Blind man sees chance for change

Tseng Wen-hsiung (曾文雄), head of the Institute for the Blind in Taiwan, said that of those 40,773 people, "about 40 percent are completely blind while the rest suffer from different levels of visual impairment."

Chen Cheng-hsiung (陳正雄), section head from the Central Office of the Council of Labor Affairs, said that the government has set up an employment fund for the physically and mentally disabled.

Under the program, Chen said that organizations can submit proposals to ask for funding to help enhancing the employment skills of visually impaired individuals.

"We of course would like to see each blind person have a job so they can live independently," Chen said.

Ko said mobility is another difficulty that the blind face in Taiwan

"It often troubles us that public buses often do not stop by in front of the designated bus stops and that there is no broadcasting on the bus to inform us of the destinations," Ko said.

Tseng said that in general, "society at large still sees individuals who are visually impaired with a sense of prejudice."

Tseng stressed that the public should offer more respect and patience to the group.

Ko echoed Tseng's remarks.

"I hope that people would not marginalize but be more sensitive to individuals who are visually impaired," Ko said.