【by Clayton LO Keng Chi, June 2025】
Introduction
Disability Studies in Hong Kong has undergone significant transformation from a predominantly medical model towards a more inclusive, rights-based, and socially constructed understanding of disability. This evolution has been propelled by interdisciplinary collaborations spanning medicine, public health, education, social sciences, policy studies, and the humanities. This article explores how such interdisciplinary approaches have enriched the field’s development, emphasizing the critical role of the humanities in shaping future research trajectories. Furthermore, it discusses how humanities scholarship facilitates meaningful connections between academic knowledge and public engagement, thereby advancing disability justice and social inclusion.
The interdisciplinary nature of Disability Studies in Hong Kong is evident in its engagement with medical sciences, public health, special education, social work, policy analysis, psychology, and cultural studies. Each discipline contributes unique methodologies, theoretical insights, and practical implications, fostering a holistic understanding of disability as a complex and multifaceted phenomenon.
The historical dominance of the medical model in Hong Kong’s disability research, which emphasizes biological impairment and rehabilitation, has gradually given way to more nuanced perspectives that foreground social determinants and human rights. This shift has been facilitated by interdisciplinary collaboration.
1. Medical and Public Health Perspectives
Medical research in Hong Kong has been significantly advanced by institutions such as The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). CUHK’s medical faculty has produced valuable epidemiological data on disability prevalence, health disparities, and aging populations.
Complementing this, PolyU offers a Master of Science program in Rehabilitation of People with Developmental Disabilities, which equips professionals with advanced clinical expertise and evidence-based practices to support individuals with developmental disabilities. This program reflects PolyU’s commitment to integrating medical knowledge with practical rehabilitation approaches, thereby contributing to both academic research and applied healthcare services for disabled populations. Together, CUHK’s epidemiological and public health research and PolyU’s specialized rehabilitation education form a robust interdisciplinary foundation that deepens understanding of the lived realities of disabled individuals in Hong Kong and informs more effective health and social care policies.
2. Special Education and Social Work
Special education programs at universities such as the Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) and CUHK have integrated interdisciplinary theories to improve educational access and inclusion for students with special educational needs (SEN). Research on inclusive education, curriculum adaptation, and teacher training reflects collaborations between education, psychology, and social work. Social work research complements this by addressing family support, community integration, and welfare policies, emphasizing structural barriers and advocating for systemic change.
3. Policy and Legal Studies
Policy research and legal frameworks, including the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (DDO) and the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), have been analyzed through interdisciplinary lenses combining sociology, law, and public administration. This approach has enhanced understanding of how legislation shapes social inclusion and the lived experiences of disabled people, while identifying gaps between policy and practice.
4. Cultural Studies and Humanities
While medical and social sciences provide critical data and policy analysis, the humanities offer interpretive frameworks that explore disability’s cultural meanings, representations, and identities. Cultural studies interrogate how disability is constructed and contested in literature, film, media, and public discourse, revealing the power dynamics underlying stigma, ableism, and marginalization. This interdisciplinary engagement challenges dominant narratives and amplifies disabled voices, fostering a richer, more complex understanding of disability.
The humanities are uniquely positioned to deepen Disability Studies by providing critical tools for analyzing representation, identity, ethics, and meaning-making. Their contributions to future research in Hong Kong’s Disability Studies include:
(1) Critical Analysis of Disability Representation
Humanities scholarship examines how disability is portrayed in literature, film, theater, and visual arts. In Hong Kong, emerging research explores disability narratives in local media and cultural productions, uncovering both empowering and problematic portrayals. Such analysis is crucial for understanding how cultural texts shape public perceptions and influence social attitudes towards disability.
(2) Exploration of Disability Identity and Subjectivity
Philosophy, literary theory, and cultural studies contribute to theorizing disability identity beyond medical or social categories. They explore the lived experience of embodiment, the negotiation of stigma, and the construction of disabled subjectivities. This focus on personal narratives and identity politics enriches the field’s understanding of diversity within disabled communities.
(3) Ethical and Political Inquiry
The humanities engage with ethical questions surrounding disability, such as autonomy, agency, and justice. They interrogate the moral implications of medical interventions, reproductive technologies, and social policies. This ethical inquiry informs debates on disability rights, bioethics, and social inclusion, guiding future research towards more just and humane frameworks.
My Journey and the View of Future Development
My journey as a scholar and artist has unfolded alongside the very interdisciplinary movement in Disability Studies that this article so compellingly outlines.
I developed a visual impaired condition in secondary school and came into contact with Hong Kong’s medical and rehabilitation institutions at an early age. Before I became familiar with the academic frameworks of these studies, my long-standing relationship with academia was often as a research subject — a role that, to this day, has rarely changed. I was frequently invited to participate in experiments and interviews, contributing a considerable amount of data to the development of medical research.
Until 2009, I firstly published a poetry collection reflecting on my lived experience with visual impairment—an early attempt to articulate disability through creative expression rather than clinical diagnosis. This work later led to an academic dialogue with another Hong Kong writer Lee Chi-Leung, which was published in the anthology of a Chinese reader in 21st century Disability Studies (抱殘守缺：21世紀殘障研究讀本), Given the relative scarcity of Chinese-language disability studies anthologies at the time, our exchange resonated with many who sought culturally rooted and narrative-driven perspectives.
In the years since, I have increasingly aligned my work with the interdisciplinary ethos described in the article, particularly through projects that foreground lived experience, narrative research, and artistic production. I engaged in qualitative research and in-depth interviews that explored the intersections of sexuality and disability from an NGO Hong Kong Women Christian Council. And I also evolved into a curatorial practice centered on tactile aesthetics—an area that challenges normative assumptions about how the love and intimacy, artistic practice, should be perceived. By curating touch-based Art exhibitions, I aimed to reimagine access and sensory engagement, particularly from the standpoint of those with various bodily impairments. These projects were not only public-facing but also constituted a form of practice-led research, where embodiment, access, and artistic narrative intertwined to generate new critical insights.
These ongoing creative and scholarly practices are now integral to my doctoral research at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Draws on literary analysis, film theory, and critical disability studies to examine representations of disability across Greater China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. In doing so, I seek to uncover how the various formulation of concepts about disability, are operate as a cultural and political signifier within broader questions of identity, normativity, and geopolitics.
Actually, in the area of Hong Kong study, it is rare to find scholars from humanity background who conduct research grounded directly in local cultural practices and everyday life with the disable identity. This kind of research often struggles to gain recognition from other academic disciplines, making it even more difficult to carry out. Despite these challenges, I have always aspired to initiate a research project that focuses specifically on Hong Kong’s disability culture. However, turning this vision into reality has not been easy. That said, several existing studies have deeply inspired me and affirmed the importance of this direction.
One such work is the research paper “Forging a New Disability x Gender Culture in Hong Kong—Establishing Disabled Feminism” by Wong Choi Fung. Since its publication in 2015, this study has offered a pioneering cultural studies perspective on the intersection of disability and gender in Hong Kong. Drawing on both personal experience and critical theory, Wong integrates feminist disability theory and crip theory to propose a new conceptual framework she calls “Disabled Feminism.” Her work critically examines mainstream media representations, the cultural narratives of grassroots disability organizations, and the lived realities of disabled families, particularly through her documentary filmmaking.
The paper sheds light on pervasive issues such as ableism, gender-based marginalization, and the desexualization of disabled bodies. At the same time, it advocates for cultural resymbolization and the creation of inclusive, intersectional identities and communities.
Wong’s research exemplifies how theoretical frameworks can be meaningfully grounded in Hong Kong local lived experience. By analyzing local media portrayals, engaging with grassroots disability activism, and producing the documentary Gold Kam—which tells the story of her own family—her work raises public awareness, dismantles entrenched stereotypes, and promotes disability rights in the Hong Kong context. Through close collaboration with disabled communities, Wong ensures that her scholarship remains intimately connected to the realities and needs of those it seeks to represent.
Another research monograph, Learning Disability and Everyday Life by a sociologist Alex Cockain, offers a profound ethnographic exploration of the lived experience of a middle-aged man with learning disabilities and autism. Cockain’s work also exemplifies how humanities research of critical theory—particularly through anthropological and sociological lenses—can illuminate the complex realities of disability beyond reductive medical or deficit models, thus contributing to richer understandings that inform both academic discourse and social advocacy.
Grounded in theory of sociology and cultural study, the study also critically examines how everyday practices and social interactions construct and negotiate meanings of normalcy, ability, and disability within specific sociocultural and material contexts. His research revealing how his interactions and spatial practices challenge dominant discourses of normalcy and ability, and how does it underpins disability-themed cultural initiatives. By attending closely to the “graininess” of everyday interactions, language, and spatial practices, such research uncovers the subtle ways in which ableist norms are enacted, resisted, and reimagined in daily life.
In the realm of educational outreach and curriculum development, such interdisciplinary researches also plays a pivotal role in crafting inclusive curricula across schools and universities, especially in Cockain’s interdisciplinary approach, that further demonstrates how integrating disability perspectives into cultural studies, literature, and history enriches academic programs, cultivating awareness and respect for disability among students and educators alike, and advancing a “culture of accessibility”.
Conclusion
The development of Disability Studies in Hong Kong exemplifies the transformative potential of interdisciplinary approaches. By integrating medical, social, educational, policy, and humanities perspectives, the field has evolved to encompass a holistic understanding of disability that transcends reductive models. The humanities, in particular, contribute critical insights into representation, identity, ethics, and culture, enriching research and fostering inclusive imaginaries.
However, the development of the humanities Disability Studies in Hong Kong has faced several challenges. The scale of cultural and humanities research related to disability in Hong Kong is relatively small and emerging. Existing studies tend to focus on disability representation, sign language linguistics, and the agency of disabled communities, but systematic engagement with intersectional theory and power dynamics is scarce. Factors such as academic resource allocation, disciplinary traditions, societal awareness, and policy priorities contribute to this gap.
Consequently, comprehensive research addressing multiple axes of marginalization and fostering solidarity across social movements has yet to be fully realized in the local context.
Otherwise, the promotion of disability culture as a site of artistic innovation, resistance, and community building is also at an early stage in Hong Kong. While the film, and media, research and support for disability art, performance, and aesthetics remain limited and fragmented. This restricts the recognition and valorization of disability as a cultural identity that challenges normative standards of beauty and ability.
The thesis highlights that cultural and artistic interventions are crucial yet underdeveloped in Hong Kong’s disability studies and activism. It emphasizes that cultural engagement serves as a powerful tool for challenging negative stereotypes, fostering new identities, and promoting social participation among disabled people.
Through detailed analysis of local disability groups such as “Zhuoxin” and “Awakening Women with Disabilities,” Wong Choi Fung’s research also showcases how cultural activities—like theater, video production, and workshops—enable disabled individuals to resist societal stigma and create politically meaningful narratives. These initiatives represent pioneering efforts in developing a sense of creativity that transcends traditional medical and welfare frameworks. However, the challenges in developing intersectionality and power analysis, along with the promotion of disability culture and creativity within humanities studies in Hong Kong, stem from multiple factors. These include the early stage of disciplinary development, limited academic and institutional resources, prevailing societal perceptions, and policy orientations that prioritize clinical and educational approaches over cultural and critical perspectives. Addressing these challenges is essential to fostering a more holistic and inclusive understanding of disability that embraces its cultural, social, and political complexities.
The existent focus of disability research in Hong Kong has predominantly been on practical and applied fields such as special education, medicine, social work, and public health. Cultural and artistic dimensions receive comparatively less attention and fewer resources. This imbalance limits the visibility and influence of disabled artists and cultural practitioners, as well as the development of disability culture as a form of creative resistance and social engagement.
Humanities scholarship serves as a crucial conduit between academia and the public, facilitating knowledge dissemination, cultural mediation, and advocacy. In a diverse and dynamic society like Hong Kong, this connection is essential for advancing disability justice and social inclusion.
I think the future research in Disability Studies must continue to embrace interdisciplinary collaboration, with the humanities playing a central role in shaping critical, culturally grounded, and socially engaged scholarship. Through such efforts, Disability Studies can not only deepen academic understanding but also contribute meaningfully to public discourse of disability culture, and its relation to community empowerment.
AUTHOR
Clayton LO Keng Chi, a visually impaired PhD candidate at CUHK, specializes in modern Chinese culture and critical disability studies. A renowned poet and artist with disabilities, he has actively engaged in artistic and cultural publishing since a young age. He joined the editorial board of Hong Kong’s notable literary magazine Fleurs des Lettres, and became its director board. With extensive experience in curation and production, Clayton uses disability as a central theme for cultural reflection. He aspires to contribute his insights to teaching art and humanities in higher education, enriching perspectives on creativity and inclusivity.
REFERENCES
H-德克森等著 (2014)。《抱殘守缺：21世紀殘障研究讀本》(Lingering Disabilities: A Reader for the 21st Century)。林家瑄、陳羿安、陳耀宗、楊雅婷譯。劉人鵬、宋玉雯、蔡孟哲、鄭聖勳編。蜃樓。
劉劍玲、易穎華、盧勁馳等著 (2015)。《有愛無陷：殘疾者的情與性》。陳意軒編。香港婦女基督徒協會。
Cockain, A. (2024). Learning Disability and Everyday Life. Taylor & Francis.
Wong, C. F. (2014). Forging a New Disability/Gender Culture in Hong Kong—Establish Disabled Feminism. Doctoral dissertation, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong).