The League of Welfare Organizations for the Disabled and 10 other groups representing people with disabilities yesterday urged the legislature to adopt the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2006 and entered into force in 2008.
The People with Disabilities Rights Protection Act (身心障礙者權益保障法) is limited, League president Ma Hai-hsia (馬海霞) said, citing an incident that occurred in June in which a woman with Down syndrome dining at a McDonald’s franchise was escorted out by police.
“The act could only, at best, impose a fine on the fast-food outlet of between NT$100,000 and NT$500,000, but the local authority only asked it to improve [its service],” Ma said, adding that a similar incident in the US ended with a Illinois court ruling the restaurant was in violation of the Illinois Human Rights Act for Discrimination and awarded the plaintiff US$65,000 in damages.
Photo: CNA
As of last month, the CRPD had 158 signatories and 138 ratifying parties worldwide, according to the groups.
League secretary-general Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋) said the groups have been calling on the government to sign the convention after its ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (known as the “two covenants”) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, but received no positive response.
“In the wake of the government’s deferment, we have decided to take it upon to ourselves to push for endorsement starting from the local level. So far, the Pingtung County Mayor has signed the agreement and the Lienchiang County [Matsu] Council has made a resolution calling for the central government’s signing of CRPD,” Wang said, adding that they are also inviting political parties to propose the bill for the domestic implementation of the convention.
Lee Bing-hung (李秉宏), the nation’s first visually impaired lawyer, said the two covenants have not covered thoroughly what might be needed by people with disabilities, such as a barrier free environment and regulations curbing discrimination against them.
He said that the act is “passive” and directed more toward “welfare,” whereas the CRPD is “proactive” in its emphasis in setting down the changes to the social structure that are needed to ensure people with disabilities have rights to equal social participation.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
RSS