World News from Hong Kong

"A society where everyone, regardless of background or disability, feels welcome, included and supported"

Artists with disability shine in Hong Kong Week's musical-floral crossover

(HKSAR) - Hong Kong artists with disability have today (October 18) delighted Expo 2010 Shanghai China (Shanghai Expo) audiences with a musical and visual art crossover performance of piano paired with live flower arrangement. "The Flowering of Piano by Hong Kong Artists with Disabilities" was presented by the Arts with the Disabled Association Hong Kong (ADAHK) at the Expo Park's Baosteel Stage (Large), which is the highlight of Hong Kong Week activities at Shanghai Expo from October 18 to 22. Outstanding pianist Lee Hin, who is visually impaired, played solo classical pieces which included Chopin's "Raindrop" and "Nocturne" to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Chopin's birth.

Accompanying him on stage was Mandy Tang, a flower arrangement bronze medal winner at the seventh International Abilympics, whose floral flourishes added a new dimension to the classical music. The stage setting, a beautiful flower garden with a swing and balloon, was also arranged by Mandy Tang. Inspired by the vibrancy and cosmopolitan nature of Hong Kong, Mandy used 16 different coloured flowers to create the garden as well as two decorations which resembled the Brand Hong Kong dragon symbol.

Echoing the Hong Kong touch, Lee Hin, also performed a duet debut with erhu maestro Wong On-yuen for a beautiful rendition of "Beneath the Lion Rock". In addition to the piano recital, Lee Hin also sang "I can't sing" and played the song at the same time. "In spite of our disabilities, Mandy and I want to bring to Shanghai Expo the best of Hong Kong- the unique diversity and the 'can-do' spirit of Hong Kong people that define Hong Kong as Asia's world city," said Lee Hin.

"It is this 'can-do' spirit that helps us sail through difficulty and challenge we face in playing piano, flower arrangement and our lives," said Mandy. At the invitation of Life and Sunshine Pavilion, the first pavilion for the disabled ever set up at a World Expo, Lee Hin and Mandy Tang will tomorrow (October 19) jointly stage another performance to promote respect and equality for people with disabilities. Founded in 1986 with the vision of "Arts are for everyone", ADAHK has been working hard to nurture artistic talent among the disabled, fostering their social integration to build a harmonious society.

The five-day Hong Kong Week programme runs until Friday (October 22) with a kaleidoscope of performances, activities and events covering a broad range including art, music, dance, design, fashion to innovative applications of smart card technology. For details, please visit www.hkexpo2010.gov.hk.

Source: HKSAR Government/
http://7thspace.com/

Disability biggest challenge for HK Paralympics qualifier

BHONG KONG (AFP, 11.0908) "Without my disability I wouldn't be riding, but my disability is the biggest challenge I have to overcome," says Nelson Yip, Hong Kong's only rider to qualify for the Paralympics.

For most of his 40 years, Yip has had cerebral palsy and relies on crutches to make up for the uselessness of his legs.

On Monday, he made history as the first Hong Kong rider to compete in the Paralympics when he and his horse Icy Bet took to the arena for the first of the dressage competitions.

Seven years ago, Yip took up riding -- not for the therapy that controlling a horse can provide for people with impaired mobility, but because he loved the freedom of riding "in the open air, across green landscapes, under a blue sky".

"It was a beautiful picture and I thought why not," he told AFP of the invitation he received in 2001 from Hong Kong's Riding for the Disabled Association to join a five-month beginners' course.

In a city without equestrian traditions, the sport was an unusual choice, but then Yip is an unusually determined man who said that even without his disability he would have become a world-class athlete on his own terms.

More than 4,000 international athletes are participating in the Paralympics in Beijing, and as with the Olympics, Hong Kong is hosting the equestrian events at state-of-the-art facilities in rural Sha Tin because China could not guarantee the health of the horses.

A record 73 athletes and 71 horses from 28 countries are participating in nine dressage events that run until September 11.

Yip scored 50.545 percent in his debut, and will compete again Thursday in the individual freestyle.

Despite the disappointing first showing, Yip says he never dared to dream of becoming an Olympian until qualifying in 2006.

But now he says he's not surprised, describing himself during an interview at the suburban office of his light manufacturing company as an "all or nothing" character who excels at whatever he does.

Having contracted cerebral palsy as an infant, Yip spent his childhood "going back and forth to hospital," before settling into his studies and gaining a Bachelor of Science degree in statistics and computer science.

After several years in academia, in the 1990s he founded Hong Kong Rehabilitation Power, a non-government charity that aimed to encourage disabled people to overcome their sense of victimhood, which he said pervades the physically and mentally handicapped in Asia.

In contrast to the developments of recent decades in the West, Yip believes "most disabled people in Asia see themselves as victims and I always thought it is not about the disability, it's all about the mentality, the belief, the confidence".

That "culture of victimhood" has held back Asian Paralympic athletes, according to Mary Longden, coach of Australia's para-equestrian team and advisor to Hong Kong's disabled riders.

"In Asia, the whole culture of disability is difficult because people tend to be a victim of disability and that doesn't lead you to being a top athlete," she said.

In the West, "there has been a progression away from victimhood," she said.

"If you want to become a top athlete, there is a lot of mental and physical work necessary, and that is difficult for Asian riders, it is a reflection of the institutionalisation of victimhood.

"What is really good about para-equestrianism is that we are dealing with what people can do, and here (in Hong Kong) it is a real team effort.

"Riders on the squad have transcended that, and as they get better and discover what they are able to do, the progress becomes addictive."

Just like in the abled riding competition, Paralympic dressage riders will be assessed on their ability to control their horse within the restrictions of the grade of their disability.

Dressage is often referred to as "horse ballet" as the horse appears to move effortlessly through a sequence of movements without any apparent instruction from the rider.

As such, the rider needs discipline and control to let the horse know through almost invisible signals what is required.

Yip said the cerebral palsy had robbed him of "perfect muscle co-ordination in the lower body" and that when he gets nervous his legs become stiff.

He needs help mounting Icy Bet, with a couple of people to hold the horse still, and one to give him a leg up.

Because his legs are good only for kicking the horse -- to move forward -- he communicates with the animal via movements of his hips and arms, via the bit in the horse's mouth and with a whip.

"It effects my riding," he said of the cerebral palsy, "and it is a problem to overcome."

"My disability changed my life -- it's part of my life and having accepted it I can try to be the best given my potential and talent, so in that way the disability is something of a blessing.

"But still, I find my biggest enemy is myself."

Source http://afp.google.com/