Barrier-free cities require more than govt investment

A RECENT SURVEY of more than 100 cities by the China Consumers Association and China Disabled Persons’ Federation found the construction and management of barrier-free facilities still leaves much to be desired. Yanzhao Metropolis Daily comments:

By 2014, more than 451 provinces, regions and counties nationwide had issued laws and regulations on the construction and management of barrier-free facilities, which shows the authorities have paid great attention to the issue, which is of great importance to disabled people, the elderly and children.

However, many problems have been exposed in the construction and management of barrier-free facilities in reality. Many of the barrier-free facilities in Beijing, including in hospitals, shopping malls and subway stations, are badly designed or don’t work.

The laws and regulations require protecting the legal rights and interests of those who are disabled and the old and weak, and it’s also a social consensus that we should take care of them. But in reality, much of the care for these disadvantaged groups is just empty talk.

For instance, although many cities have built sidewalks for the blind, they are always full of obstructions that mean they are hazardous or cannot be used at all. But the authorities and many citizens always turn a blind eye to this.

There are more than 85 million disabled people in China, and barrier-free facilities reflect society’s attitude toward them.

The construction and management of barrier-free facilities requires not only government investment, but also the attention and care of the whole of society.