Over more than 10 hours, Lai managed to climb over 250 meters (about 820 feet) in an effort to raise money for patients with spinal cord.
“I was really scared,” said Lai. “Going up a mountain, I can hold on to rocks or small holes, but with the glass, all I can really trust is the rope I’m hanging on.”
The event raised $ 670,639 (5.2 million Hong Kong dollars) in donations.
The 37-year-old climber was paralyzed from the waist down after a car accident 10 years ago. Before that, he had been crowned champion of Asia four times in rock climbing and, at one point, he was in eighth place in the world ranking.
After the accident, he resumed climbing by securing his wheelchair to a pulley system and using upper body strength to get up. Five years ago, he climbed 495 meters high, Lion Rock Mountain, a symbol of local popular culture of Hong Kong’s strength and courage.
“In addition to just living, I wonder what motivates me? So I started to pursue this, knowing that there was a possibility to climb mountains, even in a wheelchair,” said Lai. “In a way, I forgot that I was a disabled person, I could still dream and still do what I liked to do.”
On Saturday, Lai was unable to reach the top of the 300-meter (984-foot) Nina Tower due to security concerns. But, he said, he hoped his climb could send a message.
“Some people don’t understand the difficulties of people with disabilities, some people think that we are always weak, we need help, we need help, we need people’s pity,” he said.
“But, I want to tell everyone, it doesn’t have to be that way. If a disabled person can shine, at the same time it can bring opportunity, hope, bring light, it doesn’t have to be seen as weak. “