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League releases ranking on care for the disabled

With the year-end local elections less than a month away, the League of Welfare Organizations for the Disabled yesterday released a report ranking 25 cities and counties based on their welfare policy and infrastructure for the physically and mentally challenged.

“We're happy to announce that Taipei City, Kaohsiung City and Kinmen County ranked among the top in terms of welfare policy and facilities for the disabled, especially as Kinmen is a remote island county but was able to replace resource-rich Taipei County in third place,” league secretary-general Wang Yu-ling (王幼玲) told a news conference at the legislature. “It's also good news that many cities have made big progress compared with 2006.”

The league said it used 2006 figures for comparison because current government chiefs took office in December 2005 and will leave office or run for re-election next month.

The evaluation included local government policies and efforts to promote special education, employment, community service, as well as accessibility in public places for the mentally and physically challenged.

Among the cities and counties that have made the most progress, Chiayi City moved up 11 places, Taichung City and Tainan City moved up six places, while Pingtung County jumped five places.

“I'm especially glad that Pingtung County has moved from last place in 2006 to 19th this year,” Wang said.

However, the report also showed that Taipei, Yilan, Miaoli, Tainan, Taitung counties and Hsinchu City fared worse than three years ago.

Tainan County showed the largest decline, sliding 10 places from 12th in 2006 to 22nd this year. Taitung and Yilan counties followed, with each falling eight places, while Miaoli County and Hsinchu City each dropped seven places.

“I'm especially shocked at the fall in Hsinchu City's ranking because it's one of the fastest growing cities in the country and is often called a 'welfare city,'” Wang said.

She said politicians should bear in mind that more than 1 million eligible voters in the country are physically or mentally challenged.

“These disabled voters and their families making up a large proportion of the electorate that should not be overlooked,” Wang said.

Wang Shan (王珊), the league's chairwoman, said welfare policy for the disabled was not just about getting votes, but also served as an index on a nation's human rights conditions.

“How much the government pays attention to the needs of the challenged shows how civilized the country is,” Wang Shan said. “A government must be able to feel the pain and suffering of its people.”
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