CHAPTER 63

Original: 2008-04-07

Rewritten: 2026-05-21

People with special needs often have limited ability to care for themselves and therefore rely heavily on strong support and cooperation from society and those around them in order to live safely. The school taxi service that transported Lun was of poor quality and full of mistakes, leaving my wife and me constantly worried that he might one day go missing.

On August 24, 2000, a heartbreaking and chilling incident occurred in Hong Kong. Due to the negligence of border officials, who failed to properly verify identity and travel documents, a fifteen-year-old intellectually disabled Hong Kong youth, Yu Man Hon, was mistakenly sent across the border into mainland China. He disappeared from public sight thereafter, a tragedy that left many people deeply saddened and outraged.

Thinking back to Lun’s school years, the school bus service — mainly school taxis — created small crises almost every year, making it impossible for us to feel at ease. The biggest problems were inconsistent service quality, poor communication, and unreliable drivers. Since Lun was completely unable to care for himself, any mistake could have led to serious consequences.

Before every summer vacation ended, we had to inform the school whether we would require school transportation in the new term, as well as specify the pick-up and drop-off locations.

From our experience and observations, the taxi company’s administration was poorly managed. Almost every new school year, the school taxi would appear at unexpected times and locations.

For safety reasons, and to help Lun adapt smoothly to the rhythm of a new school year, I would take a week off work beforehand to supervise his trips to school. The school arranged for an educational assistant to meet Lun at a designated entrance. However, there were times when the taxi dropped him off at a different entrance altogether. The assistant would wait in vain, while Lun might wander around the school grounds alone. Fortunately, other teachers recognized him and would escort him back to his classroom.

Naturally, after learning of such incidents, I would file complaints with the taxi company. At the same time, during the first few days of each autumn term, I would secretly follow the taxi to school myself, only retiring from my role as “shadowing father” after confirming that everything was running properly.

Afternoon pick-up was another headache. Lack of punctuality was one issue. Sometimes the taxi would arrive at school five to ten minutes early, pick up Lun, and immediately drive him home. Some impatient drivers would leave Lun alone at the entrance of our apartment building before my wife arrived. Fortunately, he was not prone to wandering and could recognize our home, so he did not roam around outside.

When he entered junior secondary school, his dismissal time was earlier than his younger brother’s. His brother, six years younger, was still in elementary school, and my wife had to pick him up after class. She often could not get home in time to receive Lun from the taxi.

The solution was to have Lun dropped off at his grandparents’ home instead, which ensured his safety. His grandfather was extremely vigilant and would keep watch at the front door the whole time. Even so, taxi drivers still managed to mix up schedules and occasionally failed to pick Lun up from school at all, leaving his grandparents waiting in vain. Fearing that something had happened, my father would call me immediately. Sweating with anxiety, I would contact both the school and the taxi company at once and arrange another taxi.

On one occasion after school, the taxi brought Lun to the babysitter’s home but delivered him to the wrong address. Fortunately, the mistaken address happened to be directly across the street from the babysitter’s residence, and she quickly brought him safely inside. On another occasion, despite having reminded the company that very morning to send him home to our own apartment, the taxi still drove him to his grandfather’s home in the afternoon. Thankfully, it was not the other way around, because during that period my wife had started part-time work and nobody was at home.

Although the overall service was acceptable most of the time, a single mistake could have resulted in Lun going missing. This is one of the constant fears that parents of children with special needs live with every day.