The Assembly also became a venue for sharing aspirations and finding common ground — for example when Jaspreet Kaur, 44, a dance instructor with Down’s syndrome who had just starred in her first musical, asked Chan about her first musical experience.
The singer recalled the initial hurdles she faced, the feelings of uncertainty and the laughter from others when she performed in Cantonese, especially as she had found the scale of production at the Hong Kong Coliseum “really overwhelming”.
Grace Lee-Khoo, who facilitates the interviews and mentors the budding journalists, commented: “The magic lies in the atypical questions that’ll come up during these sessions.
“There’s no wrong question. … Whatever that comes out from their mouths comes from a really, really pure place.”
The atmosphere grew even more intimate when the cast joined Chan in singing Home — her most iconic song, aptly about finding a sense of community — with Zachary Tan, 20, who is on the spectrum, accompanying on the violin.
“I really enjoyed your questions,” Chan said. “Keep being yourself. … Neurodivergence is cool.”
Watch this episode of The Assembly here. Catch the next episode, featuring President Tharman, at 9pm on Jan 8. More episodes in the same time slot every Wednesday this month.
