Sat, Sep 06, 2008 page19

• Beijing makes efforts to help, but hurdles remain

  • AFP
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  Beijing has made big efforts to become more disabled-friendly ahead of the Paralympics, but handicapped residents say they will not be able to attend the Games because of a lack of transport to venues.

  The situation highlights the struggles faced by the 1 million disabled people in the Chinese capital, where government programs offer support but discrimination and the chaotic nature of the city mean daily hardship.

  In one striking example, many of Beijing’s physically handicapped own specially outfitted motorbikes, but some of them said their three-wheelers were banned from entering the Olympic Green, where most events will take place.

  

  Athletes take their tricycles through a tunnel at the Olympic National Stadium, known as the Bird’s Nest, ahead of the Paralympic Games in Beijing on Wednesday. Although Beijing has made some changes to make the city more accessible, in reality they have done little to make it easier for disabled people to get around on their own.

  PHOTO: AP

  “Even if I wanted to go watch the Games, they would never let me drive my three-wheeler onto the Olympic Green,” said Yu Fuye, 67, who has been paralyzed below the waist since he was three years old.

  However, echoing other disabled three-wheeler drivers who also said they had no way of getting to the Games, the heavy-set and graying Yu remained enthusiastic about the Paralympics, which begin today.

  “It doesn’t matter, I can watch on television. I will watch every event where China has a chance to win a gold medal,” he said.

  Beijing, like the rest of China, has long proved a nightmare for disabled people who want to get around independently.

  Footpaths, street intersections and footbridges have had virtually nothing to help the blind or wheelchair-bound, guide dogs have been banned on buses and access to trains has been extremely difficult.

  Since winning the rights to host the Olympic Games in 2001, authorities in Beijing have sought to change all that, but problems remain.

  Authorities have installed grooved paving stones on many footpaths for blind people to use as walking guides. But in many areas the guide stones are useless because cars are allowed to park on the footpaths.

  Meanwhile, pedestrian crossings do not have the sound systems that tell blind people when the lights change and are common in many developed countries.

  Ahead of the Paralympics, the government has also trumpeted the introduction of Beijing’s first-ever fleet of taxis with facilities for the disabled.

  “I saw reports on the new handicapped taxi cabs, but they only have 70 of them, that is not enough for all of us handicapped people,” said Zhao Zhizhong, 48, who was disabled in a car accident eight years ago. “I’m sure they will be mainly for the athletes.”

  One of the big projects has been to allow wheelchair access to the capital’s public transport network. However, a range of disabled people said they did not think they could yet travel on the trains.

  “I have heard that we can now go on the subway, but I have never tried this. They say you have to phone ahead and they will arrange a person to help you onto the train,” said Liu Baokun, 53, who was paralyzed with a broken back 20 years ago, as he sat on his three-wheeler.

  Guide dogs will also be allowed on buses for the duration of the Paralympics, but there has been no mention of the new regulation being made permanent.

  Organizers of the Paralympics have said they are making arrangements for tens of thousands of disabled people to attend the Games, and have made adjustments at venues to allow greater wheelchair access.

  A spokesman for the Games organizing committee did not have any comment when asked by AFP about the apparent transport problems to the venues cited by Yu, Liu and others, asking for media inquiries to be faxed through.
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