Disabled persons can enjoy as high a quality of life as average
people if the government and society pledge sufficient care and
support, said Deng Pufang, president of the
China
Disabled Persons' Federation.
Deng made the remarks yesterday at the opening ceremony of the
country's first-ever national exhibition of paintings and
calligraphic works by disabled persons.
Yesterday marked the 11th Day of Disabled Persons. The exhibition,
according to Deng, aims to display the remarkable achievements
possible for disabled persons.
"People would never suspect the works are created by people with
physical defects, because they are so outstanding and absolutely
competitive with works of the kind by the healthy," said Deng.
However, only in a supportive social climate can the disabled
attain excellence through persistent hard work, Deng added.
Therefore his federation, he said, will continue its all-out
campaign to create a disabled-friendly world.
One major effort in this regard is the campaign to equip cities
with facilities that make it easy for disabled people to move
around. Such measures include replacing staircases in public places
with gentle slopes.
At
the urging of the federation, the Ministry of Construction and the
Ministry of Civil Affairs issued a regulation in August which
stipulates that all Chinese cities should free new construction,
such as residential squares, airports and railway stations, from
all possible obstacles to disabled persons.
According to the regulation, no new construction plan can be
approved by the authorities unless the plan includes "proper
considerations of obstacle-free facilities for the sake of disabled
persons."
Meanwhile, the State Council issued special orders urging major
Chinese cities to renovate their old squares by adding such
obstacle-free facilities.
Although fulfilling the goals of the campaign will not be easy,
many cities, such as east China's Shanghai, and Guangzhou, capital
of south China's Guangdong Province, have expressed considerable
enthusiasm in this regard.
"They know the facilities are a necessary criterion if they want to
rank among the world's first rate cities," said Deng.
All Chinese cities are expected to have such obstacle-free
facilities along their major roads, in key public areas and in all
residential squares in 10 years, according to Deng.
(China Daily December 4, 2002)