China View/China Daily/ by Eric
Roeder. Beijing, 18.09.08
For Beijing, the Olympics and Paralympics have brought
the clearest and bluest skies to the capital in the last
10 years, reduced traffic congestion by half, promoted
the concept of queuing at bus stops and subway stations,
improved infrastructure with new sidewalks and resurfaced
streets, promoted public politeness, increased green
spaces in the city and last but not least increased
access for persons with disabilities in public spaces
around the city.
Does not get any better for disabled persons living in
Beijing than September 2008, at least near the Olympic
park where the subway has elevator access for
wheelchairs, where wheelchair ramps have been recently
built for some local businesses, and where banners
marking the Paralympics give a sense that disabled people
will be out and about.
Increased disability access is evident in the many
public buses that are equipped with automated wheelchair
ramps and sound systems that indicate the number of the
bus for blind persons. Also, one might spot one of the 30
new wheelchair accessible taxis on the streets.
In general and in short, Beijing is among the more
physically accessible cities in Asia. But there are still
problems. For example, some taxi drivers are not willing
to pick up wheelchair users. The introduction of the 30
accessible taxis has actually added to the problem in a
way, because drivers of regular taxis use them as an
excuse for not picking up wheelchair users, saying that
the potential passenger should take a special taxi
instead.
Drivers of buses with wheelchair lifts claim to not
know how to operate the lifts, and the more honest
drivers saying they do not want to make the effort. In
some public restrooms, the handicapped stalls end up as
broom closets or are simply locked. Around the city,
signage will sometimes indicate that a space is
handicapped accessible, when in fact there is no access.
Physical access problems aside, one would expect that
disabled persons would be going about their daily lives
in Beijing just like everyone else. But where are they?
It is rare to see a person with an evident physical
disability on the streets of Beijing, yet government
statistics say that 6 percent of the country's population
is either mentally or physically disabled and that
Beijing has close to 1 million disabled residents.
Although there are many three-wheeled scooters on the
streets with stickers indicating that the operator is
disabled, few of these persons seem to have any
disability and likely operate the scooter based on a
disabled family member's special permit. The answer to
why we do not see many disabled people "going about daily
life" is that despite strides in physical access,
societal barriers keep many disabled persons from finding
work, attending school, or even getting out of their
home.
The China Disabled Persons Federation, which has
worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life for
persons with disabilities, notes that some companies
deliberately break employment laws that require them to
hire a percentage of disabled persons. These companies
would rather pay fines than hire workers with
disabilities.
And in the area of education, many schools simply lack
access or cite outdated school policies for not opening
their doors to disabled students. This is particularly
discouraging as barriers snowball if one has no
education.
The federation says that Chinese society is "not fully
informed of the disabled people's suffering", and that
the government needs to increase publicity efforts so
that society on the whole, and the disabled, can better
communicate with each other.
The government is now doing just that with its
unprecedented coverage of the Paralympics by the Chinese
media. Also, tickets to the Paralympics are selling well.
This means that the 4,200 national and international
Paralympians have had large crowds to cheer them on. It
is perhaps the greatest promotional effort thus far to
increase awareness of persons with disabilities in the
country. Chinese society can witness firsthand the
abilities of disabled persons in the sporting arena.
The next step will be for the abilities of disabled
persons on the Paralympic field to be translated into a
realization of their abilities to study, work, and go
about daily life in a barrier-free society. The
Paralympics is not an event to give the disabled
something to do. It is to showcase that disabled persons,
despite whatever perceived disability, are just as able
as the non-disabled to contribute to society. They should
not be considered a burden.
Dedication and hard work will be on display at the
Paralympics. And all those fortunate enough to have
witnessed the athletes need to know that such dedication
translates to the workplace in terms of having a more
productive and loyal employee in a company. In the
academic arena, excluding the disabled means a country is
not fully reaching its own potential: educational
opportunities should be provided to all citizens.
The clear blue skies these past few weeks have spurred
Beijing residents to call for keeping such measures as
traffic reduction permanent. Perhaps with increased
awareness of the abilities of the disabled, calls for
positive change for these citizens will be made as
well.
Source
news.xinhuanet.com
