Youders’ Story – Mr. Victor Yuen
Recipient of Sir Edward Youde Memorial Scholarship for Disabled Students 2010/11
尤德爵士紀念基金殘疾學生獎學金2010/11年得獎者
It is inevitable for us to encounter different kinds of failures in our lives. Some will give up in the face of these difficulties, but some will continue to soar high. The recipient of the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Scholarship for Disabled Students 2010/11, Mr. Yuen lost his eyesight when he was seven due to some inborn reasons. However, he strived hard and eventually, he became the first visually impaired barrister in Hong Kong.
Mr. Yuen was diagnosed as having congenital glaucoma immediately after his birth, hence his eyesight was worse than normal and it would keep worsening. Mr. Yuen had had many hospital medical checkups during his young age; he underwent surgeries and tried other methods with the hope to delay the deterioration of his eyesight. Eventually, Mr. Yuen lost his eyesight when he was seven. His parents arranged for Mr. Yuen to attend the Ebenezer School & Home for the Visually Impaired when Mr. Yuen was five, so Mr. Yuen had received training on reading the braille and other life skills before he lost his eyesight two years later. He recalled that the school would train the students’ fingers’ sensitivity so that they could read the braille to receive various information after they became blind, and one of the training was that they had to use a long thin thread to pass through the tiny holes of sequins.
Since the Ebenezer School & Home for the Visually Impaired only offers courses up to secondary three level, Mr. Yuen applied for and was admitted to Wah Yan College, Hong Kong for further education. At the outset, he could not adapt to the new learning environment, and the use of English as the medium of instruction, hence he did not achieve satisfactory academic results. Mr. Yuen understood that the school expected the same from him as from other students, hence Mr. Yuen had to spend more time on revision. Soon, Mr. Yuen picked up the pace and he chose the Arts stream in his senior secondary school study. Finally, he achieved satisfactory results in the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE) and was admitted to the Bachelor of Arts of the University of Hong Kong.
During his senior secondary school study, Mr. Yuen had already contemplated his future after he graduated. He wished to find a job that could support his living, but most of the visually impaired people could hardly find a job that could enable them to take care of themselves and reward them with job satisfaction. After due consideration, he reckoned that the most viable option was to become a professional, amongst which becoming a lawyer was his only choice. Since Mr. Yuen’s public exam results were insufficient to meet the admission criteria of the Bachelor of Laws, he chose to study translation at the Faculty of Arts. Upon graduation, he realized that certain institutions had started to offer the Juris Doctor programme where he could receive general education in law and a postgraduate law degree. He was admitted to the Chinese University of Hong Kong after a series of interviews.
After receiving the two-year intensive legal training and passing the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL) programme, Mr. Yuen realized his dream of being admitted to the legal profession. Facing the choice between becoming a solicitor and a barrister, he chose the latter because he reckoned that his social skills were not his strong suit. He was very grateful that he had met four outstanding barristers during his pupillage, who were so kind that they were willing to understand Mr. Yuen’s needs and make adjustments accordingly so that Mr. Yuen could learn more during his pupillage. Two of his masters are currently working in the same chambers as Mr. Yuen, and Mr. Yuen has received many referrals from these two masters. At the beginning of his career, since Mr. Yuen had no personal connections at all, plus the fact that lay clients might doubt his capability, he had to collaborate with his masters; his masters would liaise with the clients, and Mr. Yuen would conduct research and draft documents. Soon, some solicitors acknowledged Mr. Yuen’s capability and were willing to refer cases to him. Now, Mr. Yuen’s efforts have paid off and he has successfully built up both his network and reputation.
Currently, most of his work focuses on civil matters, because unexpected issues often arise in criminal cases and Mr. Yuen acknowledges that his physical conditions may limit his ability to deal with these issues. On the contrary, civil matters involve mostly paperwork and he may do sufficient preparation beforehand. Although Mr. Yuen has built up his reputation, half of his work is still referred to him by his masters and colleagues. Therefore, he hopes that he may receive more work in his capacity in the future. Besides, he has been learning different kinds of martial arts since secondary school, especially Wing Chun, but he ceased learning it ever since the pandemic. Thus, he hopes that he may pick up Wing Chun and other martial arts again.
Mr. Yuen received the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Scholarship for Disabled Students when he was studying at the University of Hong Kong. He reckoned that the Scholarship served as a recognition for the hard work and efforts of disabled students. Mr. Yuen has utilized the scholarship to purchase a voice software which has certainly assisted his study. Undoubtedly, becoming blind is a nightmare. However, Mr. Yuen has repeatedly mentioned how grateful he is for his life. For example, compared with other visually impaired persons, Mr. Yuen found himself a lucky person since he had had seven years to appreciate this beautiful world with his own eyes before he became blind and understand the meaning of ‘colour’ which is a very abstract concept for other visually impaired persons. Besides, he is so pleased that he has encountered a lot of loving and caring persons in his life, including the teachers at the Ebenezer School & Home for the Visually Impaired and Wah Yan College, Hong Kong, who exhausted all means to satisfy his academic needs; the teaching staff at the universities and his pupil masters who provided him with many precious suggestions in his career; and his parents who have unconditionally taken care of everything in his life and have been very supportive of every single decision he made. Finally, Mr. Yuen encouraged other disabled persons to rise to the challenges, and never let their physical disability impedes their ability to live a full life.
人生路上總會遇上大大小小的挫折，有人在面對挫敗時會變得一蹶不振，但亦有人在經歷低潮後仍能自強不息。尤德爵士紀念基金殘疾學生獎學金2010/11年得獎者，袁睿澄大律師因先天原因在7歲時永久失去視力，經過多年的努力不懈最終成為香港首位視障大律師。
袁大律師在剛出生就確診患有先天性青光眼，視力比正常人差，更會不斷退化。小時候他已經經常出入醫院覆診，希望透過手術或其他方法減慢視力的退化。最後，他在7歲時永久失去視力。早在兩年前他的父母已安排他入讀心光盲人學校，讓他在尚未失明之時學會了點字及其他生活技能。他憶述，當年為了訓練他們的手指靈敏度以閱讀點字，學校安排他們進行串珠訓練，使他在失明後仍能透過點字獲得資訊。
由於心光盲人學校的課程只提供初中的課程，袁大律師在完成中二後就到香港華仁書院升讀中三。起初，由於無法適應校園環境和教學語言以至學科的分類，他的成績未如理想。在如此情況下，袁大律師明白到主流學校的教育不會因為自己的殘障而遷就自己，唯有硬著頭皮多花時間溫書和練習。經過一段時間的適應，他在高中選讀了文科，最終在高級程度會考以不俗的成績入讀香港大學的文學士學位。
高中時，袁大律師已經在思考畢業後的去路。他希望他的工作能夠養活自己，但大部分失明人士都難以找到一份讓他們照顧自己的同時、又能提供工作成就感的工作。思前想後，他認為最可行的方法是成為一名專業人士，而律師是唯一的選項。起初，他的公開試成績未足以讓他入讀法學士學位，他決定選擇修讀文學院的翻譯。畢業後，他發現香港的院校剛開辦了法律博士 (Juris Doctor)，讓他能夠以研究生身份修讀法律，經過一輪面試後他獲得中文大學錄取。
兩年的苦讀，加上順利通過法學專業證書的考試，袁大律師終於得償所願獲得法律執業的資格。他自問交際能力並非其強項，自己或許未能勝任事務律師，所以他選擇成為一名大律師。一路走來，最令他難忘的是在實習時遇上的四位師父。他們除了是傑出的律師外，在袁大律師實習時亦十分願意了解他的需要而調整進度，使他能掌握到更多的知識。另外，他的其中兩位師父現正跟他在同一個大律師辦事處，起初他的生意來源都是兩位師父介紹的。當時，由於自己沒有任何人脈，加上客戶可能對袁大律師的工作能力存有懷疑，所以他有需要跟他的師父合作，由師父接洽客戶，而他則在背後進行研究及文件起草等工作。慢慢地，一些事務律師認同了他的能力，開始轉介了一些案件給他，憑著自己的努力一點一滴的累積起自己的人脈和聲譽。
現時，他的大部分的工作都是民事案件，因為刑事案件有很多突發的情況發生，而他的身體條件難以應對；相對上，民事案件較多是文件上的資料，可以預先準備。另外，即使他已建立了一定的名聲，但他仍有一半的工作由他的師父或同事轉介而來，他希望將來能增加自己的案件。工作以外，他在中學以來都有學習不同的武術，特別是詠春。他希望在短期內重投練習，在詠春和其他武術上繼續深造。
袁大律師在香港大學就讀期間獲得尤德爵士紀念基金殘疾學生獎學金。他認為，獎學金對殘疾學生予以肯定，明白他們必需比常人付出更多的努力；而袁大律師亦善用獎學金購買一個發聲軟件，優化他的學習經歷。自七歲開始失明，對旁人來說是一個晴天霹靂的打擊，但仍多番提及他對現狀的感恩；例如對比其他先天失明人士，至少他還有七年的時光看過這個世界，對顏色有所認知。他不忘感謝一路以來曾經幫助他的人，對他照顧有加的人，包括他在心光盲人學校及華仁書院的老師想方設法滿足其學習需要；為他職涯上提供了很多寶貴意見的大學教職員及四位師父；以及一直無微不至地打點了他生活及支持他的各個決定的父母。最後，他亦勉勵其他殘疾和復康人士要迎難而上，不要讓身體上的病患阻礙其活上精彩快樂的人生。