On October 19, 2026, blind lawyer Joy Luk from Hong Kong was officially granted the permission to practice law in Ontario at the Ontario lawyer’s admission ceremony held at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto.
From being the first blind lawyer in Hong Kong to regaining her lawyer status after exile in Canada, she has gone through loneliness, depression, and life-threatening situations, finally returning to the starting point of her legal career.
When the host called Joy Luk’s name, she, guided by staff, slowly walked to the stage with a white cane in hand. The audience immediately stood up, and applause and cheers filled the hall.
Unable to see the scene in front of her, Joy could hear the enthusiasm and support expressed by the audience. She bowed deeply to the audience. This day marked her official reinstatement as a lawyer in Canada. For Joy, this license carries her love for the law and her wish to continue advocating for human rights.
Born blind, Joy has felt the unfair treatment towards visually impaired individuals since childhood. Facing unreasonable situations and a lack of opportunities to advocate for her rights, she aspired to study law to become a voice for herself and other marginalized individuals.
While studying at a school for the blind in Hong Kong, she found a Braille version of the Basic Law in the library and painstakingly read it line by line with her fingers. The legal provisions sparked her interest and strengthened her determination to pursue this path.
After years of effort, she became the first blind lawyer in Hong Kong. Even in the courtroom, she had to overcome the challenges brought by her visual impairment. Unable to see the expressions of judges and witnesses, she solely relied on attentive listening and thorough preparation.
In 2019, Hong Kong witnessed widespread protests due to the proposed extradition bill, known as the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement. Joy frequently went to protest sites to provide legal assistance to arrested individuals and tried to mediate between police and protesters to ease tensions. Despite facing police obstacles, she aimed to buy time for those behind her to leave safely.
As the protests faced suppression, Joy encountered increasing harassment from the police. “I wanted to do more, but I couldn’t,” she decided to leave Hong Kong.
In December 2021, Joy embarked on her journey to Canada. On the day of departure, she was questioned by immigration for over ten minutes. It was her first solo flight in her lifetime and her first departure from Hong Kong, where she had lived for over forty years.
As the plane took off, she cried. She questioned herself, “Shouldn’t I be happy? No more fearing police harassment at home. Why am I feeling sad?”
She later recalled, “At takeoff, I knew I could never return to my beloved place – Hong Kong.”
During the over ten-hour flight, she couldn’t sleep. Canada, for her, was an unfamiliar place without familiar faces or the life she once knew.
“Someday, I will come back,” she reassured herself.
Upon arriving in Canada, Joy realized that living in a foreign city required re-adaptation in every aspect.
Being from a warmer region, she struggled with the cold in Canada. After snow accumulation, familiar routes were covered, and the auditory signals of traffic lights weren’t clear enough, posing challenges when she stepped outside.
In Hong Kong, she could always ask for directions when lost, but outside Toronto’s downtown, there were fewer pedestrians. Once, she waited at a street corner for nearly twenty minutes with no one passing by. Finally, she had to follow the sound of car engines in the hope that a driver would stop to help her.
Once, a worker forgot to turn off the stove while assisting her with cooking and left. Luckily, a friend visited that day and noticed the situation in time, preventing a potential hazard.
“If those events hadn’t happened in 2019, I never would have wanted to come to Canada,” she admitted.
Having been blind since childhood, Joy has always harbored feelings of inferiority and battled depression for over twenty years.
In Hong Kong, she had a career as a lawyer, a familiar life, and family support. Upon arriving in Canada, everything she knew suddenly disappeared. She had to adjust to a new life, await the outcome of her refugee application, and re-plan her professional future.
“Being alone in Canada is too isolated and lonely. Many times are no longer like before, with family by my side,” she expressed.
Challenges abound in her daily life in Canada. She struggles to identify clothing colors or judge if appliances are turned off. Sometimes she even uses her hands to feel the temperature of a lightbulb to confirm if it’s off.
Upon arriving in Canada in December 2021, she applied for political asylum and enrolled in the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto for further studies. However, most of her time is spent alone, facing the solitude within.
In 2025, she obtained a Master of Global Law degree from the University of Toronto. While this achievement should have brought joy, it didn’t. She described feeling a coldness in her heart at the time.
During the police siege at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in November 2019, Joy was present at the protest site. She managed to leave safely, while many young people were arrested. She consistently kept those remaining in Hong Kong in mind, feeling an inability to do more for them while being overseas.
The prolonged feelings of loneliness, solitude, and guilt led her emotions to decline. On September 28, 2025, she attempted to end her life. That day, the Canadian government notified her that she had been granted permanent residency, a message she was unaware of at the time.
“If that day I had truly died, I wouldn’t have known that I had become a Canadian permanent resident,” she shared.
Joy prefers not to dwell on that day. She mentioned that the emergency assistance device at home detected her fall and automatically alerted authorities, leading to her hospitalization. After receiving medical care, she survived.
During her hospitalization, doctors and nurses took care of her attentively. Upon discharge, home care aides and nurses assisted her, and the government arranged special transport for her. Friends from the Toronto Democracy Convention continued to show concern, overseas friends didn’t forget about her, and her family in Hong Kong frequently called to check on her.
The care she received allowed her to feel warmth in her low periods. She was hospitalized for five months, only leaving in February 2026.
After facing a life-threatening situation, Joy decided to rebuild herself and find something to fully immerse herself in. She chose to take the Ontario lawyer qualification exam.
For a completely blind candidate, this was no easy feat. The exam material contained thousands of pages of English content, including charts, drawings, and tax calculations. With no teacher or classmates for immediate assistance, she had to rely solely on herself.
She began preparing from March 2026, spending over ten hours daily listening to the study material through computer audio. When encountering incomprehensible charts or calculations, she asked AI tools to convert the visuals into text and break down the calculations step by step. If she didn’t understand, she persisted in asking until she grasped the content.
For three whole months, she studied and prepared for the exam daily. In late August, she received good news – she passed both parts of the Ontario lawyer qualification exam.
The Ontario lawyer qualification process includes the Barrister Examination and the Solicitor Examination. After passing the exam, she needed to complete the corresponding admission procedures to officially practice law in Ontario.
For Joy, this achievement held special significance.
“This is the opportunity given to me by fate,” she said. “Fate has given me a chance at life, and more importantly, Fate has given me a chance to pass these exams, become a fully licensed lawyer in Canada. I feel that this opportunity must be cherished.”
Having acquired Canadian lawyer accreditation, she has even more long-term goals. “I still want to do more for human rights,” she said.
She hopes to assist persecuted individuals, including those from Hong Kong, mainland China, and Tibet. With her Canadian lawyer accreditation, she believes she will have more opportunities for legal assistance.
“Once I have Canadian lawyer status, I believe I can do more. At least some simple cases, I can take on as a lawyer to help others,” she stated.
She explained that without local lawyer qualification, she couldn’t provide professional advice or handle legal matters with a Canadian practicing lawyer status.
This was why she persisted in obtaining her license.
September 28 is a memorable day for Joy.
On September 28, 2019, she battled despair and attempted to end her life; while that same day, she was granted Canadian permanent residency. A year later, on September 28 (this year), she stepped into a law office in Toronto for the first time and officially began her work.
She hadn’t imagined that a law office in Canada would be willing to hire a blind lawyer. She found it challenging to secure such a job even in Hong Kong, and in Canada, she had to overcome cultural and language barriers. “But somehow those opportunities arose,” she noted.
Despite having a job, life didn’t suddenly become easier. Joy resides in downtown Toronto, while the law firm is located in Markham, an hour’s drive away. The government-arranged transport couldn’t directly take her to the office, so she had to first take the government transportation close to Markham and then call an Uber to reach the workplace.
“It’s a hassle for a blind person to take Uber. The drivers don’t come down to help you; you have to go to the roadside and find your ride,” she remarked. She knew there were many challenges still awaiting her.
Currently, her life largely relies on government support. She’s grateful to the Canadian government and hopes that with stable income in the future, she won’t need government assistance anymore and can contribute more through taxes to give back to the country that took her in.
Joy doesn’t wish to be seen as a hero, nor does she want others to believe that exiled individuals lead luxurious lives abroad.
“When we go overseas, it’s not all glamorous and good living. It may seem good on the outside, but that kind of loneliness, that sense of loss, and lacking the emotional companionship of family are significant,” she emphasized. “It’s not that we’re not resilient, but it’s really the pressure, especially for me, not being able to see anything; the pressure is immense.”
She believes that when one loses something, life provides other gains. “What has been taken away will always be compensated with something else.”
Regarding the circumstances of Hongkongers and Chinese people, she said, “Our freedom has been taken away, but we, Chinese people, both overseas and inside, become even stronger because our hope becomes more concentrated. So, I think, don’t wallow in self-pity just because someone has taken something from you.”
From leaving Hong Kong to experiencing loneliness, disappointment, even contemplating suicide, to regaining strength, obtaining her lawyer qualification, Joy has traversed a difficult path.
“These experiences are not in vain,” she said.
She wants to share this journey with those still advocating for human rights and freedom: “If you still hold human rights and freedom in your heart, and even if you already possess freedom, cherish it dearly.”
(Canadian Suicide Crisis Support Services: 9-8-8, you can call or send a text.)