

At the same time, however, improving accessibility is not the sole responsibility of any particular group or sector in the community. We all need to work together to remove the barriers to social participation for people with disabilities or special needs as improving accessibility of our city will ultimately benefit us all.

In 2020, there were over 534,000 people with disabilities in Hong Kong, representing around 7.1 per cent of the total population. In just over 20 years, it is projected that one in three residents in the city will be aged 65 or above. The demand for barrier-free facilities and services will grow amid population ageing. These numbers send a clear message to businesses: improving accessibility is not just a necessity but also a strategy to tap into the growing silver market.

Over the years, the EOC has used a multipronged approach that combines law enforcement, policy advocacy, research and public education to tackle disability discrimination and improve public understanding of ways to create an inclusive environment for people with disabilities.